Chicora youngster is champion horseman
CHICORA — The horse barn is quiet. Even in December, the summer smell of hay drifts down from the loft above the occupied stalls. Two very small ponies wearing their thick and shaggy winter coats are alone in the ring.
Moneray Geibel, 9, of Chicora started riding one of those ponies when she was just 3 years old.
“It is hard at the start. It all depends on the bond with them,” Moneray said. “I've always liked horses.”
The 2015 summer show season of the Pennsylvania Amateur Horseman's Association (PAHA) was a big one for Moneray. She won a saddle for accumulating the most points in the gaming division in the pee-wee age group.
She was also the high-point winner in the pleasure division, only the second time in the 58-year history of PAHA a single rider won both the gaming and pleasure divisions.
The gaming division events are timed and include obstacles, for example, barrel racing.
“If you want to win the trophies, you want to go fast,” Moneray said.
“Some kids won't do it at that age because they are scared,” said Randy Mitchell of Randy Mitchell Quarterhorses. He has a horse-training facility in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, where Moneray has taken lessons.
“My biggest dream was the high-point winner,” Moneray said.
Barbara Geibel, Moneray's mother, said in the pleasure division, events evaluate “how the horse moves according to how the rider is cueing the horse to move.”
“You have to have control of your horse,” Moneray said.
Moneray was also champion and reserve champion for several classes in competition.
“When you're showing in two divisions and win the high point, it's consistency,” said Eric Klemm, of Jefferson Township, the PAHA president.
Moneray's first show wasn't in the saddle but with a horse on a lead rope when she was 3.
Now Moneray's 14 blue ribbons, 23 red ribbons and 31 other ribbons decorate one wall of the barn at Geibel Equestrian Estates with space left for future ribbons. She also has trophies, and she won a show halter and lead rope.
The PAHA started in Butler in 1957 and has shows at venues within 50 miles of Butler in Lawrence, Venango, Butler and Armstrong counties. Its membership includes nearly 160 youths and adults from those counties, as well as those from Mercer, Warren, Beaver, Westmoreland and Washington counties and eastern Ohio. Members and nonmembers compete in PAHA shows.
The majority of members are 18 and younger. This year about 76 riders were accumulating points.
Moneray competed with three horses. Clover is about 13 years old, Pony is a gelding about 9 years old and Indy, a large pony, is in her late 20s.Indy is near retirement, but Mitchell said competing with an older animal is beneficial. The horse knows its role.“She has never taken the championships as she did this year,” said Geibel. “This is a real surprise.”Geibel has worked with draft horses and competed in Western pleasure riding, gaming and English saddle seat. She also had a horse-drawn carriage business.Although she teaches Western riding and beginner horsemanship, Geibel said, “It's rough to teach your own kids.”“I gave her the foundation,” Geibel said.She believes it's important for Moneray to take lessons from other teachers, too.“It's a whole different perspective,” Geibel said.Mitchell said riders believe they can simply ride and practice on their own. He said riders can learn bad habits when they don't have someone knowledgeable watching them ride and giving them corrections.During the summer Moneray rides every day, does barn chores and works on her projects with horses in the Renfrew Riders 4-H club and with pigs in the Premier Livestock 4-H club.It is different during the school year. Moneray rides only once or twice a week and shows are limited to a few staged indoors. The amount she rides depends on her school work. She is a third grader and straight A student at Chicora Elementary School.In the spring, Moneray will have lessons every week to prepare for the PAHA 14-show circuit that begins in late May.“She's progressing very well,” Mitchell said. “She's very astute. She listens well. She tries everything I ask her to do. She tries hard.”Moneray will move up and compete with older riders in the junior youth class for riders ages 9 to 14.“It's a big step but I think she'll do well. She'll be competitive as long as she stays consistent,” Klemm said.“It's always about having the fun and doing your best and learning from things,” Geibel said.Klemm said Moneray always has a smile on her face. Her tack looks cheerful, too, with its sparkly and glittery decorations that she calls “getting blinged up.”She'll do what she can to prepare the horses at the shows but at 4 foot 10 inches in boots there are limitations. “Usually I just do the brushing and saddle pad,” said Moneray. As for the saddle, she said, “It's too heavy for me.”Mitchell said it takes hours in the saddle to develop good habits.Even in December, Moneray is riding in the indoor ring at Geibel Equestrian Estates. As she takes the horse through different gaits, she looks strong, self-assured and totally competent.“You want to make sure you trust them and they trust you,” Moneray said. “They'll feel how I'm feeling.”
