Accomplished Equestrian Genay Vaughn Sets Sights On Olympics
SLOUGHHOUSE (CBS13) — In Sloughhouse, a 26-year-old and her best pal Furstin P, ride in the morning sunlight. This duo enjoying their morning ride has become a household name across the globe.
Meet Genay Vaughn, one of the top Black female equestrians in the world.
"It's really cool to see if, you know, if there's a little girl out there she can look up and see 'hey there's someone that kinda looks like me doing it,' and I think that's important," she said.
The athlete, who's been riding since the age of four, also just so happens to be the daughter of former MLB superstar, Greg Vaughn.
"He taught me a lot of great things about professional athletes and sports in general, so maybe just that advice is a little bit extra of an edge to know what the top athletes in sports, in general, have to do to be at the top of their game," she said.
Genay grew up in an athletic world. Aside from her father being a famous left fielder, her mother Michele was also a well-known rider with top honors. The trio is no doubt a triple threat, with Genay now carrying on the family legacy.
"I was the top equitation rider in the country, I represented the U.S., I was one of two riders picked to represent in the under 25 division," Genay said.
The Sacramento native has dominated the sport of dressage and we got a private show.
"Dressage is basically a pattern that we have to do movements in a test, and judges grade us on how well we execute the movements and the pattern," she said.
Getting to this level takes years of hard work and dedication.
"You don't know until you put all these years in if it's going to be a horse that will reach the top level like the Olympics," Genay said.
And while the bond between Genay and her horse is unmatchable, her mom takes a close second. Not only do they work hand-in-hand, as Michele was also her coach for many years, but together they also run high-performance training center Starr Vaughn Equestrian.
So what's next for Genay? The Olympics.