Betty Reynolds

The first Washington International Horse Show held last month saw competition for a horsemanship award that may well be one of the more difficult and desirable distinctions in show-horse competition. It is the Virginia Horse Shows Association Equitation Award, a three-phase ordeal consisting of flat equitation, jumping and written examination on everything from anatomy to stable management. It was won with style by Betty Reynolds, a 17-year-old horsewoman from Tryon, N.C.

The Reynolds family life pretty much centers around horses: Tryon lies in some of the most active foxhunting country in America . Betty's father stables 20 hunters, and her older brother Bucky is as accomplished a rider as she. "I ride every day," says Betty, "on the trails or in the ring or over the hunting country around us, but it's always new and exciting." Unusual is Betty's skill at both jumping and flat equitation (most riders excel at one or the other). Old hands who have seen her in the ring feel this will carry Betty and her mare Can Do far during the horse-show season.