‘Hat Trick’ for Isabella Salas

Wins the VHSA/EMO Junior Championship on the Flat, VHSA/EMO Hunter Seat Medal Finals and the Overall VHSA/EMO Horsemanship Award

Photograph above: E. Sue Bopp, President of the EMO Agency, presented Isabella Salas with the awards for winning the VHSA EMO Hunter Seat Medal Finals. Photograph © KMK Photos

Congratulations to Isabella Salas of Oakton, Virginia. Salas won the VHSA/EMO Hunter Seat Medal Finals, the VHSA/EMO Junior Championship on the Flat, and the Overall VHSA/EMO Horsemanship Championship.

“My goal this year was to win the VHSA/EMO Flat finals. It felt really good to win the Overall Horsemanship. I studied hard for the test.”

The 15-year-old has been riding for nine years and plans to ride in college and ‘keep on learning’.

Her trainer, Jenny Graham, commented, “I think the VHSA/EMO Finals have always been special to our barn. The little kids look up to the big kids, and so when they get to do the Finals, that’s exciting. But to win the horsemanship, that’s a pretty big deal. Bella has been here since she was eight and watching the big kids. To do well, it all has to come together. Sometimes, even if you try really hard, it just doesn’t work out. For Bella to win all three is huge: the flat, fences, and horsemanship trophy!”

“Our kids show a lot, but we definitely pick the shows that offer VHSA points,” continued Graham. “This show is always on our calendar; it’s a big deal for us. Our barn comes down on Thursday and stays the weekend. For our barn, we call this our horse show finals for the year. We have kids taking off for college, some as soon as tomorrow.” 

Graham feels very proud as a trainer. “I’m very proud of both Bella and Catie [Ortmans] for coming in first and second in the horsemanship. When it all comes together, you need to live those moments. We can ride this ride for a while, and we’ll be talking about it for a long time,” she said.

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