Sterling Malnik and Rockette captured the Handy victory in the 3’3” Large Junior Hunter, 15 and under, section to clinch championship honors during the Adequan/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships - East, held at the Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg, Michigan.
The pair also placed second in the Classic round and fifth in the under saddle for the national championship title on August 22.
“I was really pleased and impressed with Sterling,” said trainer Bill Schaub. “They prepare their own horses, and she was up early in the morning riding and getting her horses ready. I’m so proud of her. She had to do all the preparation herself, and her Small Junior got good ribbons, too.”
Sterling and Rockette started off strongly, tying for first in the Classic over fences and claiming the red ribbon after the tiebreaker score was taken into account. Sterling then returned determined to claim that blue ribbon in the Handy aboard the 12-year-old warmblood mare.
“Her Handy round was unbelievable,” said Bill. “She went in there and did all of the hard options and inside turns. She took the risks! She went into win. We came to win and wanted to win, and she pulled it off.
“Those courses were really hard, too, and not like anything she’d seen before,” he added. “It was quite a feat for her to do that.”
Sterling, 13, of Ocean Ridge, Florida, has been training with Bill at Over The Hill Farm for two years and since she was on Medium ponies. This is a transition year for Sterling; her ponies are all for sale as she’s moving on to riding horses exclusively.
“She’s a cool customer,” said Bill of Sterling. “And she really loves her horses—that’s No. 1. She wants to ride them all every day, and she hangs out with them at the barn. She loves the competition, but she’s never a crybaby when things don’t go right. She may be disappointed, but she takes responsibility and knows it ultimately lies in her hands. She’s a great kid.”
Sterling and Rockette currently lead the USEF National standings in the 3’3” Large Junior, 15 and under, section and while in Michigan also earned the section championships during the Great Lakes Equestrian I and II shows.
Aboard Coronation, Sterling finished fifth overall in the 3’3” Small Junior, 15 and under, section after placing fourth under saddle, fifth in the Classic and seventh in the Handy.
This fall, Sterling will aim her hunters for the Capital Challenge and the National Horse Show. She’s also qualified for the Hamel Medal Finals and has started competing in the Children’s Jumpers.
She’ll soon be showing her newest acquisition, In Writing, who just swept the 3’6” Green Hunters with Kelley Farmer at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show last month.
