She's only 16 but Natalia Sjardin is already riding high in the competition arena.
A keen equestrian since she first climbed into the saddle at 7, the Tauranga Girls' College student is now a member of the Bay of Plenty senior dressage team in her first year eligible for its over-15
age requirement.
The highlight of Sjardin's riding career so far, though, came last month when she completed a tough three-hour test under the scrutiny of three examiners to earn her Pony Club A Certificate. Thought to be the first Tauranga Pony Club rider since 1995 to achieve the premier qualification, Sjardin says only four to five people nationwide achieve the New Zealand Pony Club A Certificate each year.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking. I was thrilled to make it through and get the certificate," says Sjardin, who belongs to the Greerton branch of Pony Club.
The assessment, conducted at Taupo on January 17, began with an inspection of her personal turnout and her horse Boomschlak's grooming and gear. Dressage and cross-country workouts were next _ with the young rider having to show adaptability in both by riding a different horse after completing them on her own mount.
"At first, the other horse was a bit difficult, but I sorted him out and had a clear [cross-country] round," she says. Her effort certainly paid off, with one examiner calling it the best ride they'd seen in a certificate test.
Rounding out the exam was a question-and-answer session on training young horses, which posed no problem for the talented teenager. Sjardin's next major target is selection into the Bay of Plenty senior team for horse trials in March, for which there is a three-round qualifying series later this month. She's also making her mark in the national equestrian summer series, riding in the novice class for horses jumping up to 1.1m.
Of the four events she has entered so far, Sjardin has racked up one win, a third and a seventh. There's additional competition for her as a member of the BOP junior equestrian team, for whom she also rode last year.
