Girls achieve first horse certification

Bayview Farms Pony Club Riding Center in Johnson Lane announced the certification of Bailey Brown, 7, Briezy Caron, 10, Madelynn Hodgkins, 7, and Taylor Undercoffler, 16, from Unrated to D-1 at testing held on March 7.

To earn the certification, the girls passed an examination that tested horsemanship skills and equine knowledge.

They joined Pony Club in 2020, and this was their first certification, riding one of the Bayview Farms horses, ranging in age from 22 to 27. Pony Club has given these old show horses another chance to give the gift of teaching kids the basics, there by adding more purpose and happiness to their retirements. With some of them needing stools to stand on to reach the top of their mounts for brushing, these young riders can groom and tack up the horses independently, ride in control at the walk and trot, as well as tell you about the parts of the horse, bridle, and saddle, and proper cooling out of their mount after exercising.

Each of the Pony Club certification levels is more difficult than the preceding one, and requires Pony Club members to learn more about horses and their care and to become increasingly accomplished riders and teachers to younger members. The top certification level is the A level and is reached by fewer than one in 300. It denotes throughout the international horse industry a highly competent and knowledgeable horseperson.

The leader of Bayview Farms Pony Club Riding Center is Kelly Lancellotti of South Lake Tahoe. The Center is located in upper Johnson Lane and owned by Cori Rosa, a hunter, jumper, and equitation trainer with 35 years of experience. The center opened in 2019, and has four other members certified at D-1, studying for their next certifications, and a C-2 member planning to take her first national level certification later this year, who teaches most of the horse management topics. Four members own their own horses and ponies. Along with an emphasis on helping its members learn to ride and care for horses, Pony Club promotes teamwork, a sense of responsibility, safety, good moral judgment and self-confidence.

For more information about Bayview Farms Pony Club Riding Center, contact Lancellotti at (530) 416-2735 or Rosa at (775) 721-7318.