Four Rowan County Special Olympians capture honors at equestrian tournament

Published 12:05 am Sunday, September 29, 2024

Four Special Olympians from Rowan County took home hardware at the 2024 Special Olympics of North Carolina Equestrian Tournament held earlier this month. 

Top among them was Sarah Fisher who captured a silver medal, riding atop Pumpkin in a working trails western competition. 

Eliana “Rose” Toole took home the bronze medal in the same category on the horse Tonka. 

Maria Fitzgerald earned fourth place on Scoot and Emily Hall, who was also riding Pumpkin, won fifth place. 

The event took place from Sept. 20-22 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring. 

Athletes competing in the 2024 SONC Equestrian Tournament represented the following counties: Alamance, Cherokee, Clay, Dare, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Henderson, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Polk and Rowan.

To ensure fair competition, the athletes were placed in competition divisions based on age and ability level. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the top three finishers in each division, followed by fourth through eighth place ribbons.