Tessa Brown, a student at Watkinson School, was a big winner at the Eastern States Exposition Horse Show.

Tessa Brown is nationally-ranked and won several awards at the Eastern States Exposition horse show. Submitted photo

Submitted by Kimberly Bigelow, Watkinson School

Watkinson School 6^th grader Tessa Brown, 11, of West Hartford, rode away with some big ribbons after the Eastern States Exposition horse show in mid-September.

Competing with two of her ponies, Brown was Champion in the Small Pony Hunter division on her pony Land’s End Lady Slipper, and Champion in the Medium Pony Hunter division on her pony Radiance. Brown was also Champion in the Zone 1 Classic Challenge and voted Best Child Rider by the panel judges.

According to Brown, pony hunter divisions are divided by size of the pony – small, medium, or large. During the show, a rider will enter the ring on their pony and jump fences of varying heights that coordinate with the size of the pony. The riders and their ponies are judged on performance, soundness, suitability and manners.

“The ribbons are great but with them comes a lot of training,” Brown explained, “I train 6 days a week and have worked very hard to be among the top 25 riders in the country who are invited to the national finals.”

All of that hard work has paid off. According to Brown, she and her pony Lady are ranked third in the country in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Small Pony Division, and her newest Medium Pony, Roxy, skyrocketed from being ranked 154th in the country in July, to 62nd in the country after just two months of training with Brown.

Brown is currently ranked fourth for the Northeast Region in the World Championship Hunter Rider standings and fourth in the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) Pony Equitation where she will compete in October.

“I love being a fierce competitor and a nationally-ranked rider,” Brown said, “Most of all I love being with the horses and ponies. You really have to read their body language and have a special connection with them in order to be successful. I am so grateful to be able create winning records for my two amazing ponies.”

In addition to the WIHS Pony Equitation in Washington D.C., Brown will also compete in Maryland at the Capital Challenge, and in Pennsylvania for the PA National Horse Show this October.

Watkinson School is a co-educational day school for grades 6-PG.  Founded in 1881, Watkinson is Hartford’s oldest independent school.  Watkinson’s next open house for prospective students is Nov. 4 at 9 a.m.