Clovermeade Heartthrob and Grace Stenbeck-Werner Win USEF Grand Regular Pony Hunter National Championship

Lexington, KY – August 8, 2026 – Each year, the best of the best travel to the Kentucky Horse Park for the USEF Pony Finals, presented by Marshall + Sterling. On Saturday, competition came to a close in the Rolex Stadium, and the USEF Grand Regular Pony Hunter National Championship was crowned. Small pony Clovermeade Heartthrob, a 10-year-old Welsh Pony Cross mare (Clovercrofts Hero of the Heart x Currituck Glory Be), owned by the Robertson Family LLC, and rider Grace Stenbeck-Werner (North Salem, N.Y.) returned center ring to accept the honors after earning a total score of 1057.62 in their division.

“It means a lot to be Grand Champion, especially with [Clovermeade Heartthrob], who I love so much,” expressed Stenbeck-Werner. “I think she’s kind of been waiting for her moment, and this feels like her moment, so I’m really happy.”

Stenbeck-Werner continued, “This year, I put less pressure on myself coming in. My goal was to go in there and have a solid round, rather than putting too much pressure on myself to win. I think going in there and trying to focus on my riding really helped overall.”

Trainer Maddie Flocks has been working with Stenbeck-Werner at Swede Ventures for four years and said, “It is amazing. We got [Clovermeade Heartthrob] about two years ago, and she’s never let us down. It’s taken a bit to make everything come together, but last year and this year have been amazing – they really bonded and have had a successful partnership.”

Flocks concluded, “Grace is an awesome student. She tries really hard. She’s always wanting to learn and do the next thing to progress her riding and be competitive. She’s a great competitor as well as a great student.”

Regular Medium Pony National Championship

The Regular Medium Ponies were the last to show in the Rolex Stadium, with 158 ponies competing in the final over fences phase. Lilly Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) was in the lead aboard The King Of Hearts, a 10-year-old Welsh Pony gelding (Alexandro H. x Mezennest’s Miss Beauty) owned by R & R Hunter Horses LLC, heading into the final phase. The duo had a beautiful over fences round and was rewarded with a score of 526.52 for an overall score of 1052.69, securing the USEF Regular Medium Pony Hunter National Championship, as well as the Reserve Grand Regular Pony Hunter National Championship.

This is Ward’s fifth trip to the USEF Pony Finals, but the first time that she has earned a championship tricolor. “It’s really exciting,” she smiled. “I’ve only had [The King of Hearts] for about eight months, so it’s a pretty new partnership, and he’s still quite young, so it’s really exciting to be champion here on him.”

As the last to show, Ward knew that the pressure was on, but was ready to tackle the challenge, saying, “I was really nervous, but I also really wanted to win, so I was nervous, but also excited.”

Ward loves having the opportunity to compete at the USEF Pony Finals, concluding, “I like that everyone’s here, and I like how there’s one jumping round – it puts the pressure on!”

The reserve championship honors in the regular medium ponies went to Lacey Powers (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and True Story, a 13-year-old German Riding Pony gelding owned by Morgan Stewart, who finished with an overall score of 1049.47. Rounding out the top three was Ava Stryk (The Plains, Va.) and Foxmor Secret Powers, a 15-year-old Welsh Cross gelding (Empire’s Power x Foxmor Fanfair) owned by Blue Star Equestrian, with an overall score of 1042.44.

While the Pony Hunters have come to an end, the 2026 USEF Pony Finals, presented by Marshall and Sterling, will conclude Sunday at 7 am in the Alltech Arena with the highly anticipated USEF Pony Medal Final.