THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702160116
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 71 lines
A horse may be a horse (of course, of course), but what a rider is - well, that's a whole other bale of hay.
Some 80-plus equestrians, ages 7 to 20, proved that Saturday when they competed in the U.S. Pony Club Inc.'s annual statewide ``Know-Down'' at First Colonial High School.
Nine horse clubs from the state - from as close as Pungo to as far away as Staunton - came to the Beach to participate in the mostly oral competition, which quizzes riders on all aspects of horsemanship.
The range of questions in the Know-Down includes veterinary care, rules for rallies and breeds and colors, which makes it kind of like the SAT of the horse world.
``The Pony Club tries to promote overall well-roundedness in the riders,'' said Claire Zieman, USPC national examiner and chief judge for the event.
Divided into teams of two, three and four - and divisions based on age and level - competitors took over eight classrooms, armed with nothing but their memories. The only thing they knew was that questions would come from reference materials such as the USPC's ``Manual of Horsemanship,'' ``Horse Management Handbook'' and ``Standards of Proficiency.''
Individuals answer these questions, and collaboration is allowed only during a ``grab bag'' round.
In Room 304, a math classroom marked by four yellow paper horseshoes, Zieman judged the Junior Cs' competition. Biting their lips and twirling their hair, two teams of teen-age girls, representing clubs such as Glenmore Hunt from Staunton and Rockbridge Hunt from Lexington, tried to tune in on Zieman's comforting advice.
``Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and don't think about the 15 seconds you have,'' she said to the girls, who had been cramming all morning. ``I know you've studied hard to be here, so I want you to tell me everything you know. Let's relax and have some fun.''
Relaxing wasn't easy for many. Some were facing the pressure of qualifying for the national competition this summer. Others were just antsy about the structure: having to stand up to give answers; being at the mercy of the judge, room steward, time and score keepers; and knowing a tape recorder was preserving every word.
Points could be deducted for everything from not wearing the USPC pin (one point) to talking during competition (up to 30 points for the first infraction).
``You can learn a lot of stuff,'' said Renata Huffman, 12, a seventh-grader at Maury River Middle School in Lexington, ``but it can be nerve-racking.''
``The first question is always the hardest,'' added Lindsey Cline, 12, a seventh-grader at Stewart Middle School in Fort Defiance.
Minutes into the first round, they knew it was going to be OK. ``I'm on their side,'' said Zieman, who, like most judges, read the correct answers when respondents were wrong.
``They take it very seriously.''
After a break and a second round, Zieman's group was among the first to sign out.
``We might have lost,'' Mary B. McLaughlin, 13, an eighth-grader at Maury River, said to her teammates.
``But at least we can say we got second place.''
Local club members were equally spirited.
``You make a lot of friends,'' said Katie Zyra, 14, a ninth-grader at Chesapeake's Hickory High School. ``And the ribbons are big.''
Added teammate Nicole Cimo, 13, an eighth-grader at Princess Anne Middle School: ``It's helpful, too. If your horse gets sick, you don't freak out. You know what to do because you've studied it.''
Whether they won or not, participants left the contest knowing a little more about horse care, and they had a good time, too.
``It's fun for me,'' added Molly Atthowe, 13, an eighth-grader at Lylburn Downing Middle School in Lexington. ``If it's not fun, it's not worth doing.''