Virtual Brush Box

Road to the World Cup, International Saddle Seat Style, Guest Post

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]
Part 9 [Out-of-Saddle Activities]

Today is day 3 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!
~~~

Clothing comparison: USA left. SA right.
2016 World Cup competition in Stellenbosh, South Africa, Three-Gaited section.
Photo by Christy Parker

Questions by KTW
I know a little about the international aspect, but I won’t pretend to be an encyclopedia of knowledge.

What countries?
United States of America, Canada, South Africa, and Namibia will all be competing for the 2018 Saddle Seat World Cup

How long have they had saddle seat?
I am not exactly sure how long each country has had saddle seat. The Saddle Seat World Cup has been going on since 1996. The two countries that competed in the first competition were USA and South Africa. Canada began competing in the World cup in 1998 and Namibia started in 2004. Other countries that have previously competed but won’t be attending this year’s competition are Germany, Sweden, and Great Britain.

Are there different saddle seat styles in different countries?
I haven’t noticed different styles from the previous international competitions I’ve watched. The art of equitation is universal and is the same in each country. I have noticed the riding attire trends are a little different. USA’s riding suits tend to be flashier with shiny fabrics and the South Africans like mismatched derbies. They might wear a tan derby with a black suit or and dark brown derby with a tan suit. The mismatched derbies are something you don’t see here in the states. In my (probably biased) opinion, the USA riders always have a more polished, tailored appearance.

Do other countries come over to ride at Louisville?
Louisville is still our big Kahuna but the international barns don’t typically travel to the USA to compete at our “World’s” Championship Horse Show. There have been a lot of native South African trainers that have moved here and opened barns in the USA, but there isn’t much international saddle seat competition outside World Cup.

Who usually wins World Cup?
United States is definitely the World Cup powerhouse. USA dominates the three-gaited division and has only lost to South Africa a handful of times. The five-gaited division is more evenly matched. Both USA and South Africa are very competitive in the five-gaited division. South Africa actually has Five-Gaited Equitation at their horse shows where the USA does not. So, five-gaited equitation is something the South Africans practice on a consistent basis even outside of preparing for World Cup. Virtually every World Cup competition, USA and South Africa are competing for Gold and Silver and the other countries are competing for Bronze.

Tell us about the International Saddle Seat Equitation Association.
The International Saddle Seat Equitation Association (ISSEA) is the governing body, which is composed of countries that are uniting with the common goal of promoting and growing the Saddle Seat Equitation discipline on an International level. ISSEA is the organization that controls how the World Cup competitions are run, the judging criteria, patterns that will be performed, and is responsible for selecting the judges.

How will this be different than any other horse show, or will it not be? I once interviewed an Olympic eventer who said the whole point was this it wasn’t different. You went in & do what you do.
The actual riding and execution of patterns will not be different than any other horse show. I will still ride and show the horses in the exact same way. The difference is how everything is scored. The judges do not tie the class in the same fashion as a regular show (1st – 8th). The judges have to assign each rider a numerical score from 1-100. The rider’s individual scores are then calculated and combined with the other riders from the specific country. The scoring gets a little complicated and could be its own post.

Road to the World Cup, Out-of-Saddle Activities, Guest Post

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.

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!
~~~

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!

Road to the World Cup, Riding for the USA, Guest Post

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.

Today is day 1 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!
~~~

It wasn’t until my recent years that I decided to add being on Team USA to my bucket list. I’ve always thought it would be super cool to be on the team, but it was only a few years ago when I decided this was something I really wanted to achieve.

World Cup is a bi-annual competition. In 2016, I considered trying out for the team, but decided not to when I found out the competition would be the same week as my national championships. I chose to compete at Nationals. Turns out that was not a bad decision. I won both the Adult USEF Medal and UPHA Adult Challenge Cup unanimously that year.

When 2018 tryouts came around, I decided it was now or never because I was not getting any younger. I was invited to tryout and made the team. For some reason, until lately, my sense of accomplishment ended after I made the team. I thought “Yay, I made the team and now I get to add being USA World Cup team member to my riding resume”. Once I made the team, I was preparing for the competition as if it was another horse show. Ride your horse. Kick ass. Rinse and repeat. People would ask if I was getting excited or nervous. My internal response was always “not really… it’s just another competition.”

It wasn’t until recently when someone (our beloved Katherine) told me that she thought I was too close to it to see how unspeakable cool the whole thing is. And you know … she is right. World Cup is the only international saddle seat competition. It is basically the saddle seat Olympics. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) treats the saddle seat team the same as they do their Olympians for other disciplines. We get the same attire as the Olympians and considered a legitimate part of Team USA. That is pretty freaking cool!!

I am now recognizing and letting it soak in how rare of an opportunity this is and how this is not just another competition. I am representing my country and that creates a sense of pride. That also creates a sense of fear. If I don’t ride well I won’t just be letting myself down but I will also be letting my country down.

So if someone were to ask me now if I am getting excited or if I am getting nervous, my response to both would be “HELL YES!”

Because The Shopping Never Stops

Horsekeeping

Items bought in response to the Tennessee driving show [Not a post] and to prepare for Milton’s first non-compete adventure [Here for the Experience].

Driving knickknacks. Trace hangers that we should have had in Tenn. While we were at it, quick releases for holdback straps on the britching. Driving Essentials

Pull strings for quick releases, so you have something to grab in a crisis. Coach Kate favors replaceable whip ends. Carousel Tack Shoppe

Tack/Bucket/Whatever hooks. Because I can never have enough. I lose them faster than I lose socks. Carousel Tack Shoppe

Went in for hooks, above. The nice lady at the tack store was on the phone. Wandered about store. Good thing she got off the phone. Who knows what else I might’ve bought. Sox: b/c I like the design. Curry: I didn’t like the feel of the new ones, so I bought the last of the old models. Told NLatTS that I was picky about my grooming tools. She said I was picky about everything. Fair enough. Carousel Tack Shoppe

Home Depot: battery-operated interior trailer lights, tack box, fire extinguisher.
Walmart: Stall fan, cord, zipties.

It never ends, does it? What was the last horse or hobby related item you bought?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

My Heart Is In My Boots, and That’s a Good Thing

Home Team

“It’s not… men… it’s just him.”
Ianto Jones
Torchwood
Children of Earth: Day One
IMDB: quotes

Hell has frozen over. I have black field boots. Courtesy of Carousel Tack Shoppe.

They are so gorgeous and fit me so well, I don’t care.

I needed new boots. My brown Ariats [New Equipment] blew out at the sides. The choice was another set of jod boots to continue using my half chaps, or suck it up and get tall boots. Last time I had to make this choice, my chances of ever riding in tall boots seemed so remote that the thought of buying a pair was too depressing. This time, I have sidled closer to the possible option that perhaps one day I might potentially ride in a venue that might required these. More a matter of needing new footware than of getting ready for any specific outing.

Plus, the failure rate of the brown boots did not inspire me to another pair. To be fair, my first pair of black Ariats lasted 8 years [Boots, Before & After]. The second pair, bought a year before the brown ones, are still going strong. The wear was a factor, but mostly it was time.

Tall boots it was. Black field boots was NOT what I expected walking in the door of the tack shop.

For those who do not understand the nuance here, let me explain how riding boots work. Dress boots have no ornamentation. They come in black. Field boots have laces at the ankles and frilly caps on the toes. They come in brown. Black field boots, i.e. black boots with ankle and toe decor, are wrong. Period. Black field boots have also been around for 30+ years. Black field boots are so popular today that the tack shop does not stock black dress boots.

Ah well, I still have my black dress Dehners if I feel like going old school. Why did I buy new ones if I have these? Old boots are pull-on. New boots have zippers down the back seam. Fit is totally different. Will find out if I like new fit. Old boots need to be fixed. The last heel replacement left nails sticking up into my foot, so I need to send them back home for proper repair. Old boots are in great shape, except for the heel, but I’m not sure they still fit. Old boots represent where I used to be with horses.

Basically, the whole business is so emotionally fraught, it was easier to move forward.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What Happens When One Spends Five Days Sitting About In Northeast Georgia

Graphic Design

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

In Which I Consider How Much Schooling Is Enough

Writing, Home Team, Combined Driving

“Puck … was a right stroppy pig at his only outing in 2017, so he’s going on lots of adventures this year as a non-compete.”
Lauren Sprieser
COTH: Reintroductions

I’m not sure what a “stroppy pig” is, but I’m pretty sure Milton was one at his first driving show [not a post]. Since then, we have taken him as a spectator to two Saddlebred shows [MSSP, NEGA]. Horse and rider have both benefited from the experience of seeing new things and from the experience of living through seeing new things. Another spectator show is coming up. Should we go? Or are we ready to show?

When are you ready? Do you have a choice? If you have a target competition, the amount of time to practice is dictated by the calendar. Reagan better be ready when the gate swings open in Lexington [Road to the World Cup]. For actors in a production, the number of rehearsal is limited by the number of days. They better be ready when the curtain goes up on opening night.

When are you ready? Have you done enough? We thought we had done enough last time. We were wrong. Undoubtedly, we would all benefit from more exposure. OTOH, we could make a career out of being a non-compete. The goal is to become a compete. You can assemble all the rockets you want in computer simulations. At some point you have to get out the sheet metal and rivets to see if your idea can fly.

When are you ready? How many options do you have? When I lived in the Mid-Atlantic region, the show calendar was a buffet. Blow a show? That sucks. Go to the next one. In the Southeast, shows are multi-day efforts that require vacation days from work, long drives, and room/board for horse & human. This is particularly true for driving. There just aren’t that many chances. You don’t want to blow one. If you are run a 5K road race, there’s probably another one next weekend. If you want to finish an Ironman, there probably isn’t. “There are over three dozen Ironman Triathlon races throughout the world that enable qualification for the Ironman World Championships” Wiki: Ironman Triathlon

When are you ready? Is anyone else going? Puck can go along while his barn buddies compete. Milton is the reason we go, not an add-on. If you sell your paintings, it’s easy to toss one more in the van headed to the Art Fair.

When are you ready? Does anyone else care? A professional horse trainer has all the regular pressures of horse training, plus bill-paying owners to keep happy. As amateurs, Husband and I can please ourselves. A sight-seeing trip for yourself is easy enough to move around, reschedule, or cancel. There is less flexibility when planning the annual sight-seeing trip for the garden club, church group, or Boy Scout Troop.

When are you ready? Are there external factors? Milton will not be going to the spectator show in August. Not because we are ready. Not because we are not. We are not going because it will be too hot.

Update: I occurs to me that I might have been unclear. There are two groups of shows:

1) ASB shows that we go to with Stepping Stone. Milton goes as a spectator. There probably are a few classes we could wedge him into, but he’s not the right kind of horse. It’s an expensive way to come in last. Plus, group classes on the flat are not his destiny.

2) Dressage shows, events, driving shows, and – eventually – jumper shows.

We are using the first group to get ready for the second group. Or maybe you got that.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott