A last-minute substitution kept Langley’s Chloe Matheson in competition at the prestigious U17 Pony Final in Lexington, Kentucky.
Chloe, 12, was one of just three B.C. riders to qualify for the August event with her horse, Jerry Styles, but when Jerry tore a ligament in his leg and had to undergo surgery in March of this year, a replacement had to be found quickly.
Her new temporary ride, a lease from down south, was Little Fluffy Cloud, an even-tempered 13.1 hand, Welsh Pony mare, with an online bio that said she had a big stride,”and no vices.”
"She's well behaved,” Chloe commented.
“She's a very good teacher, she's fun to ride”
Without much time to get acquainted, Chloe and Little Fluffy Cloud were off to Kentucky, to ride against some of the best in North America over several days at the Kentucky Horse Park. She was the only Langley rider at the event.
Sanctioned by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States, the competition draws more than 600 pony riders a year. According to the USEF rule book any animals not over 148 cm without shoes (14.2 hands), are classified as ponies. All others are classified as horses.
It was the largest crowd Chloe had ever competed before, but the numbers and noise did not throw her, or Little Fluffy Cloud, off their stride.
"I'm nervous before going in, and I forget [about it ] while I'm riding," she told the Langley Advance Times.
In her division, there were 173 competitors, and she ended up finishing 32nd, going up against riders as old as 18.
Just a few days later, back in Langley, the pair competed at Thunderbird Show Park and ended up winning two events.
While Chloe has only good things to say about Little Fluffy Cloud, she is looking forward to resuming competition with Jerry, her very first pony, who is making a good recovery from surgery.
“He's going to be better,” she said.
Chloe started competing at eight after seeing her mom Laurel ride on full-size horses.
“It was very fun and I wanted a pony,” Chloe recalled.
Laurel, an experienced rider, says even knowing how talented and hard-working her daughter is, watching her in action can be slightly stressful sometimes as parents.
"We always hold our breath every time she jumps,” said Laurel.
Proud dad Dana describes his daughter as "a very versatile rider" who can switch from ponies to larger horses in a single competition.
"She takes her horse and the pony to Thunderbird when she competes in all the other shows and she rides them both in the same show," Dana described.
"Often times she'll literally jump off the pony and jump on the horse in the next ring and then compete or jump off the horse and jump on the pony. There's completely different stride lengths, there's different size, so to be able to do that so quickly and change is pretty impressive."
One drawback to competing in Kentucky was Chloe didn't have any time to watch another Langley rider she admires, Tiffany Foster, compete at the Olympics.
“I've talked to her several times, and she's a really nice person to talk to," Chloe said of Foster, the top-ranked female rider in the world, and a regular presence at Thunderbird.
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