Kathy Viele and Matariki. Photos by Diana De Rosa.
It was another exciting day at Southern 8ths Farm for the So8ths/Nikon Three-Day Event in the “Heart of the Carolinas,” on Saturday, May 4. Beginner Novice, Novice and Training level riders challenged a course designed by well-known course designer Tremaine Cooper and built by Tyson Rementer.
Leading the way in the Beginner Novice division after combining both their Dressage and Cross-Country scores were Kathy Viele and Matariki with their low score of 33.40. This was Kathy’s first time at Southern 8ths Farm and she was pleased. “This is one of the nicest venues. More people should know about this,” commented Kathy. As a longtime Eventer, Kathy was also pleased with all that she learned from her fellow competitors.
Novice rider Sarah Zimmer and Mardi Gras held onto their lead claimed after the Dressage after negotiating and fault free Cross-Country (30.70). After Sarah came off the course for the second year in a row her beaming smile was evident. “I love the course,” she noted. “This event is so well organized.”
Taking over the lead in Beginner Novice was Sara Miles riding Misty’s RainDrop with her score of 37.80.
Once the riders took the time to ensure their horses were comfortable they started to prep for Sunday’s Show Jumping by walking the course with the course designer Marc Donovan.
That evening they enjoyed a barbeque filled with a variety of contests including a fun Nikon Photo Contest where competitors used Nikon consigned cameras to take pictures that had to include the words Nikon in the image.
There was also a special Sponsor Hat Contest where each person showcased one of the sponsors on their hats and enjoyed displaying their hats in a dancing parade. Wendy McCaughan of Kanteq, one of the sponsors, was also a winner in the hat contest for her own sponsor hat creation.
The special event of the evening was the choosing of who would be the winner of the Volunteer Competitor Special Prize. Those present were asked to put the name of volunteers they felt went above and beyond. From those names Southern 8ths Farm owner Brad Turley held the bucket from which the final winner was pulled. The camera was handed to a well-deserved Gay Glenn who was shocked but thrilled.
Sunday, May 5 is the final day of this year’s event. After Show Jumping the final winners will be named and be presented with a Nikon D3200 Camera Kit as well as numerous other sponsored gifts.
To keep up with what is happening, visit these links: www.so8ths.com, www.facebook.com/so8ths; http://www.youtube.com/user/So8ths/; for photos check out the 2013 folder at www.tinyurl.com/presslink-so8ths.