Congratulations to Elvenstar students at Gold Coast 6 – Medal Finals and more 

LAHJA Medal Finalists Rule the Day at Gold Coast 6
Excerpt from LEG Press Release – full release

Competitors from around the Los Angeles area met over Labor Day weekend at Gold Coast 6 (Sep 1-4) to compete in the LAHJA Rosewood Medal Final (presented by DaMoor’s Feed and Tack), the LAHJA Horsemanship Medal Final, the annual Riding for Reading Pleasure class, as well as many other exciting classes.

Nina Vogel (Far West Farms, trainer) set the bar high for the other riders in the LAHJA Rosewood Medal Final this year by winning every time she entered the ring aboard her Dutch Star. Riding consistently, she scored an 80 in the first round and an 81.5 in the second round. Nina went into the Rosewood well prepared and ready to take the lead. She handled the pressure very well, using an approach of riding each round individually. “If I pretend each round is a regular class at a regular horse show, I can just focus on doing well in each round,” she explained. This is Nina’s first year showing in the 3’3” divisions and she didn’t have any expectations to win. “It is an honor to win the class! I have worked hard all summer, so it’s very rewarding,” she exclaimed…

Second place in the Rosewood Final went to Kira Zelman (Elvenstar, trainer) and Vindoctro, third went to Hadley Boyd (Far West Farms, trainer) and Llolani, and fourth went to Pilar Flourney (Mark Bone, trainer) and her Rika. This is the second year in a row Far West Farms had the win in this class.

While the Rosewood Medal Final was challenging, the LAHJA Horsemanship Medal Final, which is more of an entry-level final, produced a great experience for all of the riders. The courses allowed every team to have a confident ride but proposed some harder options for those with more experience. This year, there was not one stop or fall throughout the class and the course designer, trainers, and riders were very pleased.

Erin Rylie Clark (Rainbow Canyon Ranch, trainer) took the champion title in a clean sweep. Aboard her entry Empire, Erin stayed consistent to the win. “I was extremely nervous for the work-off because the other riders were very talented,” she remarked. Scoring an 83 in round one and an 84 in round two, Erin didn’t have any reason to worry about making it to the work-off…

Second place went to Cayley Boyd (Far West Farms, trainer) with scores of 80 in the first round and 78 in the second. Third and fourth went to the Anastasi twins (Elvenstar, trainer), Mary and Elizabeth, with some great rides. Mary was third aboard Orlando while Elizabeth was fourth on her Malakai.

The annual Riding for Reading $5,000 Pleasure Class was a hit with a total of 22 entries. Riders from 1st through 12th grade supported the cause, representing their schools and to winning grant money for their school’s library.

Maggie Bass (Nancy Frost, Trainer) and Summer’s Golden Light (China Blue Farms, Owner) walked away with the biggest school library grant and the first prize. Maggie also had much success in the Children’s 14-17 Hunters and Equitation. “I thought it would be a good experience to get money for my library to enrich it with more books,” said 15-year-old Maggie, who is in tenth grade at Campbell Hall. “It was so amazing because I’ve been competing in that class for four years and it’s the first time I’ve ever won it.”

The Riding for Reading organization is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting reading, literacy and education through the horse sport by giving grants to riders’ school libraries. One of the founders, trainer Kay Altheuser of Elvenstar Stables, thought this year’s class was great. She remarked, “People are starting to take more notice of the organization and even though entries vary year after year, it has gotten more popular and people are getting to know the cause.” Schools are often both surprised and delighted to receive the library grants and many students are honored at assemblies or in the school’s newspaper…

For more information and complete results from Gold Coast 6, including complete results, please click here.