IHSA Western Weekend

The weekend western shows were a great start to the competitive season. The entire equestrian program pulled together and it showed with the organization of the shows, the camaraderie between the riders and the competitive success for Coach Carla and her riders. The results are listed below. Michelle Hustad had an incredible weekend winning High Point rider on both days with polished rides in the Open Horsemanship and Reining.

Supportive parents were an important part of the weekend. They traveled long distances to support St. Andrews, fed the students very well with sandwiches, snacks and amazing cupcakes, and were very complimentary of the program and its impact on their children.

Show Results

Saturday Horse Show

Team Results

St. Andrews 40

NCSU 26

Martin Community College 26

Virginia Tech 23

Western Carolina 20

Campbell 10

Novice Horsemanship A

1st Katie Mosca

Novice Horsemanship B

1st Natasha Worker

Beginning Horsemanship B

1st Vicki wiese

Novice Horsemanship C

2nd Michelle Eld

Intermediate I Horsemanship A

2nd Jarret Vaughn

Open Horsemanship A

1st Callie Whaley

Intermediate II Horsemanship B

1st Logan Teeter

Reining

1st Michelle Hustad

Intermediate II Horsemanship C

1st Ali Clynes Schmieding

Open Horsemanship B

1st Michelle Hustad

Intermediate I Horsemanship

1st Dugan McDermott

Advanced Horsemanship

2nd Mark Mowbray

High Point Rider

 Michelle Hustad 14pts.

Sunday Horse Show
1st St. Andrews
2nd NCSU

Advanced Horsemanship A

1^st Mark Mowbray

Beginning Horsemanship A

1^st Austin Trockenbrot

Advanced Horsemanship B

1^st Katie Mosca

Open Horsemanship A

2^nd Callie Whaley

Intermediate II Horsemanship A

1^st Cailey Culp

Open Horsemanship B

2^nd Michelle Hustad

Intermediate Horsemanship II B

4^th Sarah Murvin

Reining

1^st Michelle Hustad

Novice Horsemanship A

2nd Logan Teeter

Intermediate II Horsemanship C

1^st Erin Hudson

Novice Horsemanship C

2nd Alexandra Fullerton

Intermediate I Horsemanship

1st Vicky Wiese

Novice Horsemanship C

2nd Erica LeSeur

Where did you go this weekend?

It has been a busy couple of weeks at SAU Equestrian. We had trailers, vans, horses and people heading every which way last weekend. Liz was the first to head out with the 2 horse trailer containing Red Ted and Quinn and Special Olympics coach Brooke Ellington to the Special Olympics at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. They met up with Josh Dazey who showed Quinn in the halter class earning 2^nd place and bringing home the blue ribbon with Red Ted in Western Horsemanship. Josh did all the grooming and preparation of Quinn for the halter class competing against horses that were groomed by the handler’s “team”.

Kelsi and Rob left next with the 6 horse trailer and a handful of students for Camden, SC. The weekend turned out to have many teachable moments as well as some nice ribbons for the students. Brianna Harrison was Reserve Champion in the Adult Equitation and Grace Wadford Champion in Pre Child/Adult Equitation. Rob showed his project horse, Charlie, at his 4^th horse show and was very pleased with his progress. Social Media Intern Kirsten Farley will be posting more about this show in a new series “On the Road with St. Andrews Equestrian”.

Next to hit the road was Matt and riders headed for the IHSA invitational Tournament of Champions at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA. This show was a great tune up for the IHSA hunter seat team and ended with a 5^th place, one of our highest placings at TOC in our history.

Sunday, 7 students made the drive to the Harness Track in Pinehurst to work the dressage show. They served as scribes, stewards, bit checkers, and handed out tests and prizes. Their boss for the day was Event Manager, Sue Smithson, and each one reported enjoying their day and learning more about dressage.

This weekend we have the first home shows of the year, IHSA Western. Saturday at 1:00 and Sunday at 10:00

Team Tryouts are this Friday and Saturday!

Team tryouts are this weekend! Coaches are planning show like conditions to see how well everyone does in a competitive setting. In addition to riding, students are also required to participate in the running of the program. These are some of the requirements. 

Requirements for Team Members

• All team members must volunteer for TH with the RLAK program
• Team members are expected to work at ALL home shows hunter seat, dressage and western
• Team members are expected to participate in team practices
• Team members are expected to do some kind of aerobic training 2x a week and strength training 2x a week. Yoga and Pilates are great for riders! The western team currently has four times schedules during the week to run!
• Team members are responsible for the appearance of the horses at horse shows

Good luck to everyone trying out for IHSA, IDA and the C show team this weekend!

The Semester is off to a running start!

The semester got off to a busy start. There are so many orientation activities to attend and so much planning to do that the days fly by. This year we had a full day for Rider Placement which meant that we were less rushed than usual and with around 80 people to see ride we were very thankful for that! Convocation and the President’s picnic were on the Thursday of orientation week and on the Friday we hosted the first annual tailgate party at the equestrian center for staff and faculty. We really enjoyed meeting our colleagues and showing them around the equestrian center without the pressure of a horse show or other event.

Barn orientation was Sunday afternoon where we showed the incoming students where to find everything at the barn and we all enjoyed ice cream treats served up by the instructors. Classes started last Tuesday followed by Equestrian Fair on Friday where we started another new tradition with our first annual program picture (see below). Riding lessons started today which is a highlight for everyone. Personally, I really enjoyed my first lesson this morning using some of the ideas I learned this summer from various people.