By ALESHA CAPONE
A GROUP of girls from the Williamstown Horse and Pony Club are riding high after being selected to compete at a state level.
Later this month, Maddison, Neale, Eliza, Hannah and Astrid – aged between 13 and 19 – will take part in the Pony Club Association of Victoria State Dressage and Showjumping 2013 championships.
The team’s youngest member, Altona Meadows resident Maddison, will contest the show-jumping section with her thoroughbred Mickey.
“You can tell when we’re jumping that he loves it and he doesn’t want to stop,” Maddison said.
“I also have to remember to breathe when we go over the jumps, because sometimes I forget to breathe.
“We train five times a week and we compete every weekend.”
As a Year 8 student at Footscray City College, Maddison completes both her homework and equestrian training every afternoon.
“My favourite thing about horse-riding is that you get to have fun and bond with your horse, and when it all comes together at training and competing,” she said.
Maddison said she was surprised to make the Pony Club Association of Victoria championships.
“I got really excited for it, I was training hard in the lead-up to it,” she said.
“When I go into the ring there’s a bit of nerves and also a bit of excitement.
Tackling a show-jumping course on a 16-hand high thoroughbred is an impressive feat for any teenager, but Maddison said the task did not faze her.
“When I was two I convinced my parents to take me to riding lessons and I had to ride the big horses, not the little ones,” she said.
