THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9409210163
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN GORDON, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Two members of the Indian Point Equine 4-H Club are going for a state championship at the State Fair of Virginia 4-H show in Richmond this week.
Cindy Walker, 15, is participating in the hunter pony division, and Melissa Jo Harris, 12, is in the hunter pleasure category. The events began Tuesday and will continue through Saturday.
A student at Nansemond River High, Walker has won hundreds of horse show ribbons during her eight-year equestrienne career. A highlight in her life, though, came Christmas of 1992 when she opened the door to find Danny Martin, her trainer, standing there holding Fortune Teller, a paint overo horse that Walker had helped train since she was a 4-month old filly.
As a team, they have won some major titles this year, including District 4-H hunter pony champion, Tri-City schooling jumper year end champion, Tri-City intermediate equitation year end champion and Sleepy Hole horse show grand champion.
Harris attends Windsor Middle School and has been in 4-H for two years. Southern Gentleman, a purebred Arabian gelding, is her project horse, and like Walker, they have been training under Martin at Indian Point Stables in Suffolk.
Some of her wins include reserve year end champion open pleasure, Tri-City beginner hunter champion and reserve champion children's pleasure.
The Indian Point Equine 4-H Club has members from Suffolk, Smithfield, Zuni, Ivor and Franklin. Started last February with only seven members, it has already grown to 23 members.
A month later, the Tri-City Horse Show Association was formed by the alliance of five area stables: Acquibob Arabians, Cherry Point Stables, Discover Arabians, Indian Point Stables and Sleepy Hole Stables.
They host horse shows that are open to all types of horses and ages of riders. There is a series of 15 shows per year and high point award winners will be honored at the association's November banquet.
In a Sept. 11 show at Indian Point Stables, Walker rode Fortune Teller to the reserve championship in the children's hunter and the schooling jumper classes. Harris was champion in the beginner hunter equitation and reserve champion in the junior equitation on the flat.
Other results were:
Children's hunter: champion - Rockafeller and Kerry Wyse.
Local hunter: champion - Rockafeller and Wyse.
Arabian hunter: champion - Siraleer and Sarah Smith; reserve champion - Dahn's Destiny and Sara Johnson.
Beginner hunter equitation: champion - Melissa Jo Harris; reserve champion - Rachel Prince.
Open pleasure: champion - Rockafeller and Kerry Wyse; reserve champion - Dahn's Destiny and Johnson.
Junior pleasure: champion: ABF Painted Fire and Amanda Bullock.
Walk-trot equitation: champion - Ashley Lawson; reserve champion - Meghan Harrington.
Junior equitation on the flat: champion - Leslie Cox.
Baby green pleasure: champion - Northern Exposure and Marge Savage.
Grand champion: Rockafeller and Wyse. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Cindy Walker, 15, at right and above, takes Fortune Teller over the
poles during practice at Indian Point Stables in Suffolk. Walker
will be competing in the hunter pony division at the State Fair.
Melissa Jo Harris, 12, waits her turn on the jumps with Southern
Gentleman. She's competing in the hunter pleasure category.
by CNB