‘Frozen’ Freestyle Wins the Kentucky Reining Cup

Last Saturday in Kentucky was a wet, sloppy mess on the XC course … but inside, things were pretty “frozen.”

Image by Waltenberry, courtesy of Alden Corrigan

The Kentucky Horse Park didn’t just draw the eventers this weekend: the annual Kentucky Reining Cup takes place on the same weekend as Rolex each year, allowing for some cross-disciplinary exposure for both sports. (Check out our KRC introduction from last week to learn more.) The Cup includes both non-pro and open competition on Friday night, which saw the almost-indisputable king of reining Shawn Flarida slide away with top honors aboard Magnum Chic Dunit, owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA:

As usual, Flarida’s performance was a textbook display of what a good reining run should look like. With individual scores of 73, 73 and 72.5, Flarida and Magnum Chic Dunit had a 2-point lead on second place pair Jose Vazquez and Shiner Side Winder.

The real draw of the Kentucky Reining Cup is always Saturday night, which when combined with a full day of cross-country action outside makes up “Super Saturday” or a veritable playground for equestrians. We’re talking about the World Championship Freestyle Reining, which takes all of the elements of reining and coordinates them to music, complete with costumes and theatrics. This year, the new freestyle world champion was Laura Sumrall and Wimpys Top Model, owned by Hilairy Guerriero, with an impressive score of 224.5. Their Frozen routine to “Let It Go” got the crowd cheering along with each move, as Sumrall dramatically reenacted the film as Queen Elsa herself:

We love Sumrall’s hands-free maneuvers, not to mention casually throwing that cloak over her shoulder with elegance. Clearly, the judges loved it as well, with Sumrall winning the freestyle by a full point.

Did you attend the Kentucky Reining Cup? Share your favorite moments with us in the comments!

Go riding!