Memorial Day at Devon; A Recap of Day Five

First responders and veterans pose for a photo after the Tribute to Heroes Ceremony (Andrew McKeough | AKSM Photography)

With a beautiful Memorial Day, the Devon Horse Show pays tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country

Article by Thomas Zaffalon (Sports Writer, AKSM Sports)

DEVON, PA - Memorial Day at the Horse Show has come and gone and with it so has an extremely eventful day, with events in jumping, hunting, and even seven driving events. The weather was phenomenal with an average temperature of 82 degrees, reasonable humidity, and absolutely no rain.

As is tradition at the Horse Show on Memorial Day, all military personnel and first responders and their families enjoyed free admission and special seating for the day. They were also honored at 6:30 PM during the Tribute to Heroes along with the dogs that won the Halo Award.

The day started off with 7 Green Hunter events, 6 of them with $2500 in prize money on the line. In the 3'6" event, Scott Stewart of Wellington, Florida competed with three different horses. Throughout the course of the show he will compete with a total of 12 horses, an mind-boggling number considering most of the riders at the Horse Show have at most 2 or 3 horses.

The adult amateur jumping championship came down to two riders, Lexi Maouins and her horse Roos and Stephanie King and her horse Co-Starr. Maouins came out first but finished second behind King and Co-Starr. Maouins, of Jupiter, Florida, still has the Adult Amateur jumper nom where she will be using both of her horses, Co-Starr and Levistano.

The driving events were numerous, but were for the most part in the late afternoon. The main event in carriages was the Single/Pair Pony Championship which came down to riders Lisa Koehler and Rebekah Robinson. Koehler, a Telford PA native, finished second with her carriage "Saylor Wagon" as Rebekah Robinson and her "Saylor Wagon" took home 1st place for their owner, Mrs. Collin McNeil.

While the main events of the day were a bit lackluster, the day as a whole was very entertaining and sweet. The Memorial day festivities were touching and it seemed for every boring event there was an equally entertaining event. Now all that's left to hope for is for a great Grand Prix on Thursday and for good weather throughout the week, though it hasn't been on our side as of late.

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.