Staff report
Samantha Majors, of Cleveland recently received the “Nunn Finer in Carolina” Series Champion Award for the Novice Eventing Division.
This is a series of US Eventing Association recognized Eventing competitions held in North Carolina at four of the premier facilities during the Spring Eventing season.
Eventing is a three-phase equestrian sport where the participants perform a Dressage Test, a Cross Country Jumping phase, and a Stadium Jumping test. It is one of the Olympic Equestrian Disciplines at its highest level.
The award was presented to Majors at the final competition in the series, the Longleaf Pines Horse Trial held at the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford. She was presented with a trophy halter and set of horse boots.
Majors earned the series championship by earning the most points of all the competitors who entered at least two of the four competitions. She and her horse “How’ Bout Irish” placed first in Dressage and first overall.
She placed third in Dressage and second overall at the Ark Horse Trials in Monroe.
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Majors is an honor-roll student at Clearview Christian Academy. She is a member of the South River Bend Pony Club where she has her USPC (United States Pony Club) C-3 rating. She has been riding and competing most of her life, entering her first pony in local open shows at the age of two.
Her short-term plans include accepting an invitation to become an apprentice with two-time Olympic medalist Kim Severson during the summer.
Her long-term goals include attaining her “A” rating through USPC and competing at the highest levels of Eventing, eventually becoming a professional trainer and instructor.
In addition to competing in area horse trials and shows, she also competes regularly in the USPC Carolina Region Rallies in the disciplines of Show Jumping, Eventing, Dressage, and Polocrosse, as well as in other local equestrian eventing and jumping competitions.
She represented the Carolina Region last year at the Pony Club National Championships in Lexington, Va., playing Polocrosse. She and her team took second place overall and first place in Horse Management.
So far this season she has earned places on the region’s National Championships teams for both Show Jumping and Eventing, but is hoping to qualify once again in Polocrosse for the USPC Championships.
That qualifying rally will be held later in May, with the USPC Championships to be held in July.