Lexington, KY – August 6, 2025 –The massive class of more than 150 medium green hunters took their turn over fences, and at the end of the day, it was Best Sport, a 2018 Warmblood gelding shown and owned by Charlotte Morassutti (Toronto, Ont.) taking the blue in the jumping phase. Paris Charm, a 2008 Welsh Pony mare owned by JJ Torano and shown by Logan Baras (Greenwich, Conn.) finished in second place over fences while On Your Mark, a 2008 Welsh Pony gelding owned by Sweet Oak Farm and shown by Finley Baras (Bedford Corners, Conn.) placed third.
The win in the jumping along with top-ten finishes in both the model and under saddle phases earned Best Sport (Best Boy x Feine Maus) and Morassutti the overall championship for the medium regular division. After a top-ten finish in the medium green division at last year’s Pony Finals, securing the tricolor was a huge achievement for the pair.
“He’s really fun,” said Morassutti. “He’s very brave; he just goes over anything. He likes a lot of leg, but once you get him going, he’s pretty good. He’s gotten way better [since last year] and I wasn’t as good. I would push him past some distances and he would skip across the ground, but now I just stay calm, and he’s so much better about deeper distances and making them look really nice.”
Morassutti makes the trip down from Canada every few weeks to train with Sam Schaefter at shows and at Shadow Ridge Farm in Maryland, where “Bestie” lives. In the weeks leading up to Pony Finals, they practiced big courses, with challenging distances and jumps to be prepared for whatever they might face in the show ring. Before she went in the ring for her round today, she says her trainers told her, “to stay focused. They said, ‘You’re really good at making the distances, so just go in and do what you do most rounds, and have fun.’”
Earning the reserve champion honors was Heartfirst (Clovercroft Polarized x Sassafras Creek), a 2017 Welsh Pony Cross owned by Bibby Hill and Donald Stewart and leased and shown by Penelope Sugg. Sugg is a fellow Shadow Ridge rider, and had top ten finishes in the under saddle and over fences phases on the way to earning their overall reserve.