The U.S. Saddle Seat Equitation World Cup is pleased to announce the members of its teams for 2006. Twenty three-gaited and 10 five-gaited finalists competed for positions on the teams at William Woods University in Fulton, MO, over the weekend of March 17-19. Five riders and an alternate were selected for each of the teams.

These outstanding riders will represent the United States at the 2006 International Saddle Seat Equitation World Cup event. The prestigious international competition will be held November 26-December 2, 2006 in Parys, South Africa. “The 2006 World Cup trials represented the goal for which we strive,” said Ellen Beard, Executive Director. “The best riders from the saddle seat equitation and the performance worlds came together to compete for the coveted five slots on the three- and five-gaited teams. I think it is outstanding that our three-gaited team consists of riders from the Saddlebred, Arabian, National Show horse and Morgan breeds. Most of the competitors are not only top equitation riders, but have been highly successful in performance competition as well. This exemplifies the horsemanship ability that our team possesses. Our 2006 teams have the depth of talent to meet the challenges of international competition.”

The members of the 2006 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Teams are:

Three-Gaited
Jacqueline Beck (Aliso Viejo, CA)
Michelle Krentz (Hartford, WI)
Alexis Scott (Des Moines, IA)
Sarah Taylor (Davison, MI)
Deveau Zubrod (Versailles, KY, and Westerville, OH)
Mandy Martin (Alternate) (Diamondhead, MS)

Five-Gaited
Ashley Alden (Deer Park, IL)
Jamie Bender (Springfield, NE)
Brooke Jacobs (Georgetown, KY)
Ali Judah (Louisville, KY)
Cristina Sloan (Hallsville, MO)
Rachael North (Alternate) (Goshen, KY)

The coaches and managers for the 2006 teams have also been announced are consist of:

Three-Gaited
Renee Biggins – Coach (Simpsonville, KY)
Chuck Herbert – Manager (Evansville, IN)

Five-Gaited
Lynda Freseth – Coach (Oconomowoc, WI)
Liz McBride Jones – Manager (Raeford, NC)

William Woods University again served as the site for and provided the horses used in the trials. Gayle Lampe, Laura Ward and their staff and students at William Woods continued their outstanding efforts to ensure that the competition was fair and went smoothly. The trials are designed to prepare riders for the unique atmosphere of the International event. The Team Selection Trials consisted of two days of competition during which riders completed two rail sessions, two individual patterns and one personal interview. Scoring was equally weighted among the riding portions to total 90%, while the interview accounted for the remaining 10% of each rider’s total score. A distinguished panel of judges from multiple breed affiliations scored the event. The judges included: Michael Craghead, Karen Homer-Brown, Patty Kent, Marilyn Macfarlane, Ann Slomkowski and Barbe Smith.

Riders from all saddle seat breeds were eligible to compete for membership on the 2006 teams. The purpose of the Saddle Seat World Cup is to promote the discipline of saddle seat equitation on an international level. The diversity involved in saddle seat equitation in the United States creates the unique opportunity to draw from an expanded pool of top riders.

For the three-gaited team, nine finalists earned their bids to the trials by winning one of several designated qualifying finals or by virtue of a breed association nomination. The remaining finalists for the three-gaited team were chosen from a pool of applicants. In addition, 10 finalists competed for the honors of five-gaited team membership. One automatic bid for