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| Mounted Games Across America |
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Mid Atlantic Games Series #2 Results
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The weather was pretty good, and the competition excellent at the 2007 Mid Atlantic 2, held April 28-29 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Ranson, WV. Eight masters teams, two novice teams and three training pairs wended their way to the Fairgrounds, through the maze of new development and new roads that have sprung up around Ranson in the last year. Once all teams found their way in, the competition began. This Mid Atlantic saw the debut of new technology in the form of a large green start light, set up at the C line end of the arena, to be used instead of the starters flag. Some riders did not care for it, some liked it, but most admitted it made the starts more fair – and there was little line jumping. For Sunday the standing start was modified to a walking start, and this seemed to fit the bill exactly. Much thanks to Pete Brown for his hard work in refining the start procedure to 21st century standards. The training division showcased the up and coming ponies for some very experienced competitors. It’ll be interesting to see if these ponies make the cut, and become strong Masters mounts. Two good young novice teams, Thunderbolts and Talladega Nights, battled to a one point differential after the two Saturday sessions, but Talladega Nights took the win with good play on Sunday, when the Thunderbolts were bedeviled by some pony behavior problems. Both of these teams showed the foundations of good games skills, and it’s wonderful to see our younger teams out there trying out their stuff. Later sessions allowed the little dogs to watch the big dogs air it out, and comments to the effect of “How do they go so fast?” were heard from the sidelines. Talladega Nights went home with nice new hay bags for winning their division, in addition to spiffy striped blue ribbons. Masters teams seem to pick up and change riders fairly often, and this weekend was a case in point. Teams formed around core players, and some teams opted to ride with only four for this competition, which can be risky. Riders who haven’t been out in the arena in some time joined those who play as often as possible, and it was fun to watch those combinations. Special kudos to R Vit and M Lawrence, who came out of retirement (?) to ride in a full blown masters competition with only a couple days or a few hours notice. Maybe they’ve been hooked once more, and we’ll see them out again this year. The Pink Spiders team, with additional traveling companion and rider J Maddox (Nobodies), came up from South Carolina for the second in time in two weeks to ride at this competition. MidAtlantic riders should try to support the Southern Comfort Competition hosted by this group in the spring and fall of the year. Also making the long trip was D Sargent, who came up to fill in the Hit and Run team, in place of A Cone, away at the Prince Phillip Cup competition. Certain teams looked very strong on Saturday, and the stage was set for good B and A finals on Sunday. The Pink Spiders took the B final in the end, but the Mean Green Lima Beans were only ONE point behind. However, the Spiders took the B division prize of saddle pads home with them. The Nobodies and the short notice Rapiddash team both had some great moments during the final. The A final was hotly contested, as it often is, and the Hit and Run team and Punk Rock Ponies shared first place finishes fairly evenly, with Crash snagging a couple of firsts. The telling difference was where the teams placed when not first. PRP usually managed second, but Hit and Run had a few more problems and dropped to third or fourth several times. Crash, while playing with the all out style and speed this team is known for, had a series of errors that unfortunately affected their point total. Fast Forward played a very steady game, but didn’t quite have the overall speed of the other teams, and unfortunately lost one player due to injury during the competition. Best wishes to K Lawrence for a quick recovery. In the end, PRP took the A final and the lovely prizes of blue plaid stable sheets. Thanks to ALL who assisted with this weekend in any way – especially Sharon Brown, scorer, DJ, announcer, equipment lender, MGAA gear hauler; Ed Welniak, equipment crew chief (and he never lost his temper once! Even when the organizer asked him to repaint the A and C lines every other race! He did say no, though.); Claudia Stewart, A line judge; Stacey Calhoun, referee for the Novice division and TD; Diane Hickok, who ran the MGAA store; the Calhoun/Whitehair clan, who ran the food booth, and most of all, thanks to all of the players and parents who volunteered as line judges, equipment crew and anything else needed AND who came out to enjoy a weekend of MOUNTED GAMES – the best equestrian sport going! Anita Vassallo, Co-Organizer, Mid Atlantic 2
Training Division
Novice Division
Masters Division
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