Old Dominion
Youth
The following are profiles of some of the youth members. As youth reporter Camilla Hughes interviews more members and writes up their stories for the national POA magazine they will be added here.
Amelia Fox
Camilla Hughes
Casey Knott
Logan Rasnic
Travis Rigg
Cieara Tolliver
Amelia Fox and Blessed In Spanish
Amelia Fox is eleven years old and in the 5th grade at Scotland Elementary. She shows Blessed in Spanish, a ten-year-old mare.Critters Sunni Bun was Amelia’s first pony, she showed him in 8 and under (in 2004 and 2005). Her family bought Sunni from Beverly Miller who bred, raised, and trained him. Sunni is a 12-year-old few-spot gelding. Amelia says that Sunni sometimes “stops and stands still at the gate and looks at me and says ‘I have already done this--why again?’” But she says he is a sweet pony. Sunni is a Supreme Champion and has many International and regional placings (including 4th in trail at the International). He and Amelia placed 5th in the national high point top ten in 2005. She was the only 8 and under to place in the top 10. Since Amelia has moved on to another pony Sunni has been sold to a family in Kansas.
Last year, 2006, was Amelia’s first year in 9-12 and her first showing Blessed in Spanish (Bess). She taught Bess to jump and to do western riding and reining last year. They placed 11th in the national top 10 and did very well at the NE regional, the only regional show they attended. Amelia also did well showing Innkeepers Voodoo Lounge (Mick) in youth pleasure driving.
Two of Amelia’s favorite accomplishments are being high point 8 and U at the SE regional in 2005 and teaching Sunni that it is okay to trail ride.
Outside of POAs, Amelia also has achieved a lot. She got straight As all this year (06-07), she was awarded the presidential physical fitness award in 4th and 5th grades, and she received honorable mentions for her supportive roles in both soccer and basketball this year.
The Fox family got involved with POAs when Amelia started taking riding lessons with POA graduate Beverly Miller. Now they have four POAs.
Amelia’s mom, Tonya, likes POAs and POA shows because all their children (including their disabled daughter and two other leadliners) can participate and enjoy it.
Camilla Hughes and Innkeepers Goldseeker
Camilla Hughes, a 16-year-old homeschooler, has been showing Innkeepers Goldseeker for the past two years. Camilla started riding when she was eight and started taking lessons when she was 10. She got involved with POAs when she joined Kay Schwink’s 4-H horse club. Kay is a POA breeder and lets Camilla ride and show her POAs. Camilla started her POA show career showing Kay’s pony Innkeepers Sailor Moon in her last year of 9-12. Then she rode Kay’s pony TC Moonbeam during her first year of 13-18. Goldseeker, a nine-year-old mare, is her all-time favorite pony.Camilla’s favorite show accomplishment is either placing 4th in open jumping at the 2006 international or winning pleasure driving at the 2005 international. Her favorite non-show accomplishment is teaching Goldseeker a lot of what she knows and improving on everything she can do. Elizabeth Rasnic had trained Goldseeker as a 3- and 4-year-old (2001 and 2002), Kay Schwink and Dale Rigg showed her in reining and driving as a 5-year-old, and Carrie Kroehler currently shows her in adult driving. She had not previously been shown by a youth. Together Camilla and Goldseeker have learned how to do western riding, trail, bareback, showmanship, halter, and games and have worked on improving at jumping. Their favorite show event is either jumping (especially open jumping) or gaming (especially scurry).
Camilla says that Goldseeker has very high standards for how well she rides and has other quirks, too. “She is really smart and gets bored really quickly with anything we’re doing. She loves to jump and game and go on trail rides, but we CAN’T do rail of any kind (except driving). She doesn’t like apples and usually doesn’t like carrots, either. She lives on pasture 24/7 at home and hates her stall at shows.” Their favorite thing to do together is to jump big jumps and trail ride bareback (but Camilla says, “NOT at the same time!!!!!!”). They also really like “trail driving,” that is, driving not in a ring, and giving cart rides at shows and other events.
Camilla owns a 4-year-old QH mare, Sirius Lee Black, that she is breaking to ride. She also rides other breeds at her lessons.
Camilla likes to read, write, and snowboard. She has a bunny, three chickens, two starlings, and two rats. She is the ODPOAC youth news reporter. She has been a pirate in costume class and loves pirates. She says, “During horse show season I spend A LOT of time trying to get the yellow out of Goldseeker’s white tail.”
This show season Camilla is going to show John Burger’s mare FS First Star Dreamer some in addition to Goldseeker. She may also attempt rail classes with Goldseeker and wants to do Indian costume, but she’s not sure if that’ll happen.
Casey Knott and KS’s Tiger's Brezin' Babe
Casey Knott is fifteen and in 10th grade at Christiansburg High School. Her pony is named KS's Tiger's Brezin' Babe (Breeze). Breeze is a 14-year-old bay marbleized roan mare. Casey got Breeze in August of 2004; Breeze is Casey’s first own pony. Before she got Breeze, Casey’s family leased her a POA. Her favorite classes are hunter over fences, equitation over fences, and open jumping.Casey has been showing POAs since she was seven. The first pony that Casey showed was Ocheye Fly Higher (Fly). She was a leopard mare and belonged to Bernice Callahan, an adult member of our club. Fly is Casey’s favorite POA. Casey showed Fly in 8 and under and her first year of 9-12. Casey showed GRs Moon Maiden (Moon) in her second and third years of 9-12. Moon also belongs to Bernice. Winning the ODPOAC high point one rider one pony traveling trophy with Moon when she (Casey) was 11 is Casey’s favorite show accomplishment. Now Moon is in semi-retirement. She gives a little girl named Montana riding lessons once a week.
Casey and Moon went to the POA International show when Casey was 11 (in 2003). They didn’t place in any classes, but Casey says that it was fun to “hang out with Travis Rigg and Chelsea Rasnic, ride Moon, and meet new horsy people. Just going to the show was an accomplishment!” Casey also drove Kay Schwink’s pony Innkeepers Sailor Moon in youth pleasure driving and they placed 2nd. Casey said that she was really glad that she didn’t crash Kay’s awesome John Deere-colored cart.
Casey took her last year of 9-12 off from showing POAs. Moon had mostly retired and Casey didn’t have another POA to move up to. She leased and showed an Appaloosa named Chucky. She started showing with us again in 2005 and we’re glad she’s back!
2005 was Casey’s first year in 13-18 and her first year showing Breeze. Casey got Breeze from Michelle Jesse in August 2004. Casey’s favorite accomplishment with Breeze is teaching her to jump and do flat work better. Casey and Breeze were ODPOAC overall highpoint last year. This year, 2007, will be Casey and Breese’s last year showing in western, showmanship, and halter. After this year they plan to focus more on eventing things.
Casey said that when she does something stupid Breeze “laughs” at her.
Breeze has never had any foals, but Casey plans to breed her. First Casey will breed her to a small POA stallion, and then to a really good eventing stallion.
Casey’s favorite thing to do with Breeze is to jump as high as they can.
Chelsea Rasnic and CR Stars Expression
Chelsea Rasnic is 12 years old and in 6th grade at Stickleyville Elementary. She shows CR Stars Expression (Sparkle), an 11-year-old POA mare. Chelsea lives in Duffield, VA.Chelsea has been riding since she was eight months old, with her dad. She started showing in leadline when she was three. The Rasnic family first got involved with POAs because Chelsea's mom, Elizabeth, is a POA judge. Chelsea’s first ponies were a Shetland named Angel and a POA named Abby. She showed From Rags to Riches (Dottie) in 8 and under. Now Chelsea’s younger brother, Logan, shows Dottie In Chelsea’s last year of 8 and under, she started showing Sparkle and has been showing her ever since. Chelsea also shows a Quarter Horse named Buddy and rides a paint named Rowdy and a racking horse named Cinnamon. Of all those she says that Sparkle is her favorite.
The Rasnic family has owned Sparkle for eight and a half years. They bought her at the International futurity sale in Iowa when she was two. This will be Chelsea’s fourth year showing Sparkle. They have won multiple classes together at the International, Regionals, the Eastern Classic, and the VA State 4-H show (and of course at our ODPOAC shows). Chelsea’s favorite show accomplishment with Sparkle is winning the pole bending class and the highpoint game horse/pony at the 2006 VA 4-H State show. Sparkle is also only a few points away from her Supreme champion award.
Chelsea’s favorite thing to do with Sparkle is trail ride. She said that her favorite classes are jumping and games. When I asked if Sparkle has any special quirks, Chelsea said, “She never quits pawing on the trailer.” She has never had any foals, but Chelsea plans to breed Sparkle after she and Logan have outgrown her. Chelsea’s favorite non-show accomplishment is teaching herself to band a mane.
This year, 2007, Chelsea plans to show a junior pony, B Lookin for Twisters (Twister), her new gaming pony, Dudes Dixie Cup (Dixie), and her Quarter Horse Buddy in addition to Sparkle. Some of you may remember Twister; he was Elizabeth’s JPFC pony in 2005 and 2006. Dixie and Buddy also have come to ODPOAC shows.
The Rasnic family (Willow Bridge Farms) owns a total of eighteen horses. They have eight POAs, five Quarter Horses, three Spotted Saddle horses, one Tennessee Walking Horse, and one Paint.
Besides riding, Chelsea loves playing basketball, singing, dancing, and clogging.
Logan Rasnic and From Rags to Riches
Logan Rasnic is nine and in 3rd grade at Stickley Elementary. He shows From Rags to Riches (Dottie). He lives on Willow Bridge Farms in Duffield, VA with his older sister and parents. This will be Logan’s 3rd year showing Dottie.Logan has been showing for five years and riding his whole life. His favorite classes are games and jumping. Before he had Dottie, he showed a Shetland named Sunshine. Currently, Logan shows a Spotted Saddle Horse named Cinnamon in addition to Dottie. He says that of those three, Dottie is his favorite.
Dottie is a 16-year-old small mare. Before Logan started showing her she was shown by his sister, Chelsea, and by Michelle Keesee. The Rasnic family has had Dottie for five years. Between Chelsea and Logan, Dottie has won 13 International classes and numerous regional highpoint awards. Logan says that “she gets nervous in indoor arenas.” She hasn’t had any foals yet, but Logan plans to breed her to the sire of one of their other horses, “Dill,” after her show career is over.
Logan’s favorite show accomplishments are winning reserve highpoint 8 and under boy and highpoint small mare and highpoint overall mare with Dottie at the 2005 International. That year he still could have been riding in leadline, but he wanted to move up. Great Job, Logan! The Rasnics didn’t make it to the International last year (2006), but they did go to the Eastern Classic where Logan and Dottie won ten classes and ended up reserve highpoint 8 and under. His favorite non-show accomplishment is teaching Dottie to do western pleasure.
ODPOAC shows are sometimes pretty small, and Logan is one of our only 8 and under riders right now, so he has to compete against the big kids a lot of times. He always holds his own against us and beats us lots of times!
The Rasnic family (Willow Bridge Farms) owns a total of 18 horses. They have eight POAs counting Dottie, five Quarter Horses, one Paint, three Spotted Saddle Horses, and one Tennessee Walking Horse. Logan’s sister, Chelsea, also shows POAs, and their mom, Elizabeth, shows in JPFC and is a horse trainer. Logan’s dad, Tim, is also involved in horses and is a vet. Elizabeth is a POA judge; that is how the Rasnic family originally got involved in POAs. The Rasnics also show at open shows and trail ride all over the eastern United States. Logan says that his favorite thing to do with Dottie is trail ride. His dad says that Dottie never has any trouble keeping up with the big trail riding horses.
This year (2007) will be Logan’s last year in 8 and under. The Rasnic family plans to go to more POA shows, including the International, this year.
Besides riding, Logan also loves to play football and basketball and to do karate.
Travis Rigg and Innkeepers Sailor Moon
Travis Rigg is 15 years old and in 9th grade at Blacksburg High School. Travis’s parents (Kay Schwink and Dale Rigg) have a POA breeding farm, and Travis has been riding and showing POAs as long as he can remember. Currently he is showing Innkeepers Sailor Moon. He says his favorite class is Open Jumping.Travis started his show career showing leadline on Micro Flyer, Four Oaks Star Flyer, and Frequent Flyer. In his last year of leadline he started showing Innkeepers Voodoo Lounge (Mick), who, at the time, was three. He and Mick were a team through Travis’s first year of 13-18, and they accomplished many things together, including two International championships (and many top ten placings), winning the ODPOAC one rider/one pony highpoint 2½ times, and being the youngest person ever to win the driving futurity (at age 8). In his last year of 9-12 (2004) Travis started showing his grandma’s pony, Diminutive (Minnie), in addition to Mick. That year he also won the sportsmanship award at the International. At the end of 2005, Mick went to live with the Fox family of Pennsylvania, and Travis started showing his current pony, Innkeepers Sailor Moon, a 1996 fewspot mare.
Travis and Sailor Moon started their show career together with a bang, winning the boys’ 13-18 highpoint at the 2006 Eastern Classic. They had many top eight/ten placings there and at the NE Regional and International.
Travis’s favorite show accomplishment is his Native American costume story at the 2006 International. For Native American costume he portrays Black Kettle, a Cheyenne chief.
He and Sailor Moon have started jumping in summer 2006. Travis says that she is a good jumper and “she can jump very, very high.” In fact, he says that his favorite thing to do with Sailor Moon is “jump, jump, and jump some more.” Travis’s favorite non-show accomplishment is jumping a really big oxer with her once.
Sailor Moon hasn’t had any foals yet, but Travis plans to breed her to Pride of Prince or FS Sugar Bar Joe when her show career is over.
This year, 2007, Travis plans to show his new pony, The Famous Harry Spotter, in rail classes and Sailor Moon in pattern classes and games. He also said, “I’m definitely going to jump at the International.”
Cieara Tolliver and Ima Lot of Trouble
Cieara Tolliver is 16 and is in 10th grade at Lee High School in Jonesville, VA. Her POA is an 18-year-old bay leopard gelding named Ima Lot of Trouble (Ug or Uggie).Cieara has been riding since she was little. “We have always had horses,” she said. She started showing at POA shows two and a half years ago (spring 2005), after she bought Ug. His old owner, Libby Haynes, told Cieara about POAs and POA showing.
Cieara’s favorite classes are games, especially scurry (a game that ODPOAC just added to its show bill). Her favorite show accomplishment is winning the all round champion award at a Pennington Gap show when she was eight. She was riding Ug as a lesson horse (that was before she bought him). “It was so cool!” she said. Cieara says her favorite non-show accomplishment is teaching Ug everything he knows except games. She taught Ug to jump, for example, and to do hunter and western rail classes. “Basically everything slow,” she said. Way to go Cieara!
This year Cieara and Ug placed in cloverleaf barrels, pole bending, and huntseat equitation at the Virginia 4-H State show. Ug has also done well at ODPOAC shows, but hasn’t really gone to many bigger POA shows.
Cieara’s family has six horses, but Ug is the only POA. Her favorite thing to do with Uggie is to ride him bareback, and jump bareback. This year, 2007, Cieara plans to ride her quarter horse gelding, Peppy King Starlight (Star), in addition to Ug. Star is owned by Cieara’s family, but in 2006 he was shown by Erin Beach. Erin did really well with him, showing in some ODPOAC IBC shows and winning a number of classes. Star and Erin finished the year by winning one go of the small horse Sr. rider hunter under saddle class at the Virginia state 4-H show and placing 4th in the other. Good luck with Star next year, Cieara!
Cieara says “I love Ug and POAs!”
Mary Cole Sayers and Hippy Hippy Shake
Mary Cole has been riding and showing for about eight years. Elizabeth Rasnic and Michelle Jessee got her involved in POAs. Mary Cole has shown three different POAs. Her walk-trot pony was TLF Jammin Jasper. The Sayers/Sprinkle family got him from Michelle and he was about five when Mary Cole started showing him. She showed him for two or three years. Then she started showing TLF Bo Peep. Bo Peep belongs to Michelle. Mary Cole learned to jump riding Bo Peep. Many of you may know Bo Peep, as she has made appearances at ODPOAC shows this last year with a new 9-12 rider, Hannah Burchett. Mary Cole’s current pony is Hippy Hippy Shake. She got him in the fall of 2004 and has been showing him for the past three years. He didn’t have any previous riders that Mary Cole knows of. She says that he was broke to ride as a two-year-old, shown by an adult as a three-year-old, then did nothing as a 4- and 5-year-old, and then was bought by the Sayers/Sprinkle family and hardshipped into POA. Mary Cole said that she couldn’t pick one of those ponies as her favorite; she said, “I like them all!”
Her favorite accomplishment with Hippy is winning showmanship for her age division at the 4-H state show in 2006. There were more than 60 entries. This year at the 4-H state show, Mary Cole and Hippy were 6th in showmanship (for her new, older age division) out of 87 exhibitors. They placed 3rd in trail, as well as placing in several other classes. Mary Cole’s other favorite accomplishment is completing a 50 mile ride with Hippy. The ride took three days. Mary Cole said, “We went 17.6 miles the first day, 21 or so the second day, and then about 18 the third day. This was at Mt. Rogers. We camped out. We had some really bad thunderstorms—they kept me awake all night!”
This is what Mary Cole said when asked if Hippy has any special quirks: “He was very, very hard to teach how to turn on the haunches—and he’s probably forgotten it by now! He likes to rear up sometimes in reining—that just makes it fun! He does that lift-the-paw thing when he eats. He’s pretty much an all-round good-natured pony. But sometimes he gets really mad at me if I don’t give him a peppermint, if he hears the paper crinkle.” Mary Cole’s favorite thing to do with Hippy is trail ride with only a halter and one rein/lead rope.
Mary Cole was on a horse judging team for three years. Recently, she has also been doing orienteering (which is going out with compasses and maps) with ROTC. Her favorite colors are red, black, and purple.
Mary Cole plans to do more western next year, and maybe try jumping at the 4-H state show. She also has a new idea for a costume and plans to do costume class.
Allysia Syvertsen and Innkeepers Cyndi Loper
This month’s featured rider is Allysia Syvertsen. She has been riding since she was nine and showing since she was ten. Allysia is 16 and a homeschooled 10th grader. Her favorite show classes are games. Allysia started showing POAs when she was 14, in 2006, when she showed Innkeepers Cyndi Loper, a mare that Cindy Harris owns. For a year before that, she had been coming to POA shows to show her AQHA mare Casey or to be Casey Knott’s groom and hang out. In 2006 she also showed Pretty Peppy Lady, a then 5-year-old POA mare that belongs to Kay Schwink. Last year, Allysia started riding Kay Schwink’s mare CV’s Ms Dyna-Mite (Dusty). Allysia said, “I borrowed her from Kay, who dragged her (Dusty was most willing) out of retirement.”
Dusty is 23 years young and has had a wide variety of riders over the years. Kay showed her in JPFC as a three-year-old. She has had several youth riders since then, most recently Allysia, who did well with her at this year’s NE Promo and Regional in New York, and Travis Rigg, who placed in Open Jumping at the International with her. Allysia and Dusty placed third in Equitation over Fences in New York, were 10th in the NE regional Top Ten and placed in most of their classes. Allysia says that her favorite thing to do with Dusty is “games or just hanging out, going on a trail ride maybe.” I asked Allysia if Dusty has any special quirks and she said, “Dusty is a special quirk. She LOVES to go fast, and jump, of course.”
Very recently, Allysia got a new horse, a seven-year-old, off-the-race-track thoroughbred gelding named Ace. She said that her favorite thing to do with Ace is “just hanging out, since he has a trust issue and I can't exactly ride him right now…” Allysia’s favorite horse ever was named Kidstuff. Allysia said, “He was my 17.2 hand baby and he loved me a lot. I trained him to jump without bucking and rearing and spinning as I learned to ride, when I was ten. He was rescued … My instructor had to stand on a step-stool and then give me a leg up for me to even get on. My favorite [non-showing accomplishment] was teaching Kidstuff to jump so calmly that I could do it without stirrups no problem.”
Besides her horse activities, Allysia enjoys anything “outdoors and adventurous.” She has been playing the piano for ten years and recently started playing the bass and the clarinet. She is a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and is planning to join a pistol club. She intends to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice and would like to work as a field agent for the FBI.
Last summer Allysia and her family moved to Ohio, but she is still an ODPOAC member. She said about her POA show activities this coming year, “I suppose I'm back to Universal Groom when I can get back to the shows at all. But you all have not seen the last of me. I WILL be back! It's a threatening promise.”