This post was written by social media intern Andrea Tito who traveled with the team this weekend.
Day 1- Travel Day
The St. Andrews western team traveled all the way to Herrington, Delaware for IHSA Semi-finals this weekend and took five horses with them. It was a weekend of good attitudes, good teamwork, and good rides!
The riders who competed in semi-finals were:
Dugan McDermott – Walk/Jog for team
Amber Powell – Individual Walk/Jog qualifier
Katie Mosca – Intermediate for team
Kimmy Simonsen – Individual Novice qualifier
Brittany Powell – Novice for team
Kali Cram – Advanced for team
Michelle Hustad – Open Horsemanship for team
Shannon Leggett – Individual Reining qualifier as well as Reiner for the team
SAU’s barn manager Kellie Garrabrant and students Jake Nix and Andrea Tito came along as well to help haul and take care of the horses. The horses that were chosen were Lark, Russell, Sailor, Will, and Gracie. It was a surprise to the team and Coach Carla that the two more inexperienced horses, Russell and Gracie, acted like they had been showing for years and ended up being two of the favorites of the weekend! Not only by the team’s standards, but other competitors as well!
While the haul up was a long 8 hours and to pass the time most everyone decided to sleep. They arrived safely and immediately went to work on making the horses as comfortable as possible. Some team members unloaded the horses and took them out grazing while others unloaded feed, tack, and supplies for the weekend. Stalls were bleached, water filled, and shavings put into stalls while the horses were tacked up and ridden by team members. After night check everyone was excited to go to the hotel and call it a night.
Day 2- It’s Showtime!
The night passed quickly and the morning came early for the team. Kellie, Jake, and Andrea went at 6:30 to feed the horses and do warm-up rides; meanwhile the team arrived at 8 for the coaches meeting and start getting ready to show.
Quiet conversations about horses and riding strategies hovered over the grandstands as competitors got ready for the first class. SAU’s rider Amber Powell was up first for her walk/jog class. She was competing as an individual and her ride would determine whether or not she was called back to compete in the finals on Sunday. After putting in her rail work and a solid pattern Amber felt good about her ride, but she had to wait until the middle of the day to find out if she was called back.
Next to ride was Michelle Hustad in Open Horsemanship as an individual as well. Since there were two heats of her class she would also have to wait until later in the afternoon to find out if she was called back. After she dismounted she was happy with her ride, but from then on it was a waiting game for both her and Amber.
Dugan McDermott was the first rider on the team to ride for points. He had good rail work, an accurate pattern, and the team was waiting anxiously as the placings were announced. 8th passed, then 7th and 6th, and soon Dugan was standing with the top 3 in his walk/jog class. They called his name for second place and the team erupted with cheering and clapping since this gave them a very good start with points.
The tractor rumbled in to drag the arena before the individual reining started and Shannon Leggett was studying the arena to prepare for her pattern. She was the 5th rider in her class and was lucky to be able to watch the horse she drew go with another rider before her. As she left her pattern her score was announced as 140 and divided between two judges that put her at a score of 70 as well as in first place. Other competitors came very close to topping her score, but after the last ride was announced Shannon lined up to receive her blue ribbon and belt buckle that meant she was on her way to nationals!
Michelle rode again after that only this time it was for team points instead of as an individual. Happy with her ride she lined up to wait for the placings and the team all waited anxiously to see how they would do in points. Shock fell over the team when Michelle’s name was called for 8th place. This meant that on Sunday the team would have to work hard and place well in order to rally back.
Last to ride was Kimmy Simonsen in individual intermediate. After putting in good rail work and a good pattern, the riders were excused and that was it for the day. Callbacks would be posted soon and the team would find out if Michelle and Kimmy continued on to the finals the next day. When the announcer’s voice came over the speaker system everyone stopped what they were doing to listen. As he read down the list of numbers tension built higher and higher as they waited to hear Kimmy’s and Michelle’s number.
Once the announcer was finished with the list everyone got back to work taking care of the horses. Kimmy and Michelle had not been called back to compete the next day and although they were disappointed, they stayed positive and started talking about how they would help and support the team on Sunday.
It was dark by the time everyone cleared out of the barn and went back to the hotel. Another early morning was on the schedule so the team called it a night.
Day 3 – The Final Tally
Another early morning started off with horses being fed, warmed up, and riders getting ready to compete in their classes. First up was Shannon Leggett in Team Open Reining. She drew a little bit of a difficult horse for her class but she made the most of it. The team was excited to see her receive fourth place in the lineup and help her team along with points.
Amber Powell followed in the Individual Walk/Jog Finals. Competition was tough and the crowd was quiet as the announcer began with 8th place. Once fourth place was announced, the teams that still had riders standing in the lineup, which included SAU, started cheering because their teammate was going to nationals. They called Amber’s name for third place and the team started cheering even louder.
Brittany Powell was next in Team Novice Horsemanship and there was nothing more to her ride other than precision and confidence. After being excused to dismount and return on foot the crowd around the riders whispered, “Great job” or “It’s all you” as they walked by. Soon Brittany was standing in the top three and her teammates were all excited not only for the points she was going to earn, but also because two more placings went by and Brittany ended up standing alone in the ring to receive Semi-Finals Novice Champion.
A few more classes went by and it was common knowledge that scores between teams were close. Close enough that when Kali Cram mounted up for her ride, she knew that the points she earned in her class would decide if the team went to nationals or not. It seemed to take forever for the rail work and patterns to be completed and for the riders to line up in the ring to get placed. Every time a placing was called the excitement was building up because Kali was still in the running. “6th place… 5th place… 4th place goes to Kali Cram riding for St. Andrews University.” The team exploded with cheering as Kali received her ribbon and ran to hug Coach Carla. No one could stop saying, “We’re going to nationals!”
St. Andrews placed 3rd overall for the weekend, 2nd went to Ohio State and the champion team was University of Nebraska-Lincoln. All the different teams came together and congratulated each other on their hard work and dedication throughout the year. The award ceremony came to an end and then it was time to get everything packed up to go home the next day.
Day 4 – Home
The trailer pulled out of the show grounds at 6am sharp and the team was on their way back to North Carolina. The 8 hours were passed by sleeping, doing homework, and the occasional singing along to a song on the radio. Conversations about movies, music and the rest of the school year were constant as well as excited talk about going to nationals.
Pulling into the driveway at school the team was greeted by applause and balloons. A banner read “Congrats western team. Going to nationals!”
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