Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 19, 1990 TAG: 9006190072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sheila Motley is 4 feet 3 of horse sense. Her father owns and trains thoroughbred racehorses. Her mother is a former show rider. Her aunt is her trainer.
"It follows in the family to ride," said Motley, who rode two small pony hunters to ribbons during Monday's opening day of the week-long show at the Salem Civic Center.
Motley, from Keswick, is 11 and blonde and takes hold of an interview like the reins of her mounts. She's gregarious and polite. She will be in the sixth grade at St. Anne's Belfield after another summer of horse shows.
It's what she wants to become that separates her from her schoolmates.
"I'd like to be a Grand Prix rider," Motley said. "But that's another seven or eight years away."
Motley's Glenmore Sally won a blue ribbon Monday in one class. She has ridden Sally for three years. Her other entry, I C Blue Shadow, took third in the small pony hunter class. As much as anything, the purchase of I C Blue Shadow several months ago shows Motley's desire to graduate from hunters to the best jumpers.
I C Blue Shadow was the pony of the year in 1988. The Motleys purchased the horse from Bertram Firestone, the noted Northern Virginia thoroughbred owner. "I have to hold I C a little more," Motley said. "Sally, I'm more used to. At first, it was tough riding them differently, but I've learned."
Sheila's father, Hugh Motley, trains racehorses at the family's Highground Farm and also is in the bloodstock business. The only show horses the Motleys own are Shelia's two ponies. Winkie Motley, Sheila's mother, and two of her sisters rode professionally. One of them, Debbie Buchanan, manages Belcort Farm and trains Sheila's horses.
Sheila's 10th birthday was very special. Buchanan's gift to her niece was a lesson with Middleburg's Katie Monahan Prudent, the most prominent female Grand Prix rider in the world.
"Sheila's been around horses all of her life, but she didn't really become interested in riding right away," said Winkie Motley. "Her aunt gave her a pony for her third birthday, but she didn't really get into it until she was 8, and we were in Florida.
"She just didn't go out and ride with us. Once she could ride with other children, that's when she started. She's a big friend of Katie, and our family has known Rodney Jenkins [the record-setting Grand Prix rider] for years. He doesn't live far from us."
Hunters are judged on style and stature going over jumps. A jumper just has to get over the fence. "If I go from hunters to jumpers, it's going to take a lot more time, and a lot more training," Sheila said. "I'll have to be a much better rider."
This is Motley's second year in the Roanoke Valley show.
"We go to a horse show every weekend somewhere," she said. "In February, we go to Florida for a month [when her father's thoroughbred business begins a new season], and I miss school then. Sometimes, my teachers aren't too happy about that. But they always ask how I did down there.
"The different shows all have different challenges. You have to learn about the different footing. It's always new, and that's part of the fun. When the horse does exactly what you want, you can tell it's a good round. Being able to do that, to be in control, gives you a lot of self-esteem.
"I like to win, but having fun and enjoying it is important. When I mess up a lot, it's not fun. I'll keep doing this as long as I have fun. If it ever gets to the point where I say to myself, `I have to ride today,' and I don't get excited about it, then I'll stop."
Sheila has been told by adults that she is more mature than most others her age. "I think that comes from meeting and knowing so many people through my family and their work," she said. "Riding gives you a lot of responsibility, too. When you get on the horse, and they're good horses, it's a serious thing."
Sheila will be in the outdoor ring at the civic center again this morning, then she will head home and prepare for another show next week. While horses are her passion, she also likes tennis and swimming. But will she reach her dream of Grand Prix competition?
Only time will tell.
"If she wants to do it, we'll certainly support her," Sheila's mother said. "I think she'd have to be 17 or 18. At her size, she could ride ponies a long time.
"She's a natural athlete. She's good on a horse. She's very natural, and she loves to compete."
by CNB