​Bonham Is Best At Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final

Her consistency and feel give her the big win.
It didn’t take Kels Annabelle Bonham long to make an impression on Alex Jayne and Tamara Provost, the judges for the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals.
Looking for our daily coverage of the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals, including a comprehensive blog of all the action? “She was in a league of her own right from the beginning,” said Jayne. “She was the only one who got a 90 in the first round, and I think the next highest score was an 86. She just walked in and nailed the course. The horse jumped beautifully from start to finish. It was a very hard, technical course, and she had a great grasp of what we wanted.”
Bonham went 61st out of 269 in the initial order on Oct. 12 during the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, and she led the standby from the start. ​[…]

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​Kels Bonham Has A Big Future Ahead Of Her

While many junior riders can claim riding is in their blood, Kels Bonham, a fifth-generation horsewoman, was born into an equestrian gene pool as rich and varied as any ocean.
Kels, 16, of Claremore, Okla., is the daughter of Michael and Heather Bonham, who own a hunter/jumper training business outside of Tulsa. Her great-uncle, Max Bonham, was a successful and highly regarded trainer, and his wife Nancy Bonham is still involved with horses in Camden, S.C. Her grandmother, Caroline Bonham, is a horse trainer in California.
“I’ve always had to hear about how my dad is a fourth-generation horse trainer,” Kels said. “I’m very proud of our family. I’ve grown up with that, and it’s cool because a lot of people have known them.”
On her mother’s side, the Herring family has also dabbled in equestrian sport. “My grandmother rode in the circus some, and my grandfather rode horses bareback when he was young,” Kels recalled. […]

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Kelse Bonham – The Other Side of the College Fence

Kelse Bonham grew up living the life that most horse-crazy kids dream about: hitting the road two to three weeks every month to show. The Bonhams have a long history in the horse world: her father Michael was a fourth generation horse trainer and her mother Heather (née Herring), rode with Denny Emerson, US Eventing Hall-of-Famer. Horses romped all over the family tree and a foxhunting grandmother introduced the young rider to the chase. […]

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​2012 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships

For the USEF/Cacchione Cup, Tauber and Evans called back three finalists -- Claire Margolis (Stanford University), Kelly Campbell (Skidmore College) and Kels Bonham (Savannah College of Art and Design). It was Bonham's second and - as a graduating senior -- last try at the Cup after having finished reserve in 2010.  Margolis, a freshman, was making her first appearance for a national title.

And like the heroic feats of its namesake, Bonham and Sampson emerged victorious from their last trip before the judges, clinching the 2012 USEF/Cacchione Cup with a total of 253 points.  Campbell and King earned reserve with a final 242.5 score. […]

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