On Oct. 4 and 5, 2025, the West Texas A&M University Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) Equestrian team of 46 strong, represented WT at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and brought home victory.
But that is not all to know about this team. Being just one cog in the WT wheel, their victory is a triumph for all Buffs.
“The IHSA Equestrian team is made up of people who ride on either the Western or English team and compete against other schools who also have an IHSA program,” team member, Lexi Woestman said. “The English team recently went to a competition hosted by OU and won high-point team both days. Each placing counts for points, and because we had the highest accumulated points both days, we won.”
The athletes also faced some challenges due to the uncertainty of what horse they would be working with.
“The way it works is, we don’t know the horses we’re going to ride when we get there, they’ll have a draw, and then you go get on a random horse and show it to the best of your ability. And that’s that, you know, you get placed where you get placed, but it’s a lot of fun,” Seat Captain, Hannah Minton said, “I always like, like not knowing who I’m gonna be on. It’s like a surprise.”
There are levels to the members of the team based on training and ability.
“There’s six different divisions that, depending on where you come into college, that kind of rules, like what your ranking is and what level that you go into,” Minton said. “And then our thing is you have to be doing at least two workouts a week. You have to be kind of just putting your time in with the team. And as long as you’re doing that, you pretty much get to go show.”
The team is a testament to WT’s excellence in athletics, and highlights a facet of WT not everyone may be acquainted with.
“Being on the team has helped me grow as an adult,” Woestman said. “I’ve learned how to work with and communicate with other people to achieve a common goal. I’ve made some of my closest friends on the team, and it’s helped me to grow athletically.”
The extent to which these athletes must succeed in order to advance in competitions is also notable.
“Right now we have our seasonal shows,” Minton said. “And basically the way it works is you have to for both the team and, like your individual self, you have to rank up so many points. Specifically, you have to get above 36 points in order to qualify for our regional competition. And then the team has to get top win, and then top two for later on, but that’s kind of when we start thinking about postseason. So there’s on the Western side, there’s regional semifinals and the nationals, and we have regional zones and nationals.”
For anyone looking to join the team, getting connected soon is a good idea.
“We have tryouts at the beginning of every school year, and we post about it on our socials. But if someone is interested, they should reach out to our coach, Lori Jackson,” Woestman said. “We have a few Western home shows this year that people are more than welcome to come to. We always love the support. We also have a fundraising show for our team. It’s called the ‘All Hat No Cattle’ and it’s welcome to anyone who has a horse and wants to compete!”
