Prophet posing with the “look of eagles” and completely ignoring my lovin’.
In this series, Cassidy Sitton chronicles her experiences as she and her OTTB, Subway Prophet, prepare for the FENCE SmartPak Equine USEA Training 3-Day in the beginning of April.
We’ve arrived!
All the midnight trot sets, sandbox lessons, jumper shows and time spent with my pony are now culminating with this weekend. What a whirlwind to get to a spring three-day by the first weekend of April — especially with not making a trip down South — but P and I made it, amongst engagements and employment and all that good stuff that comes with life.
Checking out the stickiness of my sticky spray before doing the steeplechase clinic. Luckily, with just one horse going here, so far things have been like a vacation. P and I made the quick five hour trip, only to find out we were the first to arrive on grounds! We had a lovely solo hack around the property, where we marveled at the beautiful landscape. Having never been to FENCE before, I’m quite amazing at the gorgeousness of the facility–what a treat doing steeplechase around the course is going to be on Saturday!
Prophet gives the landing of the jump plenty of room–can never be sure what’s on the other side of that scary brush!
The great thing about the long-format program that the USEA has going on is the wonderful educational aspect tied into the event. Today we had the in-barn process, followed by a steeplechase clinic, and then jog-up demo. Even for those of us who have competed and groomed at several of these “little long-format things,” there is always something to learn!
Auditors at the steeplechase clinic.
P made quick work of the pace exercise that the steeplechase clinician, Beth Perkins, put us through, and then quickly jumped the entire brush on the fence she had us schooling over. It only took him one sailing adventure though to realize that he could ‘brush’ through. Everyone’s horses did quite well and we are all enjoying learning about each other’s horses and their personalities. There are also several very cool canine companions in the barn area… and they are sure to make sure everyone is greeted accordingly!
Fellow Raleigh-ite and eventer, Amanda Miller and I wait for the start of the clinic (our boys are best friends already!)
Tomorrow morning we start off with a 10am jog, and dressage at 1pm. For those of you who may be concerned, I have yet to decide what I’ll be wearing for jogs. After doing more shopping over the weekend than I have in the last five years (which totaled about 35 minutes between teaching lessons), I promptly returned everything I bought (except for a pair of skinny jeans – which last time I went clothes shopping, those weren’t even in style!), and therefore I’m at a loss. I pretty much packed my entire closet so although it was a pain to lug my suitcase up the hotel steps, I should at least be able to be outfitted appropriately in the morning.
Teddy, one of our cool canine neighbors.
Ciao, ciao for now!
Cassidy Sitton, 25, bases her C-Horse Eventing business out of Raleigh, North Carolina where she enjoys teaching and training, and is also a marketing professional for an equine-related business.
[Editor’s note – when Cassidy says “amongst engagements,” she means literally…she was recently engaged to her long-time boyfriend John! Congratulations!]
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.
Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.
Official Corporate Sponsors of the USEA
Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA
Official Feed of the USEA
Official Saddle of the USEA
Official Forage of the USEA
Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA
Login
