Sarah Bowman Places at USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals

Sarah Bowman, a youth equestrian rider and trainer from North Atlanta Equestrian at Old Mill Farm, placed 13th in 13 and Under Dressage Seat Equitation at the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) Dressage Seat Medal Finals at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Illinois.

Sarah, 13, who is an accomplished eventer, lives in Emerson and attends North Cobb Christian School in Acworth. She has been riding competitively since she was a year old, and currently competes in national, regional and local eventing shows. Sarah is trained by Suzanne King of Tango Dressage and Eventing in Cartersville. She is a member of the Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association (GDCTA) and serves on the GDCTA Youth Council.

One of the most exciting things about Sarah’s first trip to USEF Finals was the fact that she could take the horse of her choice. She chose to raise the bar and challenge herself even more, by taking an American Mustang with only 100 days of training out of the wild. The five year old Mustang gelding, “Friends Forever” was adopted by a friend, Stan Smith of Athens, Alabama, and trained to compete at the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Gainesville, Georgia; however, Stan was injured in a farm accident in July, and unable to compete.

“I love riding this horse,” Sarah said, “and am glad he had all the training necessary to compete at Nationals with me. What I love most about Mustangs is their ability to compete in any discipline.”

In 2012, Sarah also competed in the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, Texas with her mustang yearling, “Dream On.” They were finalists, winning 17th place out of 67 youth competitors from across the nation.

Additionally, Sarah is training a horse for the Thoroughbred Makeover. He is a five year old gelding named “Old Brownsboro,” and they will be headed to Lexington, Kentucky in October to demonstrate the benefits of training retired racehorses to compete in other disciplines. Sarah and Old Brownsboro will compete in the disciplines of her choice; likely Dressage and Freestyle.