The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation has named Woods Baughman of Lexington, Ky., as the recipient of the 2021 Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant. Baughman is a current member of the US Equestrian 2021 Eventing High Performance Pre-Elite Training List.
As the recipient of the grant, Baughman will receive up to $5,000 to help offset expenses associated with his training over the next year.
“I can’t thank the USET Foundation and the people involved with this grant enough,” stated Baughman, 25. “You can never have enough training, and I’ll certainly put this to good use.
“It can be hard trying to put yourself in the right place without having enough financial backing to get the training and support that will help the rider and horses improve,” he continued. “Having good eyes on you is important because there is always something you’re missing. It’s huge to have this help and not have to worry about if I can make this happen.”
Baughman plans to use the grant to support training with his horse C’est La Vie 135, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Contendro I x Aarking xx).
“C’est La Vie is at the top of the sport and I think if I can polish him, he’s really world class,” explained Baughman. “Anything and everything I can do to fill my gaps [in training] so that I can show off the horse I am lucky to ride is worth it.”
The USET Foundation Amanda Pirie Warrington Fund allocates the Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant annually. Pirie’s family established the fund in her memory for the purpose of providing financial assistance to an eventing athlete identified with great talent and ability to represent the United States in the future. It is intended for a recipient that will benefit most from the opportunity to continue their training with top coaches and to compete against the world’s best in eventing, one of three Olympic equestrian disciplines.
Thanks to the Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant, Baughman can continue to focus on his training and prepare for competitions, helping to reach his goal of representing the United States on the international stage.