When Makenna Nastri and her pony Spotlight weren’t dressed to the nines to compete in the medium pony hunters, they were cantering up and down the hills beyond the barns at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 13

The U.S. Pony Jumper final individual round couldn’t have had a more exciting finish Saturday when after four rounds of competition, the top three riders finished on a tied score. That called for a jump-off to determine who walked away with the gold, silver and bronze hardware.

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 13

Before the awards for the medium pony hunters ended Lynn Jayne’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Her daughter Natalie had just piloted Hannah Bernstein’s Woodlands Stevie Ray to the championship ahead of Hunter Champey and News Flash, and since the Bernsteins were in Chicago, they’d watched everything on the live stream.

“I’m sure they’re very excited,” said Lynn. “I’m sure that’s why they’re calling me right now.”

Lexington, Ky.—August 12

Just down the driveway from the pony hunter ring at U.S. Pony Finals there is another world of pony sport taking place: pony jumpers. No slow winding tracks over brush filled fences here—you can hear the pitter-pat of small pony hooves flying across the footing, their jocks calling out series of ‘whoahs’ and clucks, and the jumps are wider and taller than most of the ponies.