As Day Three of Devon Begins, Competition Hits Close to Home

A junior rider prepares for her turn in the prestigious Dixon Oval at Devon (Andrew McKeough | AKSM Photography)

With beautiful skies in above Devon, Conestoga senior student Grace Bendl took to the Dixon Oval, competing in four different events

Article by Thomas Zaffalon (Sports Writer)

DEVON, PA - Saturday was a calm day for the horse show, at least concerning the weather. The heat never went above 74 degrees and never dropped below 50, giving everyone a nice break from the cycle of thunderstorms and blazing heat. The weather allowed for all 23 events in the Dixon oval to be ran fully and efficiently.

In competition, local high school rider Grace Bendl from Conestoga High School in Berwyn competed in 4 events, placing 5th overall in the $1000 Children's jumper event and winning $90 of prize money as a result. This was her first time competing in the Horse Show, and her last time riding in the junior division. Grace will be attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall.
In the $20,000 Junior show jumping Hall of Fame event, Tanner Korotkin and his two horses, Armageddon and Analyze This, placed 2nd and 3rd respectively with Sophie Steckbeck and her horse Alania taking home 1st place. However, Korotkin wasn't the only rider to place multiple times with different horses in the event. Alexandra Pielet, Ned Cunniffe, Paige Matthies, and Elizabeth Lang all placed twice in the event.

There were also 7 Championship Hunter events, with 2 of them being the overall large junior Hunter champion, which went to Augusta Iwasaki and her horse Small Affair, and the overall small junior Hunter champion, which went to Mimi Gochman and her horse Nevermore. Gochman, a native of Palm Beach Florida, also competed in the junior show jumping Hall of fame event but was disqualified after an incident with her horse in the ring.

As some of the events start to draw to a close for the week, new events are beginning as everyone is looking forward to the carriage contest on Sunday the 26th.

Click here to purchase tickets to the 2019 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair.

Thomas Zaffalon joined the AKSM photography team in the spring of 2018 as an intern sports writer. Thomas covers Villanova Athletics and excels in writing about basketball, football and baseball. Click Here to Contact Thomas Zaffalon.