Since 2015, the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association has offered the Gochman Grant for USEF Pony Finals to three young pony riders each year, giving them the opportunity to attend and compete.

Last month, USHJA announced the grant has been funded and extended another three years thanks to amateur hunter rider Becky Gochman and her family. The grant is an experience-based one, offering recipients not only the chance to compete in the hunter divisions at Pony Finals, but access to professional training, participation in clinics and other educational opportunities throughout the week. 

Applications for the 2026 grant opened Jan. 1 and will close March 15.

Gochman said that following the journeys of some of the recipients from afar, many of whom have gone on to make an impact in the horse world as professional riders, vet techs or successful juniors and amateurs, and receiving thank-you notes has made the donations worthwhile.

“I was thinking about how large our industry is and how many different kinds of jobs there are available in our industry, and you know, to bring the joy out in these young riders and people, I think we can learn a lot from them—their passion and love and experience,” she said. “I think for us as a family to have had that—and I grew up in a really grassroots fashion, where my mom drove me to horse shows, and we trailered, and I braided, and we did everything ourselves—it’s kind of a way to come full circle for our family.

“I feel like it’s just been a complete pleasure to watch, and I think our family feels proudest supporting this [more] than any other endeavor that we support,” she added. “Yes, Pony Finals is a hard competition, but still, to me, it boils down to being about a kid and a pony and their experience.”

Gochman’s daughters, Mimi Gochman and Sophie Gochman, grew up going to Pony Finals. Both are now successful amateur riders in the hunters and jumpers. Becky has seen how their Pony Finals experiences molded them into the riders they are today.

“Pony Finals always brought us a lot of joy and a lot of tears, because it is a lot of pressure, but it’s also just a lot of fun to see all your friends and know that, on whatever scale you do it, you’re working really hard,” she said. “It was about what our barn and what our kids could accomplish as a whole, in a community and individually. There were some good times, and there were some pretty hard times. But the experience of it is what has made them good riders, good people, and understanding that some days it’s going to go your way, and some days it’s not.”

Addison Cheetham, 14, of El Dorado, California, was a recipient of the Gochman Grant in 2025 and competed at Pony Finals aboard a catch ride, Robin Greenwood’s 18-year-old Welsh Pony cross Etch-A-Sketch (Dixie Chattahoochee—Skip Special Request) in the large pony hunters.

Cheetham got the grant after a challenging 2024. She’d unexpectedly lost her pony jumper Wally, and her junior hunter Cruisin’ was injured that year. While she knew it was unlikely she’d ever get to Pony Finals on Wally before he died due to the distance from California to the Kentucky Horse Park, where Pony Finals are held, she’d always dreamed of going. She was thrilled when she was chosen for the Gochman Grant.

“I wasn’t really nervous; I was kind of excited just to be able to get to Pony Finals for the first time,” she said. “It was really fun, and every experience we had was so special, and every detail was thought through. I felt so lucky to be a part of something like that, and the opportunity meant more to me than I can put into words.”

Cheetham found the clinic opportunities, including a modeling clinic, to be very informative and said she grew as a rider from her experience: “It made me more confident and more motivated and more aware of the responsibility that comes with riding, and I’m very grateful because it changed the way I see myself.”

Cheetham’s mother, Adrienne Cheetham, added that the whole experience was positive.

“Everyone was so sweet and made you feel so welcome and like you were at home,” she said. “You didn’t have to worry about a single thing. You just got off the plane, and then you were greeted with just everything that you could imagine; it just took all that stress away as a family and for her as a rider. She just literally had to show up and help groom and just do her best. I can’t describe how amazing it was. They really made Addison feel special. And it was her birthday week!”

Liam Hissong received the Gochman Grant in 2023 when he was 15. He’d just started doing rated shows with Karen Glover-Raach and Jay Raach at Rock Solid Stables in his home state of Pennsylvania, and had experience with low jumpers, children’s pony hunters and hunter breeding. He’d tried to qualify for Pony Finals on a rescue pony, but when he wasn’t able to, he decided to apply for the grant.

He also catch-rode Etch-A-Sketch for Greenwood in the large pony hunters.

“It was a really good experience,” he said. “It helped me network with a lot of other professionals in our area. It was a good learning experience for me, and I grew a lot from it. The whole team that helped facilitate the experience were awesome. We did so much.”

He noted that he particularly enjoyed a sports psychology clinic, the modeling clinic, which helped him with showing horses on the line at home, and touring Spy Coast Farm.

Hissong, now 17, said he’s stayed in touch with the two other riders who received the grant that year, Maren Bonus and Carly Williams.

As he prepares to graduate high school in the spring, he’s working for Cristina Fizzano riding and showing a variety of horses in all three rings and breaking young horses for the Raach family, and his memories of Pony Finals and what he learned there will stick with him as he continues his riding career.

“It’s the biggest horse show I’ve been to, to date,” he said. “It’s cool getting the show in that ring. It’s helped me. It got my name out. So many trainers have asked me to do their green horses. I’ve catch-ridden a lot of horses since then. It’s benefited me in so many ways, and I have lifelong friends from it now too.”