By Tim Kelly
Lily Capone, the daughter of Kevin and Melissa Capone of Sea Isle City, placed fourth in the nation in the recent Interscholastic Equestrian Association’s National Finals at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, Pa.
“It’s just a sense of awe,” her mother said after the competition. “We knew she could do it, but when her name was called, we were stunned.”
Lily, just 12 years old, competes for the Star Hollow Stables of Cape May Court House Middle School team and qualified for the IEA Regional Finals, where she placed first. She then took second in the IEA Zone finals to earn a spot in the Nationals.
In equestrian competition, the participants are assigned a horse at random that they have never seen before and put the animal through a number of commands. They must walk the horse, do two forms of trot, two forms of canter and turn the horse around to travel in the reverse direction.
Riders must respond at once to the commands, which come in random order.
Lily’s performance is more remarkable given the fact she has Marfan Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disease that can potentially lead to aortic rupture, and scoliosis, for which she is slated for major back surgery later this month.
Competing against 17 other elite riders, she made it to the final eight with a rough ride on a draft cross horse named Georgia; then made it to the top four on a chestnut mare, Shiloh.
“I was aiming for the top three, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen,” Lily said, explaining she had ridden Shiloh in IEA competitions in the past. She knew Shiloh and it wasn’t the horse’s best day.
“She was nervous,” Lily explained.
Hurting in advance of surgery, Lily wasn’t on her A-game, either. Such is life in the equestrian game, she said.
There are certain aspects the rider can’t control. “It’s just the horse being a horse,” she said.
“I spoke to the judges and one of them said they could almost feel my pain while I was riding,” Lily said. “One of them said it looked like it hurt (at a certain spot on her back) and I said, ‘Yes, that’s exactly where I’m feeling the pain.”’
Still, she soldiered on and gave it her best effort also got the maximum out of Shiloh. For her efforts she received a National Fourth Place ribbon, two gift cards for equestrian and non-equestrian merchandise, a saddle pad and a shoulder bag and a supply of Tack Butter, a substance used for polishing tack items.
She was also formally honored by the Sea Isle City Council and Mayor Leonard Desiderio at the governing body’s meeting on April 23.
Lily, who is home schooled in cooperation with the Ocean City public school system, has four siblings, Rhys, Clare, Regan and Connor.
