 August
2008
It's Hard To Believe
It’s hard to believe it’s been more than
10 years since our family first became involved with
POA’s. Andrew had just turned three when
Anne Demirjian convinced us to go to Eulah Gahwilers
for riding lessons. His first lessons took place
on an all white thirtysomething year old pony named Stranger. This
experience led us on a five year search for the perfect
pony that, of course, just had to be all white. Avitar’s
Skip A Star came into our lives and our great search
finally stopped. Andrew finished his 8 & Under
years with Digger and took her through all of his 9 – 12
years. They have had many good times and many challenging
times but 2007 was truly an incredible year. Andrew
and Digger finished first in the nation in 5 different
classes and won the 9 – 12 Equitation Highpoint. Now
that Andrew has moved into the 13 – 18 group, he
has started riding his new pony, A Sudden Star, also
known as Diesel. Diesel happens to be Diggers baby
and we hope that someday Diesel will become as great
as his mother.
Madison’s first riding experience, also at about
age three, was at Sara Tupper’s place. She
wasn’t nearly as particular as Andrew about which
pony she rode, she just wanted to ride. With the
help of Sara and the Franklin family, we purchased One
Cute S and Madison began her leadline career. Madison
and Q had a great time together and won numerous state
and national awards. Then along came Skippy (He’s
Intensified). I think Madison fell in love the
minute she saw him. The first year they were together,
they ended up in first place in the nation in four classes
and won the 8 & Under Equitation Highpoint. Each
year since then, their relationship has grown and in
2007, they won 3 first places in the same day at International. Skippy
is truly a remarkable pony and Madison has a great future
to look forward to with him.
We have made so many friends over the years and have
had so many experiences. There have been tire blowouts,
tornados, lame ponies, kids with broken arms and broken
legs, bad directions, good judges, bad judges, disgusting
hotel rooms, delicious cookouts, and a whole lot of fun. We
have so many people to thank for helping us out over
the years: Tom Walmsley, Kenny O’Hara and
Cathy Harner, thank you for putting up with all of the
forgotten patterns, the missed lead changes, and the
bad attitudes. And thank you for always being there
when we’ve needed you. Thank you to the Lukens,
Bannings Verplank, Schoppa, Somerville, Gahwiler, Payne,
and Demirjian families for loaning us a pony when we’ve
needed one. Thanks to the Tuppers, Franklins, Cannons,
Richardsons, Sloans and Gahwilers for lessons, helping
us find ponies, and so many other things. Last,
but not least, we want to thank Andrew and Madison’s
grandparents, Terri and Alan, for all their support throughout
these years. They are the only family members who
seem to understand this crazy hobby of ours, and can
see the value in what it has taught all of us. It’s
been an incredible ten years, and we hope there are many
more to come.
The Bandler Family
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Pony Of The Americas Club, Inc.