Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the selection of the 2017 U.S. Saddle Seat Young Riders Teams. The USEF received nearly 100 applications from around the country. After extensive review by the selection committee, two teams of 12 riders were chosen to compete at the U.S. Saddle Seat Invitational/Test Event on April 3-6, 2017, at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Ga. The event will feature two competitions with each U.S. squad facing at least one team from a different country. South Africa and Canada have confirmed participation in the Invitational.

The following athletes were selected for the 2017 U.S. Saddle Seat Young Riders Teams.

Three-Gaited
Megan Buckley (Zionsville, Ind.)
Frannie Gefke (Brooklyn, Wis.)
Raven Gropp (Augusta, Ga.)
Jacquelyn King (Tyler, Texas)
Nicole Rodriguez (Grand Blanc, Mich.)
Victoria Walz (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)

Five-Gaited
Emily Hopp (Bellevue, Neb.)
Matt Huke (Westfield, Ind.)
Anne Pateman (New Orleans, La.)
Holly Sarette (Goffstown, N.H.)
Lindsay Slemmons (Birmingham, Ala.)
Jade Woods (Altoona, Iowa)

Three-Gaited
Grace Allison (Ringoes, N.J.)
Michael Arquilla (Woodridge, Ill.)
Lora Becker (Sac City, Iowa)
Ellie Grosspietsch (Cross Plains, Wis.)
Audra Lee (Binghamton, N.Y.)
Hallie Ricci (Allentown, N.J.)

Five-Gaited
Cecelia Bolka (Dayton, Ohio)
Ainsley Budzinski (Mukwonago, Wis.)
Madison Kobylski (Asbury, N.J.)
Olivia Schumacher (Sergeantsville, N.J.)
Te’a Snider (Carmel, Ind.)
Madeleine Wood (Edmond, Okla.)

The USEF formed the U.S. Saddle Seat Young Riders Teams with the purpose of developing riders for future U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup competitions. During years that the Saddle Seat World Cup competition is not held, members of the Young Riders Teams will be eligible to represent the United States in other international competitions.

Unlike the selection process for the U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team, riders did not attend live tryouts. Instead, selection was based on application and video submissions.

For more information, please visit www.usasaddleseatworldcup.org or contact the following National Affiliates staff members:

Lori Nelson; lnelson@usef.org 859-225-6957
Terra Schroeder, tschroeder@usef.org; 859-225-6952
Erin DesNoyers, edesnoyers@usef.org; 859-225-6977
Jennifer Mellenkamp, jmellenkamp@usef.org; 859-225-6955

From the USEF Communications Department