On any given day, it is quite common to see riders, horses, dogs and their people using the Winthrop Field in the heart of Aiken’s horse district. If you happened to pass by on Friday, March 17, you were in for a special treat as ponies galloped by under their young jockeys.
In preparation for the Aiken Trials every year, each junior jockey is required to attend a pony racing clinic held by U.S. Pony Racing to hone their skills prior to the race. Now in its fifth year, the pony races have become a crowd favorite between the thoroughbred trials.
This year, Rosie Napravnik Sharp (two- time winner of the Kentucky Oaks) and her husband Joe Sharp (Leading Trainer) were in attendance, not only as clinicians, but as parents, too. An all-time record of forty- three junior entries were in this year’s pony races at the Aiken Trials.
