Schools
Burr Ridge and Hinsdale Teens Win Ribbons at National Equestrian Competition
The Lyons Township senior and Hinsdale Central junior competed against the top amateur and professional riders in the country.
Two teens from and Hinsdale just got back from Florida after competing against some of the top equestrians in the country.
Lauren Litt, a Burr Ridge resident and senior at , along with Devon MacNeil, a Hinsdale resident and junior at , took part in horse shows that were part of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida.
Both Litt and MacNeil won top ribbons in February and March at the Winter Equestrian Festival. This event is considered by many to be the most competitive horse show circuit in the United States, drawing top amateur and professional riders from all over the country for the winter show season.
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Several events at the festival serve as selection trials for riders seeking to represent the United States at the upcoming summer Olympics in London as members of the equestrian jumping team.
Litt showed horse Montego Bay while at WEF, earning top ribbons in her classes and in one show, the honor of reserve champion of her division. Riding Montego Bay, she also was the Illinois Hunter Jumper Association’s A-Circuit Children’s Jumper Reserve Champion for 2011.
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MacNeil showed horses Verdicchio and Mad Summer while at WEF, earning top ribbons in her classes and reserve champion at one show. Last year, she piloted him to the Illinois Hunter Jumper Association’s A-Circuit Junior Jumper Championship.
Both girls were trained by Pete and Beth Kennedy at Stanley Luke Farm, a hunter/jumper horse facility in Countryside, where Pete Kennedy's grandfather first opened a riding stable. The Kennedys are the third generation of the family to train junior and adult riders under the Stanley Luke Farm banner.
Litt has ridden at Stanley Luke Farm since she was young, starting out in the show ring on her first horse, Swiss Miss (Cocoa) in the short stirrup division. MacNeil came to Stanley Luke Farm in 2007 a novice rider looking to buy a horse and fell in love with Verdicchio.
*Information in the above article was provided through a media announcement by reader Sarah Lewensohn.
