France will be sending its two youngest pony team members to the international pony competition at de Ijsselhallen in Zwolle, The Netherlands, this week. With many members of last year's team moving on to horses it is the turn of the younger riders to carry the colours of the bleu-blanc-rouge.
Both riders bring stallions, 12-year old Morgane Euriat the 1996 born Selle Français pony Italic des Landes (by River des Landes) and 11-year old Clarissa Rufin the German Reitpony Dacapo 154 (by Dressman I). The ponies have plenty of international experience, Italic having competed in three European Championships under Alexia Ducos-Blanchet of France, and Dacapo in three European Championships under Aleksandra Piatkowska for the Polish team.
Both girls are from strong equitation backgrounds. Morgane's parents Michelle and Jean-Pierre have been deeply involved in the Selle Francais breed and Michelle is an eventing rider. Clarissa's mother Carolyn Stickland (Lyn) runs a large riding school near Geneva and competes at St Georges level while father David Stickland is the scientist behind the dressage judging and performance analysis used by the FEI and discussed at recent Global Dressage Forums.
These girls are also all-rounders, Clarissa having been pony driving (2006) and jumping (2008) champion of France on her Shetlands Kazimir and Chocapic des Solans; Morgane has been twice eventing champion of France on her pony Gentil in 2008 and 2009. Morgane trains with her parents and Marina van den Berghe while Clarissa is coached by her mother Lyn and also gets tutoring the last two years at Dressurstal van Baalen from Marlies, Coby and Marrigje.
Last summer the two girls went to observe the pinnacle of pony sport: The European Pony Championships; this time at Bishop Burton (Morgane was French team reserve rider). Over the Christmas break the girls were at Saumur to meet with the new pony Chef d'Equipe Alizee Froment and the other French Pony team members. The young team has no delusions: it's going to be a tough job eventually matching the performance of the Dutch and German teams with their years of experience at the top, but these riders have many years ahead of them and that's their target.
Their challenge starts this week in Zwolle.
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