Page 58 - The Hunt - Spring 2024

Pony Racing continued from page 20
Family connections are woven into
the fabric of pony racing. The Isabella
du Pont Sharp Memorial timber race at Winterthur honors Ellet Sharp’s great- great-grandmother. The Alison Hershbell pony races at Winterthur are named for the Unionville native who raced ponies at age 7 and became one of the winningest jockeys at Delaware Park before illness forced her to retire in 2004. She died
at age 30 in 2007. Her mother, Charlie Hershbell, has been involved in pony racing for decades.
Pony races provide the infrastructure for increasing the pool of riders in
jump racing, which has relied heavily in recent years on jockeys from Ireland and the United Kingdom. Alissa Norman
is executive director of the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation,
a nonprofit U.S. Pony Racing partner organization that supports amateur and young rider programs to help ensure the future of the sport. Norman says the best hope for growing the ranks of American jump jockeys rides on the backs of ponies. “The purpose of pony racing is to grow young riders into jockeys who will ride in steeplechase races in the United States,” she says. “The hope is that kids become involved in the sport for their whole lives, either as jockeys, owners, trainers
or supporters.”
Ellet and other budding riders are poised
to take the bit between their teeth and ride on as the next generation in steeplechase racing. Next year, she’ll be 16 and plans
to take the next step, moving from racing ponies to horses. “She can’t wait,” her mother says. SL
22 STEEPLECHASE LOOKBOOK 2024 | todaymediainc.com