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Community Corner

Leesburg Rider Competes in National Pony Championship

Ana Bertozzi heads to the finals for the first time with plenty of support from her home farm.

Every year hundreds of riders and ponies across the country head to Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, for the U.S. Equestrian Federation National Pony Finals. This year, Leesburg resident Ana Bertozzi, a fifth-grade student at Creightons Corner Elementary qualified to compete in the prestigious event, which runs Aug. 9-14.

Ana qualified to compete in the USEF Equitation Class as well as the Green Medium Pony Hunter Division. Currently, Ana ranks No. 11 in the national green hunter-medium division, having competed in 14 competitions and earned 1889 points.  

Ana has been riding at Cavallo Farm in Leesburg, VA since she was 5. Her father, Michael Bertozzi, owns Cavallo Farm along with wife, Marie, and serves as Ana’s trainer. The farm has been in business in Loudoun County since 1996. Cavallo is a competition-oriented facility, offering boarding, lessons and a training program that specializes in hunt-seat equitation. The farm is located on Evergreen Mills Road near the Ryan Road intersection and the Brambleton Town Center.

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This year marks Ana’s first time in the five-day championship, where more than 400 young riders and their mounts compete. She will be riding La Wicked Temptress owned by Henriette Borst.

"Ana has worked really hard this year, forming a relationship with the pony she is riding," says Michael Bertozzi said. He has been to pony finals many times before with other riders, but never with his daughter. 

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"The entire barn is behind her and wishing her luck,” he said. “We have a boarder who created unique ribbons for her to wear in her hair when she competes and others who are going down to Kentucky to share the experience and support her," Marie Bertozzi said.

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