Adventures in Saddle Seat
Stepping Stone Farm rider Reagan Upton is on the U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. She is sharing her story. Welcome Reagan.
Part 1 [Have Saddle, Will Travel]
Part 2 [First Team Practice]
Part 3 [Three-Gaited & Five-Gaited]
Part 4 [Do I Miss Equitation?]
Part 5 [Traveling for the Team]
Part 6 [What Is Equitation?]
Part 7 [Rail Work vs Patterns]
Part 8 [Riding for the USA]
Today is day 2 of the Saddle Seat World Cup. The five-gaited team competes Wednesday, July 4 and Friday, July 6 Thursday July 5. Competition to be livestreamed on the USEF Network. This post was written before the competition began. Good Luck Reagan!
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People have asked what I will be doing all week outside of riding horses. They have many activities planned for us.
All the riders are required to be at the competition by 5:00pm on Sunday July 1st.
Sunday night, we will have a dinner for Team USA and supporters.
Monday, we will be hosting a Welcome Reception for all the teams and supporters.
Tuesday, the competitors from all countries will be attending the Lexington Legends Minor League Baseball game.
Wednesday morning evening is opening ceremonies and we will have a USA only team dinner that evening.
Thursday afternoon all teams will be touring the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC)
Friday night is closing ceremonies (Schedule unclear on this point as of 7/2. At least, unclear to me. I assume someone knows. But I digress. KTW) and a dinner for all competitors and supporters.
What’s going to weird about this week is the parents are not allowed to participate in the majority of activities. My mom is not only my mom but my trainer/coach as well. So, it is going to be strange not to have her around.
Parents and supporters are only allowed to attend Sunday and Monday’s dinner and the opening and closing ceremonies. Parents and supporters are also not allowed to stay at the same hotel as the team. I assume this is to keep the team focused and encourage team bonding. It also gives it an “Olympic Village” type feel to the required separate lodging.
I am hoping to hang out with my family and everyone from Alabama that comes to the competition to watch on Thursday while I am not competing. The three-gaited team will be competing on Thursday will compete while the five-gaited team sits and cheers them on. So hopefully, we will be allowed to sit in the stands with everyone else. (I have been told that both teams will compete Wednesday & Thurdays nights. Hopefully we will get to cheer with Reagan while the three-gaited team competes, regardless of the day. KTW)
I will let all of y’all know how the activities went!
Virtual Brush Box 