Collegian takes gold with borrowed pony, carriage
7/19/2008 10:16 PM   0 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend



By BEN BAUGH

Staff writer

WINDSOR -- Challenge is a motivational word that makes horseman Meghan Benge more determined. The college student took home the individual gold medal in the 2008 Federation Equestre Internationale World Carriage Driving Championships for Disabled Drivers in the single pony division.

The college student drove a borrowed pony named Jack and a single pony carriage to capture the gold medal in the Combined Driving Event held in Greven, Germany. Benge worked with the pony for only two days before competing in the CDE.

"I was on the team for the disabled drivers," said Benge. "There were three team members that went to Greven; I won the individual gold medal and my team won the silver medal, so it was pretty exciting."

An outstanding horseman, Benge was strong during all three phases of the competition, demonstrating her talent during dressage, the marathon and cones. "The dressage was really good because the pony knew his job once he got in the ring," said Benge. "The cones were probably the most challenging for me because it was a tight course. I actually dropped one of my reins at the end of the course. I was able to keep it together."

And although Benge didn't have her own ponies or carriage, she demonstrated her resolve and unwavering commitment to the sport by making the necessary adjustments to succeed and with staggering results.

"I actually borrowed a couple of carriages from the people that had the pony," said Benge. "I have the exact same carriage as they did with a box that bolts onto the floorboard, and we actually took that out and sent it over and put that on her carriage, so that I could use it there, so I didn't have to ship my entire carriage."

Benge made the transition from riding to driving after watching her mother, Peggy Benge, participate in the sport.

"I rode all of the time, and my mother started driving, and when she started doing it, I wanted to do it to," said Benge. "It was about 10 years ago."

The little person is making a big impact in the world of Combined Driving Events. Benge loves Aiken's equine friendly community.

"I just moved to Aiken; I'm originally from Texas, just outside of Houston," said Benge. "It's (Aiken) really nice, there's lots of stuff to do."

The name of the Benges' farm is Stars and Stripes and they have nine ponies.

"We had all of the ponies, and she was riding, and I really didn't want to ride," said Peggy. "We had driven before in Germany at the same show grounds five or six years ago, and we had taken one of our own ponies."

Benge's mother has encouraged her daughter to drive and is proud of her accomplishments.

"I tried to emphasize to Meghan that she should believe in herself," said Peggy. "That's a big part of it. She probably has better horsemanship skills than I do."

Meghan will be competing in a number of Combined Driving Events this fall.

"I'm actually going to drive a pony pair in the fall in the Katydid CDE, and some other places, too," said Benge.

Benge attends school at the Savannah College of Art and Design. "I'm majoring in photography and web design," she said.

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