As a longtime Equestrian Instructor specializing in Saddle Seat at William Woods, Sarah Track already had extensive experience with the sport’s World Cup competition.
As a student at WWU in 1996, she served as a groom for the first World Cup Selection Trials ever held at William Woods. As a Saddle Seat Riding Instructor, she managed the horses for the World Cup Selection Trials held at William Woods in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. She was also invited to coach a World Cup Invitational “Stars” team in New Orleans in the summer of 2023. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that the veteran Saddle Seat riding expert applied for and was chosen as one of four coaches for the United States Saddle Seat team at the ultimate competition – the 2024 Saddle Seat World Cup, held last month (December 10-13) in Parys, South Africa.
“It was an honor to be able to help coach a team of extremely talented riders from all over the United States at the World Cup,” said Track, a 1998 graduate of The Woods. “I have extensive experience in coaching riders on unfamiliar horses, which is what I do at William Woods every day, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to share everyone’s passion for the discipline and show horsemanship skills on unfamiliar horses in unfamiliar territory.”
And as unfamiliar territory goes, few locations meet that description as aptly as South Africa, a mere 20-hour airplane flight from Missouri that is literally on the other side of the world.
“South Africa is eight hours ahead of us, so there was some jet lag involved!” she said. “But it was beautiful, the people were super friendly and welcoming, and the horses were wonderful to work with. It was great to see both the similarities and the differences in the ‘equine culture’ over there but in the end, they love and appreciate their horses as much as we do here in the U.S.”
Track’s main responsibilities at the World Cup competition, which included the U.S. team and teams from South Africa and Canada, included navigating the unfamiliar horses and pairing them up with the appropriate riders to help ensure the best outcome. Along with her fellow coaches, she helped the riders deconstruct patterns and develop a solid game plan during the competition, while helping encourage them in a positive fashion before they competed to help them deliver their best efforts. Her work helped the U.S. team win the Three-Gaited Gold Medal while also earning a Silver Medal in the Five-Gaited division.
“I am most proud to have witnessed the horsemanship and the ultimate mental toughness of our riders,” Track said. “They all did such a great job handling the pressure of international competition and definitely making the best of it!”
The next Saddle Seat World Cup competition will take place back in the United States in 2026, and even if Track is not coaching again, she is sure that she will be involved in some way, as always. In the meantime, her experience coaching World Cup champions at the 2024 South Africa games will always be a point of pride for her, not to mention the Equestrian Studies program at William Woods University.
“As a representative of William Woods, I was honored to be chosen to coach at the World Cup, it is a great program and experience for both riders and coaches,” she added. “And as always, it is a networking opportunity for me to get to know the riders, coaches and parents better and introduce them to what we have at William Woods.”
