ROCHESTER Pony Club’s Lucy Nelson already has an impressive sporting resume at 17.
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But it’s only just beginning to grow.
In 12 years as a member of the club, Lucy has helped to set up countless events.
She hasn’t just jumped on the horse, competed, then gone home.
No matter the job including setting up, packing down or selling raffle tickets, Lucy has always been one of the first people to put their hand up to offer help.
But that’s only the beginning of the story for this impressive young rider.
On Saturday, October 10 she was awarded the 2020 Best Achievement by a rider aged 13 to 17 years by Pony Club Victoria at its annual general meeting.
Lucy was named the winner after she met the selection criteria which included regular participation in Pony Club rallies and activities, improvement in riding, horsemastership and leadership skills through diligence and effort and club citizenship.
“I’m very happy to win the award,” she said.
“I love the work I do with my horses, but it’s great that I am able to help other people at the same time.
“I’d like to thank Ange Acocks, the northern district commissioner, and my coach Anne Leviston for everything they’ve done for me.
“And I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without my parents Cheryl and Owen.
“They’ve driven me all across the state and I can’t thank them enough.”
While the criteria may sound a little daunting to meet, when you look at Lucy’s long list of achievements it is quite easy to see she is a worthy winner.
The 17-year-old has been an active member of the Rochester club since 2008, when she was five at the time only missing rallies due to illness or the odd family holiday.
While she has represented the club at events including the Melbourne Summer Royal, Victorian Team Championships and Northern Zone dressage events.
Last year, Lucy was part of the Northern Zone team that was crowned state champion for grade 4 dressage.
“I love being able to compete at all different events,” she said.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has put all of Lucy’s big plans on hold as she is aiming to compete in the national and state qualifiers.
“I haven’t competed since March because of all of the restrictions,” Lucy said.
“This year has been very tough, but I’ve been trying to make the most of a bad situation.
“I’ve still been training for four or five times a week where possible.
“I’m going into Year 12 next year and I still have some big goals for myself.
“I’ll be working really hard to try and achieve all of those.”
If you need a better understanding of just how determined Lucy is to improve her own riding skills, you just need to look at the nomination form which was submitted to Pony Club Victoria.
“Pony Club has provided Lucy with a primary base for a life complemented by equestrian activities,” the nomination said.
“In particular, following the retirement of Lucy’s dressage and show pony in 2017 due to lameness issues, Lucy demonstrated dramatic improvements in her riding and horsemanship during 2018 through the experience of breaking and training her own Welsh pony to an outstanding level of suitability for a child rider.
“This was a goal for which Lucy showed great tenacity, initiative for learning and a determination to achieve, given her nervousness and lack of confidence as a younger riding member of our club.
“Persistent and hard work at home and in the club environment led to Lucy’s ‘green project pony’ developing the manners, education, balance and skills required in the ideal Pony Club mount.”
And while Lucy is well aware she still has plenty of room for improvement that hasn’t stopped her from going on to play a mentoring role at the Rochester club.
Through all the adversity she has faced, Lucy is always willing to help out the youngest members at the club.
“Lucy has matured to be an integral role model for our junior club members,” the nomination form said.
“(She does this by) leading by example in her work ethic, diligence in presentation and ability to enjoy her equestrian journey at rallies and at team events, always with a healthy sense of humour.
“Lucy’s leadership within Rochester Pony Club has also been evident in her punctual and polite support of club committee and instructors and has always used her initiative to provide appropriate help at rallies where needed and assistance with horsemastership instruction when requested.
“She is also often among the last to leave rallies, understanding the need for all the pack-up and clean-up jobs to be done.”
While it might sound like the teenager has a lot on her plate, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love Rochester Pony Club,” she said.
“They’ve allowed me to have a lot of fantastic opportunities and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I can’t wait until we can all come back together to compete in events.”