Regan Capone and her horse Tia Maria (Photo courtesy of the Capone family)
Sea Isle City resident Regan Capone is a very busy young lady.
In addition to being a student at the Ocean City Intermediate School, the 13-year-old Regan is also an avid fundraiser for local charities and an accomplished equestrian who has received numerous prize ribbons.
Regan began horseback riding at age 2. At age 5, she began equestrian training at Pembrook Farm, in Eldora, N.J.
More recently, Regan and her pony, Tia Maria, placed second in the nation for the United States Equestrian Federation’s 2023 Children's Hunter Ponies Horse of The Year.
She also achieved first place in the United States Hunter Jumper Association's Children's Hunter Ponies Small/Medium Division for Zone 2 (New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey) for the 2023 competitive year.
Additionally, in 2023 Regan was Overall Reserve Champion during the HITS-on-the-Hudson Horse Show’s Pony Finals, in Saugerties, N.Y. She and Tia Maria have qualified for the 2024 Pony Finals in Kentucky.
To achieve these goals, Regan has worked tirelessly to train and care for Tia Maria – and other ponies at Pembrook Farm, where she spends many hours grooming the horses, “tacking them up” before her lessons, caring for their feet, bathing them, and providing sports therapy to keep them in the best physical conditions possible.
“Being with horses just brings me happiness – I never want to leave my ponies,” Regan said in a news release.
When asked what her favorite aspects of equestrian life are, Regan replied: “Being successful and competing, because I love showing. Plus, is it has taught me to accept when things go wrong and to know everything happens for a reason.”
Because her love for people is as important to her as her love for horses, Regan has also spent many hours fundraising for worthy causes. To date, she has raised nearly $51,000 for the Love of Linda Cancer Fund, which provides assistance to cancer patients in Cape May County.
She has also raised nearly $4,000 for the annual Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism, which takes place each February in her hometown of Sea Isle.
“We are very happy to call Regan one of our own, and we look forward to seeing her and her horse, Tia Maria, add to their list of impressive milestones in the future,” Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
