RALEIGH – On Saturday, eight student riders from Scotland and Richmond counties took a trip to Raleigh to compete in The Southern States Horse Show.
The team of ladies between the ages seven and 29, who train at the Winter Stables and Riding Academy of Marston, competed individually in 14 of the 26 events in the Academy portion of the show. Although each of the team’s riders demonstrated their exceptional abilities in the ring, the hero of the day for the Winter Stables team was a 19-year old American Saddlebred named Dakota.
The Governor James B. Hunt Horse Complex, located between the state fairgrounds and North Carolina State University’s Carter-Finley Stadium, welcomed teams from several states across the southeast, but it also welcomed a series random problems that plagued the event.
“There have been several delays,” said Jenna Woodley, a spectator supporting a team from Virginia. “One of our girls got sick, one of our horses got sick, and we’ve already seen some issues in the show ring today.”
Those issues Woodley spoke of were two different events that were paused after a horse in the event became uncontrollable and had to be removed. Another scary situation involved a six-year old rider being thrown from her horse into the barrier at the practice ring just moments before she was scheduled to compete. On the bright side, nobody was injured in any of these instances, but unfortunately for the Winter Stables team, it was not immune to the chaos.
Only three horses made the trek from Marston to Raleigh, but after a physical ailment and behavioral issue took two of them out of the show — and it came down to Dakota. Event after event, Dakota carried riders of different age groups and skill levels around the ring. Since each event is only slightly different than the preceding one, he could have easily gotten caught up in the repetitiveness of it all. Instead, he quickly adjusted to the mannerisms of each rider and effectively executed each command.
“Dakota saved the day and was a trooper doing it,” said the team’s riding instructor Rebecca Winter. “He gets several well-deserved days off now. Pecan was unable to show due to being sore and today just wasn’t Phantom’s day. We have all had those days.”
This was no easy task for the riders either. Often, two members of the team were competing in back-to-back events. As one rider would finish up her event, another one would be waiting just outside the ring with gear in hand ready to swap places with her teammate. They only had a few minutes for the exchange, and then Dakota was once again circling the ring with a new passenger.
“I am so, so proud of all our riders today,” said Winter. “They adjusted amazingly to change and kept a positive attitude. They all kept a smile on their face and I couldn’t be prouder. Nicely done ladies!”
When it was all said and done, Dakota carried seven riders in 14 different events, and even helped riders Courtney Woessner and Aubrey Cranford win blue ribbons in the oldest and youngest divisions, respectively.
Members of the Winter Stables team competing in walk-trot-canter events were Woessner (Adult) and Kayla Winter (17 and under). In the various walk-trot events were Emma Seales (11-18), Cadence Winter (11-18), Kiershtiana Daly (11-18), Lauren Thompkins (11-18), Blakely Stone (10 and under) and Cranford (six and under).
“Dakota, I cannot thank you enough for saving the day today,” Winter said to the show saving horse. “You worked so hard when things didn’t go as planned and you never fussed a bit. Well done, buddy.”
