FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013 105
pony Rofantina’s Oliver Twist, under the guidance of Holly.
When Annie turned 10, she got her large pony, Sandler, who
took her to Harrisburg in 2010. “The following Christmas I got my
mare Ofrenda as a surprise,” Annie said, adding that she has been
showing in the children’s jumpers on Ofrenda since then. In 2012,
Annie and Ofrenda placed 11th at the Washington International
Horse Show in the Children’s Jumper Finals and were part of the
silver medal jumper team for the USHJA regional championships.
They placed fourth individually, having five out of seven rounds
clean.
Annie’s goal for the rest of the year is to compete Ofrenda at
indoors. “I’m looking for a new mount I can eventually move up to
the high juniors and compete at NAJYRC.”
Annie dabbled in the hunter world recently with her horse’s
first offspring, Homeboy, in the junior hunters and the equitation.
However, Annie finds her heart in the jumper ring and looks
forward to expanding her career in that area. “I have been very,
very fortunate to have my
parents support me like they
do and to have such amazing
trainers like Holly and Dani. I
couldn’t do any of this without
them.”
About the writer: Katherine
Martin is an aspiring photo journalist
beginning her senior year at Franklin
High School in El Paso, Texas.
She competes on her two horses,
a children’s hunter, Flint Hill, and a
young jumper, Ikon. Visit the Sidelines
Facebook page to see Katherine’s
great photos.
Annie, on Ofrenda, with her trainer Dani Grice at the Brownland
Farm Show.
By Katherine Martin
Summer showing in South Carolina turned out to be a great
experience for Annie Bolling of Fairhope, Alabama. During
the 2013 Charleston Summer Classic Horse Show,
Sidelines
Magazine partnered with the show and offered a “Design a Hunter
Derby Course” contest. Annie rode away with the prize and had a
chance to be a course designer for a day.
The sophomore at Bayside Academy in Daphne, Alabama
worked alongside the show’s official course designer, Allen
Rheinheimer. Allen is known for his intense and intricate courses,
so Annie was in for a real treat. “At first I was a little lost, but he
was really patient and explained everything very clearly,” Annie
said.
Allen’s instructions on course design included ensuring that the
judge had a good view, making sure all of the jumps were the
correct height and building a course that could be be performed in
a smooth ride. Allen took everything Annie had in mind on paper
and made it possible on course.
“I have ridden many of Allen’s courses and hopefully will [ride
more] in the future,” Annie said. “I think this also will help me be
able to understand why course designers set a course the way
they do.”
While actually designing a course was new to Annie, she has
become more familiar with course designers and their methods.
Since moving from the pony ring into the jumper world, she has
learned to pay closer attention to the technicalities of the courses.
Now equipped with a passion for riding courses and the
knowledge of how to create them, Annie is even considering
course design as a career. “I have never considered designing
courses as a profession until now. It’s a fun way to keep me in the
horse industry, which is where I want to be.”
Annie has been riding horses since she was little, getting her
first pony when she was five-years-old. Annie boards her horses
at Accolade Farms in Grand Bay, Alabama and rides with trainers
Dani Grice and Holly Shepherd. She spent two years competing
in local shows before moving up to the small green ponies on her
Annie On Course
e
Annie and Ofrenda
on course.
Annie works with Allen Rheinheimer, the Charleston Summer
Classic Horse Show official course designer, as she learns how
to design a hunter derby course as the winner of the Sidelines
Magazine Charleston Summer Classic “Design a Hunter Derby
Course” contest.
