SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Folks have been expecting Nathalie Manning to record her first grand prix victory for some time, perhaps none longer than Nathalie herself.

At age 2 (“before I was walking”, she says), her legendary horseman grandfather, Morton “Cappy” Smith, would lead her around his Middleburg, Va., farm. By age 7, she was riding almost any horse on the property, and as an 8-year-old, she conceived her future barn name: Acorn Farm, “where every little acorn turns into a great oak.”

“My grandfather would put me on just about anything,” she smiles. “He had a lot of sale horses, and I was fearless.”

ELK GROVE — The West Coast Reining Horse Association celebrated Independence Day in patriotic style with their Star Spangled Slide show, the fifth and last NRHA Affiliate show of 2015. Red, white, and blue decorations were all over Bill Madden’s Brookside Show Park in Elk Grove, California. Winning exhibitors happily packed home red, white, and blue flip flops, backpacks, spur straps, and other patriotic themed awards.

The weather was quite accommodating this year with temperatures in the low 90s, thankfully disputing the local weatherman’s predictions of 105+ degrees. If that was too warm, exhibitors put on their swimsuits and cooled off in the Brookside pool.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — The competition continued after the Grand Prix with the $5,000 Pony Derby, also presented by Markel Insurance. A unique opportunity for this division, the classic and handy rounds were held on the grass. With an overall total of 175, Augusta Iwasaki rode Ava Peck’s large pony Kingston to a decisive win.

In her classic round with Kingston, Iwasaki received an 87 and in her handy round, scored an 88. “I’ve been riding him since Thermal. He’s actually owned by Ava Peck and I’m very lucky to get to ride him,” Iwasaki says of her win. “I like the hunter derbies since they’re different. It’s something new and fun.”

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Hunters, jumpers and the casual environs of the Huntington Beach Central Park Equestrian Center made for a special — if not low-key — holiday weekend July 1-4 at the Huntington Beach Surf Classic, managed by West Palm Events.

The headliners were Lane Clarke, who rode MH War Dance to victory in the $25,000 GGT Footing Grand Prix, and Jamie Taylor, who took Caroline Eliades’s Jager to the $2,500 Grand Prix Hunter Derby title.

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Now that you’ve enjoyed your introduction to the sport of driving, you might want to try participating in a driving show. If you don’t feel up to participating with your equine just yet, please consider becoming a volunteer! You’d be amazed at how much you can learn about a sport by being a part of it without competing. You will also be very much appreciated, as the vast majority of events run on volunteerism. Often times, when volunteering, you may get your own personal mini clinic from the experience.

The American Endurance Ride Conference is pleased to announce that their Parade Group has been accepted into the 2016 Rose Parade. This group of 25 riders, headed up by AERC member Gayle Pena of Moreno Valley, will be marching in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. The group, veterans of this year’s Swallows Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano, Nevada’s Carson Valley Days Parade in June and the Temecula Fourth of July parade, recently learned of their acceptance. “We wish them all the best and love the international exposure this will garner for AERC and endurance riding!” said AERC Vice President Lisa Schneider. The 5.5-mile route of the Rose Parade should be a breeze for these riders and horses, who regularly compete in distances of 25, 50 or even 100 miles a day. Fund-raising efforts will be under way soon. For more information, or to request a Discover Endurance Riding informational booklet, phone 866-271-2372 or email aerc@foothill.net.