Kansas City, Mo. – The country’s top saddle seat equitation riders have arrived in Kansas City, Mo., for the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final this Saturday, November 13. Held during the United Professional Horseman’s Association (UPHA)/American Royal National Championship Horse Show, the class features 18 horse-and-rider combinations who will go head-to-head in pursuit of the title.
The USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET with preliminary ride-offs, consisting of group rail work and an individual pattern. The final round will be held later in the afternoon when the finalists will be called back for additional rail work and to perform a second individual pattern. The winner’s name will be engraved on the Helen K. Crabtree Perpetual Bronze, as well as the coveted and historic Adrian Van Sinderen Trophy, joining champions dating back to 1937.
2020 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final top-10 finishers Alayna Applegate (Ewing, Ky.), Finn Cooper (Denver, Colo.), Heather Tampa (Elm Grove, Wis.), and Sophie Yih (Alamo, Calif.) return to the competition in 2021 along with some new faces to the championship aiming for the coveted gold medal.
How to Watch
Tune in to the USEF Network on November 13 for live coverage of the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final's preliminary round at 10:00 a.m. ET. The final round for the Medal Final will be the last class of the afternoon session the same day, beginning no earlier than 12:00 p.m. ET.
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Learn more about saddle seat equitation and all of US Equestrian’s 29 recognized breeds and disciplines in this Learning Center video.
Photo by Howard Schatzberg