In a big weekend for WTAMU sports, the school’s equestrian team added to the excitement by sending 18 riders to compete at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Zone 7 Region 2 Western Championships on March 4.
The first class of the day would be the fastest paced event with nine riders from four schools, including four WT riders, competing in Open Reining. The class would prove to be highly competitive with all nine riders showing that they could complete a near perfect pattern on horses they had only mounted minutes before. WT riders would sweep the third through sixth spots with Hannah Agee and Christa Forsburg placing third and fourth respectively followed by Hannah Welter and Kristen Liesman.
In Open Horsemanship, Addie David would bring home the Lady Buffs’ first championship of the show. WT’s Christa Forsberg and Kristen Liesman would sweep the other two top spots of the four rider class. The three WT students showed horses they had drawn earlier in the day in front of a judge that evaluated their ability to get a horse to perform under an unfamiliar rider. Davis and Forsberg’s placing would earn them a spot on the semifinals entry list in Ohio later this month.In a class much like the Open Horsemanship class, the riders drew mounts and showed off their riding skills in Advanced Horsemanship. The Lady Buffs would be the only ones to qualify during the regular season to compete in the class. Because they were the only two riders, the girls automatically qualified for semi-finals making the class a battle for the championship. Julia Roberts would prove to be more of what the judge was looking for with a ride that crowned her Regional Champion with Leah Thomas finishing close behind as the Reserve Champion.
In the only horsemanship class of the day where the judge didn’t place WT riders in one of the top two spots, Novice Horsemanship proved to be a challenge for WT. Sarah Schmitt would barely miss a spot to semifinals, picking up third place on a ride that flowed around the arena. Lady Buff Lindsay Raften would have a good mount that masterfully worked both the rail and pattern portion of the class, but wouldn’t have what the judge wanted, placing last in the class of five.
Intermediate Horsemanship would see Lady Buffs all over the arena, as five of the nine riders in the class represented WT. Getting back to the team’s winning ways, Audra Head and Paige Frevert would win the top two spots with masterful patterns that caught the judge’s eye. Head would narrowly edge out her teammate for the blue but both would trump the seven others looking for a semi-final spot. Kristi Benedict also earned a top-five placing, finishing fourth with the two other WT riders finishing in the lower half of the class.
The final class of the day would show off the walk-trot riders in Beginner Horsemanship. WT only fielded two of the five riders in the class but in a fitting end to the day, the Lady Buffs swept the top spots. Lindsey McNeill piloted her mount around to a near flawless course to earn the Championship. Teammate Jessica Read would follow suit, executing a well-ridden course to earn the number two spot.
“I feel like [my ride] was amazing and great,” McNeill said. “It was a fun season but it was a long one. We still have more to go so I’m pretty excited to see what will happen in the future.”
The Lady Buff Equestrian Team won the Region 2 Championship, outscoring their nearest competitor by nearly 30 points. In addition to the individual riders that qualified for semifinals, WT can now send one rider for each class to represent the school in the team events during the semifinals in Ohio on March 24-25.
