Marcela Riddick, 14, of Redondo Beach California, and Brittney Billman, 14, of Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania, will represent the Harness Horse Youth Foundations Pocono Downs Youth Camp in a youth driving exhibition at The Meadowlands on Hambletonian day, while twelve-year-olds Madison Lofgren, of New Egypt, New Jersey, and Katie Eick of Farmingdale, New Jersey, will represent the HHYF Gaitway Farms camp. Later in the day, the eyes of the sport will be on HHYF Youth Camp alum Tony Alagna, who trains My MVP, who will race in the Hambletonian.

 

For Riddick, the 3,000 mile long adventure actually started last year. She had hoped to attend the HHYF camp at Indiana Downs, but schedules conflicted. She scoured the HHYF website for program schedules this year and was selected to attend the Pocono camp. An avid horse rider, she also saw Olivia Marshall’s account of her Meadowlands experience in Young Rider magazine and became determined to get to the finals.

 

“Marcela was really excited,” according to her family. “She asked ‘how can you control a horse if you don’t sit on him?’ so we went to YouTube and had her watch some driver cam videos and she began to understand it. In fact, the day before we dropped her off at Pocono, we went to the races at Monticello. Right away she was questioning strategy and decisions the drivers were making.”

 

Alagna will send MY MVP postward in the $1.5 million Hambletonian. The son of Cantab Hall is driven by Hall-of-famer Mike Lachance for owners Brittney Farms, Joe Sbrocco and Modern Family Partners.