Individual Legion of Merit

Kristy Wilkinson writes… MISTY MORN’S JUST MO is a 2005 Section B mare by Gayfields Piece of Candy out of Telgay Breeze’s Gale. We first saw “Mosey” at the New York State Fair when she was only a yearling, and already my mom was calling home for the check book. We didn’t need any more ponies, but this one, she said, was a must have. I, easily persuaded into buying the chestnut with four white socks, was all for it. We purchased her from the Petersen family, and never looked back. At eleven years old, I was determined to train the pony on my own. My parents, Gary and Carol Wilkinson, and my instructor, Wendy Crookes, supported me every step of the way. After careful groundwork, it was time to ride. Never once did I regret our decision to buy Mo, even when she was diving around the ring trying to dump me. After a short time of that, and her realizing that she wasn’t going to unseat me, it was smooth sailing. We began to show her in halter classes, and Medium/Large English Pleasure, eventually moving onto the Hunter and Western divisions. At the beginning of the show year of 2010, we set out to compete for the USEF Welsh divisions. Doing extremely well, I sat down to look at our points in late July. I suddenly realized that we only needed a couple breed points to get her LOM at only five years of age. I convinced my parents that bringing her back to Ohio, where she was born and bred, was the perfect way to get this lifetime award. Grabbing those few extra points, we shrugged our shoulders and decided to conclude the year competing at Welsh shows, USEF or not. We finished out the year with both USEF and WPCSA National Champion awards for Hunter and Pleasure, and WPCSA Reserve National Champion in Western. She was then awarded the USEF Grand National Welsh Horse of the Year award. The future for Mo and I couldn’t be more promising. I can never imagine selling the pony that has been my best friend for almost five years. I know that someday, if I want to start breeding Welsh Ponies myself, she will be a wonderful starting point.