By Britney Grover
Portraits by Lindsay McCall
When Audrina McCall made her Pony Finals debut at 8 years old in 2023, she was the youngest rider in the Green Pony Hunters division—and she was riding the oldest pony: New Moon, aka Willie. “He was 17 years old and only had one eye; he was a pony everyone said would never qualify for Pony Finals,” Audrina said.
Audrina had brought Willie along herself the year before Pony Finals; he was feisty and far from easy, but it didn’t deter her. “Willie used to just refuse—take off and buck me off,” she said. “I had to develop him. And I had no arena to practice in—so we ended up riding in the field the whole year.”
Not only did Audrina prove others wrong and qualify Willie for Pony Finals, while there, she was recognized for her special pony passion. “We got a call during Pony Finals and they said, ‘Can you come to the awards ceremony?’” said Audrina’s mom, Lindsay—who is also her trainer.
Audrina was awarded the Emerson Burr Horsemanship Grant, a national award based on both written and hands-on horsemanship tests, and stood in the Rolex Ring to receive her $500 grant and a set of Charles Owen helmets. “It was actually all pretty easy,” Audrina, now 10, admitted. “They were all kind of like Pony Club questions.”
Whether it’s braiding for the hunter ring or prepping for a cross-country course, Audrina loves being able to do everything for her ponies. “One of the comments she made at Pony Finals was, ‘Where is everyone?’” Lindsay said; Audrina was surprised to find herself one of the few pony riders grooming her pony in the barn. “She’s used to doing it all herself, from start to finish. We focus a lot on horse management, so she takes care of all the horses. She takes really good care of her pony.”
All the Disciplines
Audrina is a third-generation equestrian, inheriting her love of horses from her mother and her grandparents, who own a farm in Ohio. That’s where Audrina began riding—before she could walk—under her mother’s tutelage. “I just always loved it,” Audrina said.
By 4 ½, Audrina was riding cross-country “on a very tough little pony,” Lindsay said. “She always had a good seat!”
That’s also when Audrina joined Pony Club—always on other peoples’ ponies for one reason or another. “We had all these moments where we were borrowing ponies and catch riding, and anything we could get she would sit on,” Lindsay said. “So she kind of became the little local rider that could ride anything. That’s really nice, because now people still ask her to ride all their ponies for them—especially the hard ones. She’s taken a lot of spills to get to that point, to be able to ride the ones that duck out and the ones that refuse.”
Of course, that proved to be the perfect preparation for developing Willie and beyond. Audrina recently earned her C1 rating in horse management and holds a D3 in eventing, hunt seat and Western through the Tennessee Valley Pony Club in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Lindsay is the district commissioner. Audrina enjoys the team aspect of Pony Club rallies, and her team earned perfect scores in stable management at the MidSouth USPC Regional Rally last year.
In addition to Pony Club and A-circuit hunters, Audrina also foxhunts with the Tennessee Valley Hunt Club and actively competes in vaulting—many of her Pony Club teammates are also on the Two Step Revolution Vaulting Team. Audrina moved up to canter this year, competing at the international one-star level, and helped her team earn national reserve championships in 2022 and 2024.
Audrina and Lindsay manage all Audrina’s riding thanks to homeschooling, also similar to many of her Pony Club and vaulting friends. Lindsay rides and teaches lessons, and Audrina helps to keep foxhunting ponies in shape for some of Lindsay’s clients when they’re at home in Knoxville.
Audrina enjoys aspects of all her different disciplines. “I like eventing, especially because of the cross-country, and then I like show jumping and I like dressage, too,” she said. “But I like the hunters, too, I like it a lot.”
But her favorite discipline is eventing. She’s hoping to move up to Beginner Novice at USEA competitions this year with her current mount, 8-year-old Greymeadows Colby.
Colby
Colby joined the McCall family in February of 2023 thanks to Lindsay’s reputation as a “connector” for people and horses. A friend of Lindsay’s mother asked, “Do you know anyone who needs a horse?”
Lindsay said, “I always know somebody who needs one.” But when shown the picture, her reaction changed. “I said, ‘That’s a pony, and that’s a really nice pony.’ I knew of Greymeadows. We’d been showing up in Chagrin getting Willie qualified for Pony Finals, so I asked if we could see the pony that night since we were leaving. We went to a Western barn at 9 p.m., when it was 23 degrees outside, and the pony had not been ridden in a long time and was very out of shape.
“I felt so bad for him, but he was so full of spice and energy. So I asked if I could jump him over one jump and they said, ‘Sure, go for it.’ I jumped him over a tiny single cavaletti and he tucked his little legs up to his face! I said, ‘I can fix everything else.’”
Lindsay started getting Colby back into shape, including showing him a bit to make sure he was comfortable before Audrina took over. “I always take the ponies around first, whatever they need to get done, and once they’re good for her she can have them,” Lindsay said. “Or the other way, she literally takes the horses from me and puts her saddle on!”
Since Audrina has taken the reins, she and Colby have formed a winning partnership. “I qualified at WEC for the pony jumpers with Colby, and that was one of my favorites. It was so fun; we got to show in the big arena,” Audrina said. “I love his kindness and how sweet he is—and I love his jump, it’s so high!”
Colby and Audrina often sport matching gear, in pink or plum—Audrina’s favorite color. Audrina also loves watching Colby do ‘karate’ in the pasture. “He will jump and kick out his back legs, and then he just does these rolling little bucks,” she said. “And every time he gets scared, he starts passaging!”
Future & Family
It’s a good thing Audrina and Lindsay enjoy road trips, because this summer is busy: Following USEA/USEF Horse Trials in May and the MidSouth USPC Regional Rally in June, Audrina and Colby will be showcasing the Welsh Pony breed in front of 50,000 people at BreyerFest in July all before Pony Finals in August. Audrina has been selected to represent Pony Club at Pony Finals in the Medium Pony Jumpers as an ambassador. “We’re absolutely over the moon and so proud of her,” Lindsay said.
When Audrina and Lindsay go to a big show, they don’t stay the whole week. “When we went to WEC Ohio or Pony Finals, we just showed up, we schooled and we showed—we just do what we need to do for that pony in particular and have fun,” Lindsay said.
Keeping their priorities straight leaves time for family: Dad, Kyle; 8-year-old brother Ace; and three Labrador retrievers, Marcus, Bluey and Titan, bred by Lindsay’s mother. “Ace likes to ride, too—he only likes the safe ones, though,” Audrina said. “I like to play with the dogs—I like to jump our black dog, Bluey; she jumps really big and it’s really fun to watch. Titan was at horse shows by the time he was 10 weeks old; he goes to horse shows with us, he sits on the chair like a little human. He loves the horses—Colby was in the pasture and he went up to the fence, got on his hind legs and started wagging his tail and petting Colby on the nose!”
“And the horses love the dogs,” Lindsay agreed. “I don’t know if it’s the Holsteiner in them or what, but they’re super friendly to the dogs. We joke that when the dog comes with us and Colby, Colby has his little friend with him.”
Audrina’s foxhunting pony, whom she’s ridden since she was 5 years old, recently had a foal by Nistar Blazing Kansas in Ohio, and Colby’s 16.1-hand Holsteiner cousin, Chloé TSP, joined the family in June 2024. Soon, Lindsay will begin showing Chloe to get her ready to be Audrina’s next mount as Audrina continues to work toward her life dream of going to the Olympics—in whatever discipline.
Outside of the additional challenges of individual horses, Audrina goes through the same challenges as many other young riders. “Kids go through all those growth spurts,” Lindsay said. “And I’m a trainer, I know this: Kids lose their confidence. So we’ve had a few of those here and there.”
But when asked what keeps her going when those things happen, Audrina’s reply is simple—and embodies everything about her and why she does what she does. “I just love my horses.”
Photos by Lindsay McCall
