Two weeks ago I got an email from Catie Ciciretto, a multimedia reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald, saying she was interested in doing a story on the U of O Equestrian Team. Since I am always game for some free publicity for the team, I happily agreed. Her is the video that came from it. It features myself, coordinator for the equestrian team, Mike Galloway, owner of the UO Equestrian Team’s new home barn, Triple Rise Equestrian Center and Major Defoe, owner of the Oregon Horse Center. It is set during the annual Mother’s Day Classic at the Oregon Horse Center.

What I like about this video, and I think Catie did a good job conveying, is that horse shows are not just a hobby for some people, they’re serious competitions and big business for a large niche of people. At the Mother’s Day Show especially, people put down big money to train and prepare for a shot at the $10,000 prize of the mini grand prix, a competition featured in the video in which a rider must guide their horse through a course of nearly 5-foot-high fences (this is generally the highest level of competition).

Catie is a very cool girl and my team and I had a great time showing her the ins and outs of the horse show world. Hopefully, during our the Equestrian Team’s competitions, we will have a great contact at the ODE and be able to create more good PR for the team