Upstate Equine, LLC.

06/09/2026

Scheduling saddle fit, saddlery, and bodywork appointments for all of SC, NC, TN, and GA through end of September and into October! Call or text to get on the fall travel schedule: 803-410-3262.

04/09/2026

Get ready for a fantastic day of competition—ride times are officially LIVE for the FRC Dressage & CT Schooling Show on Saturday, September 5!

Check your entry times here: foothillsridingclub.org/shows/

We’ve had an unbelievable response and are gearing up for a packed day featuring talented horse-and-rider pairs across both dressage and CT divisions. Come cheer on your favorites! ☀️🐴

A huge shout-out to our incredible first-place sponsor, Pink Rose Organix! We’re thrilled to have their support—be sure to visit them and check out their wonderful lineup: https://www.pinkroseorganix.com/equine

See you between the letters and in the arena this Saturday!

01/09/2026

LAST CHANCE TO SCHOOL THIS SEASON!

Don’t miss it! Tuesday, September 8 is the LAST Tuesday Night Schooling at FENCE!

Come get one more ride in before we wrap up the season. Jumps, gymnastics, cavaletti, and cross rails will be set and ready to go!

🕓 4:00–8:00 PM
💲 $20/horse
🪖 Helmets required
📋 Bring your current Coggins

📍 236 Mane Gate Dr., Tryon, NC

One last Tuesday night. One last chance to ride. See you at FENCE!

27/08/2026

🐴 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SADDLE FITTER — WHAT YOU DON’T SEE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

I think one of the hardest things about working in the saddle-fitting industry is that so much of the job happens after we leave the yard.

You might see us arrive for an appointment, assess your horse, look at the saddle, make adjustments and leave.

But sometimes it isn’t quite that simple.

Sometimes we arrive and the saddle simply doesn’t fit.

Sometimes it can’t be adjusted enough to accommodate the horse’s current shape. Sometimes the horse has changed significantly since the saddle was last fitted. Sometimes we need to find a completely different saddle.

And that’s where the behind-the-scenes work really begins.

We may need to:
🔎 Stock check different saddles
📞 Speak to suppliers or manufacturers
🐴 Source different options for your horse
🚗 Carry and transport stock between appointments
📏 Consider how the horse is likely to change with work, weight or muscle development
📝 Reassess options and sometimes return weeks or months later

And unfortunately, horses don’t always fit neatly into a catalogue.

They change shape. Sometimes incredibly quickly.

A horse gaining muscle through their topline, losing weight, changing workload or simply developing physically can completely change what works for them.

There’s also the side of the job that clients understandably don’t see — insurance, training, equipment, travel, maintaining stock, keeping up with manufacturers and constantly developing our knowledge.

It can be an incredibly rewarding industry, but it can also be incredibly challenging.

Because when a saddle doesn’t fit, we can’t just wave a magic wand and make the perfect saddle appear.

Sometimes finding the right solution takes weeks or even months.

And behind that final appointment where everything finally comes together can be a huge amount of time, research, phone calls, stock checking, travelling and problem-solving that you never see.

So next time your saddle fitter says, “I’m going to have to go away and look at some options,” — please know that doesn’t mean the job has stopped.

That’s often when the real work begins. 💚🐴

27/08/2026

02/06/2026

Back for 2026, the FENCE Tuesday evening Schools!

We’ll set up the jumps: a fully decorated course in one ring, and in the other, various sets of gymnastic exercises, cavaletti and cross-rails. We have skinnies, walls, a roll-top and a little Liverpool to school. Jump height: as you request. We set the course at 2 feet, gymnastics smaller.

Dressage arena available by request (give us a couple of days, please) and for the June Schools, a Sport-Horse In-Hand Triangle to practice with.

In the Covered Arena we’ll have a trail course, some toys to play with (beware the Big Balls!) and someone to help your horse have fun.

Come and play with us - it’s $20/horse for the evening.
Bring a good Coggins test, please, and WEAR your helmet.

4:00 - 8:00 pm. Check-in at announcer’s stand between rings.

Jumping not required! Bring your young or inexperienced horse and just hang out with us. Come dressed English, Western or ba****ck; it’s all good.

June 9 and 23
August 4 and 18
September 8 - and probably a weekend day somewhere in there.

Information:
FENCE at (828) 859-9021, and watch the FENCE page

15/05/2026

Shoulder-in and half pass

These movements are deeply connected exercises because they develop many of the same biomechanical qualities — just in different degrees and directions.

A correct shoulder-in teaches the horse to:
• step the inside hind leg underneath the body toward the center of gravity
• lift and mobilize the base of the neck and shoulders
• soften through the ribcage around the inside leg
• stay connected from inside leg to outside rein
• begin carrying more weight behind

Those are the exact ingredients needed for a balanced half pass which teaches:

• increased engagement of the inside hind
• greater mobility of the shoulders
• suppleness through the ribcage and topline
• improved lateral coordination
• more uphill balance and self-carriage

When shoulder-in is confirmed first, the half pass becomes much easier to keep:
✔ uphill
✔ cadenced
✔ connected
✔ truly bent through the body

Without that foundation, many horses simply drift sideways in half pass with too much neck bend, escaping shoulders, trailing haunches, or loss of rhythm.

Half pass then takes those same qualities and increases the degree of difficulty. The horse must maintain bend, collection, impulsion, and alignment while traveling diagonally and carrying more weight on the inside hind leg. This develops greater strength, coordination, and lateral carrying power.

The two movements constantly “check” and improve each other in training.

If the half pass loses engagement or balance, shoulder-in can restore the horse’s connection to the inside hind and outside rein.

If the shoulder-in becomes stuck or loses energy, half pass can encourage more activity, reach, and expression without sacrificing collection.

This is why riders so often ride:
➡️ shoulder-in into half pass
➡️ half pass back to shoulder-in
➡️ shoulder-in on the long side before a diagonal half pass

The exercises are not isolated tricks — they are part of the same gymnastic conversation.

When correctly developed, shoulder-in and half pass create a horse that is not only more expressive laterally, but also stronger, more balanced, and easier to keep connected in all work.

12/05/2026

Billets, reflocks, conversions, saddle restitching, panel replacements,.....now is the time for your saddlery repairs!

21/04/2026