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ZONE 7, REGION 2 RIDERS MAKE A STATEMENT Murfreesboro, TN - They certainly are human. In the final individual stock seat class of 2004 IHSA Nationals not one rider from Zone 7, Region 2 placed in the top five, or top seven for that matter. But aside from that one off moment, the region made up of schools from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana was spectacular. Four blue ribbons. Four yellow ribbons. The power of the region was also felt beyond the individual western divisions, as eleven of the twelve riders from the team competition placed in the top six (Oklahoma State was high point team, though because Zone 7 has over 500 stock seat riders the top three teams from the Zone go on to Nationals, paving the way for Texas A & M to bring a full western team). The AQHA individual champion was from Oklahoma State, adding another prize to the pile. In truth, three teams dominate this region. Texas A & M entered the 2004 show having been Co-National Champions with Ohio State in 2002 and region rival West Texas A & M last season. In 2004 the aggies would win the title outright. Oklahoma State won the National Championship in 2000 and was third this season. So strong were the aggies and cowgirls in 2003-04 that no West Texas A & M riders, including several who rode at 2003 Nationals, placed above fourth at Regionals. Eight other teams competed in Zone 7, Region 2 stock seat shows during the season, but the strength of the top three teams was so great than not one undergraduate from Stephen F. Austin, Texas Tech, Sul Ross State, Southern Nazarene, Rice, Texas State, Texas A & M at Corpus Christi and North Central Texas College even QUALIFIED for Regionals. The first undergraduate individual stock seat class of 2004 IHSA Nationals was the only one to feature one and not two riders from Zone 7, Region 2, as Rachel Knight of New Mexico State from Zone 7, Region 1 placed second in the division at Zone 7 Zones (Knight's sister-in-law Rachel, who is also the daughter of New Mexico State Head Coach Deb Rosencrans, did very well in the alumni stock seat divisions, which will be covered in a separate alumni story). Intermediate western took place around dinner time on Friday, with sixteen riders entered. Jenna Starr of Hood College, who was once a member of the Centenary College hunter seat team, earned the first ribbon with a tenth. Chrysal Coffelt of Kutztown was ninth, and though she did not know it at the time, Coffelt would be the only undergraduate stock seat rider from Zone 3 to earn an individual ribbon above the participation level. Sarah Howell of the University of the South was eighth, the lone stock seat rider from the Sewannes to make it though Zone 5 Zones. Tiffany Washington of Fresno State was seventh, but was certainly not the last bulldog rider to win a ribbon in the individual competition. Heather Reynolds of surprising Cazenovia College was sixth. Each of the wildcats' individual riders scored a sixth or higher. College of Southern Idaho sophomore Katie Brunelle was fifth, while Ashley Hiller of Ohio State was fourth, an improvement over her sixth in team novice western earlier in the day. Two of the top three placings went to freshman making their IHSA Nationals debuts. Ohio University Southern Campus freshman Elizabeth Diamond placed third while Lindsey Salestrom of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln came in reserve. The blue ribbon winner was no stranger to IHSA Nationals, having ridden in each of the past two season-ending shows. Hailing from Coweta, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State junior April Peck captured the first individual blue ribbon. Peck was not new to the Tennessee Miller Coliseum winner's circle, having placed first less than two hours earlier in team novice western. If the stars had lined up differently earlier in the season, Peck may have done something really unique. Though primarily a stock seat rider, Peck is pretty good in the walk-trot division. She just missed out on qualifying for Regionals in the hunter seat. Had she earned her 35th point, Peck would have been one of only two walk-trot riders in the region to qualify, and one of only four who would have ridden in the division at Zones. The division held on this day between team novice western and individual intermediate western was individual walk-trot, and had Peck qualified in that division, she may have been the only rider in IHSA history to ride in three consecutive classes at IHSA Nationals! Getting changed in and out of the different outfits would have been problematic to say the least. It was dinner time all over again on Saturday when the individual open western horsemanship division had its' turn. Eight of the fifteen riders entered were seniors, though at least two had eligibility remaining and claimed they would be back in the fall. Freshman Jennalinn Teel of Morrisville State College (known in previous seasons as the State University of New York at Morrisville) started the placings with a tenth. University of Michigan senior Lynn Hatfield, who also rode hunter seat during her four years in Ann Arbor, ended her IHSA undergraduate days with a ninth. Yet another senior, Heather Reichert of the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, placed eighth while another freshman, Rachel Sternoff of the University of South Carolina, was seventh. Cazenovia senior Katherine "Katie" Fistner had perhaps her best ride of 2004 Nationals with a sixth. Fistner made the top ten in the AQHA Cup and placed sixth in the final team class of the show, team open western horsemanship. Fresno State senior Laine Hendricks, who was at 2003 Nationals as a member of Bakersfield College, placed fifth. The first rider not to be a senior or freshman to earn a ribbon in this class was yet another transfer. Junior Rusty Rea, who rode for Louisville last season, placed fourth as a member of Middle Tennessee State. Though few disagreed with his placing here, some felt Rea deserved a higher score in both the team open reining Friday night and the reining phase of the AQHA Cup later on this day. Up to this point no one from Zone 7, Region 2 had received anything besides a 'participation ribbon (given out to all riders before they even participate).' That all changed when Oklahoma State senior Crissy Meeks heard her name called as third. Meeks still has eligibility remaining, so 2004 Nationals should not be her last IHSA show. Hendrick's teammate Taylor Mason, who has quite a reputation in western circles outside the IHSA, placed second. Surprisingly, the bulldog junior did not participate in any previous IHSA National show before this one. She had placed eighth in the same division at 2003 Nationals. This time Texas A & M junior Kathryn Ann "Katie" Forest won the class. The blue ribbon was the first for the British-born Forest at an IHSA Nationals show. The horse she rode, "Skipalark Star," had actually belonged to her Texas A & M roommate several years ago (there is quite an interesting story behind this, but as of May 25th we at Campus Equestrian were still waiting to hear from Skipalark Star's current owner to trace the sojourn from an aggie rider's youth to IHSA Nationals, where the horse truly was a star, carrying several riders to blue ribbons). Forest placed fourth in team open reining the previous day, contributing three points to the aggie's eventual winning team total of 28. Day four of IHSA Nationals was devoted entirely to stock seat disciplines, with two team classes and four individual classes on tap. Individual advanced western horsemanship started the proceedings, with several of the fifteen riders qualified having spent much of the season at the open level.
In total contrast to the events of the previous two days, the western classes ran smoothly and surprisingly quickly on the final day of IHSA Nationals. Considering that this was the level directly below open, the class was completed in just over an hour. Keith Buisman, a sophomore from Morrisville State, was tenth while Kathryn Green was ninth, the Purdue freshman the only boilermaker to qualify stock seat for 2004 Nationals. Nichole Pogue of the University of Florida was eighth while Ashley Kremer of Ohio State was seventh in her second appearance at a National show, having placed second in team advanced western in 2003. There were two Fresno State riders in the class, and while Shauna Erickson may not have placed the green ribbon went to bulldog junior Elizabeth Knapp. Nicole "Nikki" Caron of Cazenovia was fifth, while Black Hawk freshman Angela Garrett was fourth, earning the highest individual ribbon for the team from Kewanee, Illinois that placed fifth in the team competition. Like Fresno State, Oklahoma State had two riders in advanced western. Senior Erin Hale took third place in her final IHSA ride as an undergraduate, while Middle Tennessee State senior Lydia Whitlow was reserve. Though Whitlow would ride in team open western horsemanship later in the day, the second place ribbon would be her best ribbon in three IHSA Nationals classes over the course of two seasons. Though Hale had ridden in each of the previous two IHSA National shows (once riding in western and english classes that were held one right after the other), Oklahoma State junior Lindsey Childress won the division. Incredibly this was the first appearance in an IHSA Nationals class for Childress, showing just how deep Coach Larry Sanchez's cowgirl roster is. "Derby Day" takes on different meaning in Murfreesboro: Perhaps the most highly anticipated individual class of the entire show, english or western, is the individual open reining pattern. Interest is higher than with the other divisions because more than just a trophy is at stake. The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) sponsors the division, not only awarding a Tex Tan Saddle to the winner and trophys to first and reserve, but the opportunity for each of the top four riders to participate at the NRHA "Derby" in Oklahoma City on May 21st. Each of the top four gets to ride in the NRHA Collegiate Reining Championship Division, a very prestigious honor. Each of the sixteen entries performed the pattern, with the high and low scores for the division coming from riders coincidently on the same team. When the class was over, Jamie Abel of Morrisville State was out of the ribbons and the scoring, having either overspun or gone off the pattern at some point. Good news is that Abel, who was third in the Zone 2, Region 3 open rider standings, is only a freshman and will likely be back at Nationals in the future. In tenth place with a score of 136.5 was Stefani Redding, the Parkland College freshman who had placed fourth overall in the AQHA Cup Competition. It is worth noting that Katie Leonard of Berry College received the same score of 136.5 but somehow came in below Redding when the tiebreaker was decided. Ninth place went to Murray State senior DeAnn Ital, who scored a 142 for her pattern. The difference between ninth place and first place was not all that great, as a combined score of 148 was earned by the winner. Forest of Texas A & M was eighth with a score of 142.5, while Megan Saul of Cal Poly - Pomona had the same score but was given seventh in her final IHSA undergraduate ride. Sixth place went to yet another senior, this being Natoshia Bronson of Findlay, given a combined score of 143.5 by judges Gretchen Mathes and Betsy Tuckey. There was some controversy with the next two placings. When Erin Peery of Kansas State performed her pattern the announced score was 143.5. Later in the division, Andrew Standaert of Findlay performed his pattern and was given a score of 144. Anyone who wrote this down would expect to hear Peery announced as fifth place and Standaert fourth. However announcer Pat McAfee announced Standaert in fifth and Peery in fourth, a huge difference as the fourth place winner qualifies to ride in the Derby while fifth place does not. When the problem was researched it turned out that Peery had actually received a score of 144 and not 143.5, which put her in a tie with Standaert that was somehow broken in Peery's favor. All indications are that McAfee simply read the wrong score following Peery's ride, as IHSAinc.com was giving live scores and had the correct 144 total within seconds of Peery completing her pattern. The junior from Lee's Summit, Missouri was thus the first of four announced that could claim they extended their season beyond the final day of IHSA Nationals! In third place was Kristin Dickerson, the Oklahoma State senior who had already won the 2004 AQHA Cup less than 24 hours earlier. From Las Cruces, New Mexico, Dickerson's final undergraduate ride at an IHSA show was given a score of 146. In second place with a judge's score of 146.5 was Mason, earning her third blue ribbon of the entire show. The junior from Pine Grove, California was second in both individual open western divisions, third in both team open divisions, and second to Dickerson in the AQHA Cup. The Fresno State standout scored 146.5 this time, a half point better than Dickerson but a point and a half from the top spot.
Following this class, United States Military Academy Head Coach Peter Cashman related a funny story from Zone 2 Stock Seat Zones about Kyle Johnson of Morrisville State. The sophomore, who is known to liven up the proceedings (i.e., make people laugh) was superb in his individual open reining class on April 10th. Following the red ribbon that sent him on to IHSA Nationals (teammate Abel won the blue), Cashman heard Johnson say that he is a good reiner, but not the greatest on the rail. "I am a reiner. I am not good at transitions. I don't work on cars!" Johnson later explained to this writer that there was more to this dialogue, as one of his Morrisville teammates had already said something even more preposterous that inspired Johnson's 'transmission' reference. Johnson, who finished second to teammate Jacob Burger in the Zone 2, Region 3 open rider standings, scored a 148, the highest reining score of the entire show. Although 2004 Nationals will probably be remembered for the way Texas A & M and Oklahoma State dominated (Fresno State had their finest Nationals ever as well), Morrisville State and Head Coach Bonnie Miller had perhaps the most depth at the open level. Teel, Abel and Johnson all qualified individually. Burger placed seventh in the AQHA Cup. Morrisville actually had the top five open riders in the region, as Lacey Werczynski was fifth, eighteen points behind Burger with the other three in between. None of these riders graduates in 2004, so expect Morrisville to dominate the open division within their region for some time to come. Following the pomp and circumstance associated with the NRHA presenting their awards (and jackets) to those who moved on to the Derby, the individual beginner western horsemanship division was on display. With the beginner division being so unpredictable, few would be surprised to hear that only six of the fifteen riders entered came from schools that also had a full stock seat team at Nationals. Four riders in the division were the only stock seat riders from their schools to have qualfied. Before anyone gets too optimistic about a 'David beats Goliath' scenerio in this class, it should be noted that each of the top three in the division would come from a team that was participating in the 2004 AQHA Team Competition, and that several others came from teams that won their regions but were eliminated at Zones. The division took over an hour to complete, as some beginners were very carefull with their patterns while others took longer than they would have liked in getting their horses to respond. When the placings were announced tenth place was awarded to Syracuse junior Larissa Perlmutter, the lone orangeman rider to reach Nationals. Kristin Hess was the first of two Black Hawk College riders to make the top ten in this division, earning ninth place. Kacie Garrison from College of the Sequoias was eighth, and like Perlmutter was the only rider from her school to reach Nationals. Though the University of Maryland was one of six (out of sixteen) teams that did not score in the stock seat team competition, Diana Phillips of the "Equiterps" placed seventh here. Black Hawk College showed considerable depth at 2004 Nationals, with Coach Donna Ervin using five different riders in the team competition (open rider Nicole Klein rode twice) while three other people qualified individually. This takes on more significance when one remembers that Black Hawk is a two-year school. Amy Gillette was the second Black Hawk rider in the class, placing sixth.
Tera Popielarz was fifth, the Cal Poly - Pomona senior the last rider on her team to compete at 2004 Nationals. Head Coach Jen Earles had three stock seat riders and two hunter seat riders competing, with four of them being seniors, including Popielarz. Fourth place went to Midway College sophomore Dora Bernardi, the first of two eagles competing stock seat at Nationals for Head Coach Shelby Hume. Texas A & M still had two of the remaining eight riders in the ring, and junior Lani Jurena was one of them. From Caldwell, Texas, Jurena placed third in her first IHSA Nationals class. Sharon Tebbe of the University of Findlay was second, the sophomore from St. Marys, Ohio becoming the third of four oiler riders to place in the top six in one of the individual western divisions. Though the region did not produce a single individual stock seat blue ribbon at 2003 IHSA Nationals (breaking a nine-year streak of at least one first place showing), Texas A & M senior Jennifer Jones became the fourth rider from Zone 7, Region 2 in five western classes to earn the top prize. From Katy, Texas, Jones is one of only four riders on the 70-woman aggie equestrian team to ride both western and english. The blue ribbon was a slight improvement on her only other IHSA Nationals appearance, when Jones placed fourth in team beginner western in 2003. The first-ever individual novice western horsemanship class was the final individual class of 2004 Nationals (team open western horsemanship followed to close out the four-day affair). Hunter seat riders may not know it, but novice western is above the intermediate level. Stock seat riders used to move up from beginner to intermediate to advanced to open, but with novice western added in 2003-04, riders who point out of intermediate western must earn 35 points in novice before reaching the advanced. With the division being brand new in September of 2003 it meant that no one had any carry-over points in the division, which in turn meant that few riders nationwide qualified to ride at Regionals let alone Zones in this division. Considering that so few qualfied during the regular season, it was surprising to see that every Zone in the country save for Zone 4 (and Zone 1, where there is still no Stock Seat to this day) had two individuals qualified. Many of the Zones shows around the country featured five or fewer entries in this division, including the mighty Zone 7. Kim Baker of Rutgers, Jaclyn Page of California University of Pennsylvania, Margaret "Maggie" Stanton of the University of Maryland, Amber Ward of Utah State and Kelly Johnson of Texas A & M can say they were part of the historic first individual novice western class at Nationals. However none of these riders were in the top ten, which started with University of Wisconsin at River Falls junior Mattea Sampair in tenth place. Sophia Stolarcyk of Morrisville State was ninth, while eighth went to Amanda McNally of Oklahoma State, the last of the Zone 7, Region 2 riders to place individually at 2004 Nationals. Midway College senior Kimberly Chester placed seventh. Counting hunter seat divisions, all three Midway riders who competed at IHSA Nationals made the top ten. Farah Roberts of the University of Montana was sixth, earning the only ribbon for the grizzlies at 2004 Nationals. Fifth place went to Lacey Lausten of Minnesota at Crookston. The sophomore was one of three Crookston riders to show, and the one with the highest ribbon. Meri Dawson of Berry College became the only viking stock seat rider to earn a ribbon above the participation level by placing fourth. Earlier Ital of Murray State had placed ninth in NRHA open reining. One of her teammates, freshman Jamie Gilmore, placed third for the racers here. Cazenovia riders kept doing better and better as the show progressed, with sophomore Karen Sinnott earning the wildcats their highest ribbon with a second.
The blue ribbon in individual novice western horsemanship went to DeeAnn Whitehead of Findlay. The junior from Goshen, Indiana may not have known it, but she helped the oilers set a new team record. On three previous occasions Findlay earned at least one blue ribbon in an individual stock seat class at IHSA Nationals for three consecutive seasons. The oilers won at least one individual western class from 1989 to 1991, then did it again from 1993 to 1995, and yet again from 2001 through 2003. Whitehead not only goes into the record books as the first IHSA Nationals winner in individual novice western, she keeps a streak going that started when Jared LeClair won the NRHA Reining class at the oiler-dominated 2001 Nationals show in Conyers, Georgia. The Findlay program can also boast that since 1989 there have been only four IHSA National shows when an oiler rider failed to win an individual western class, most recently in 2000. When one considers that only five divisions existed a year ago (and only four prior to 1993), the ability to have at least one individual blue ribbon winner at twelve different IHSA National Shows in a sixteen-year span is that much more impressive. The last word on Zone 7, Region 2: Was it the most dominant performance by a stock seat region ever? When there were far fewer teams in the 1980's, several regions made up of schools located in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee may have done better, but since the 1989-90 season (the first year the IHSA was divided into Zones) this would likely be the best. One more look at the numbers for Zone 7, Region 2 at 2004 Nationals shows three firsts between two teams in the western team competition; two seconds in the western team competition; National Champion Texas A & M scoring fourth or higher in each of the six team classes; Oklahoma State placing third with riders earning points in five of the six divisions; Four firsts in individual western classes; four thirds in individual western classes; Ribbons within the top ten for ten of eleven riders who qualified for Nationals on an individual basis; and the individual AQHA Cup National Champion in Oklahoma State's Kristin Dickerson. Though we have never posted rankings on this site, be they for the top twenty teams or the top twenty riders, the one ranking we would award is to place Zone 7, Region 2 at number one in "Region Rankings - Stock Seat," placing them first out of the twenty-one regions with western in 2003-04. We would even make the region our pre-season number one for stock seat again in 2004-05, as the programs at Texas A & M, Oklahoma State and West Texas A & M are the finest top three nationwide. And the likes of Sul Ross and Stephen F. Austin probably have a few riders at the doorstep of 35 points to make it even more interesting. ---Steve Maxwell The Individual Stock Seat Class-by-Class Results. The first class listed was held Friday, May 7th, the second class was held Saturday, May 8th, and the final four were held Sunday, May 9th. The judges for all stock seat classes were Gretchen Mathes, Harwinton, Connecticut and Betsy Tuckey, Ashland, Virginia: Individual intermediate western horsemanship: 1. April Peck, Oklahoma State University. 2. Lindsey Salestrom, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 3. Elizabeth Diamond, Ohio University - Southern Campus. 4. Ashley Hiller, Ohio State University. 5. Katie Brunelle, College of Southern Idaho. 6. Heather Reynolds, Cazenovia College. 7. Tiffany Washington, Fresno State. 8. Sarah Howell, University of the South. 9. Chrystal Coffelt, Kutztown University. 10. Jenna Starr, Hood College. Individual open western horsemanship: 1. Katie Forest, Texas A & M University. 2. Taylor Mason, Fresno State. 3. Crissy Meeks, Oklahoma State University. 4. Rusty Rea, Middle Tennessee State University. 5. Laine Hendricks, Fresno State. 6. Katie Fistner, Cazenovia College. 7. Rachel Sternoff, University of South Carolina. 8. Heather Reichert, University of Wisconsin at River Falls. 9. Lynn Hatfield, University of Michigan. 10. Jennalinn Teel, Morrisville State College. Individual advanced western horsemanship: 1. Lindsey Childress, Oklahoma State University. 2. Lydia Whitlow, Middle Tennessee State University. 3. Erin Hale, Oklahoma State University. 4. Angela Garrett, Black Hawk College. 5. Nicole Caron, Cazenovia College. 6. Elizabeth Knapp, Fresno State. 7. Ashley Kremer, Ohio State University. 8. Nichole Pogue, University of Findlay. 9. Kathryn Green, Purdue University. 10. Keith Buisman, Morrisville State College. National Reining Horse Association open reining pattern: 1. Kyle Johnson, Morrisville State College. 2. Taylor Mason, Fresno State. 3. Kristin Dickerson, Oklahoma State University. 4. Erin Peery, Kansas State University. 5. Andrew Standaert, University of Findlay. 6. Natoshia Bronson, University of Findlay. 7. Megan Saul, Cal Poly - Pomona. 8. Katie Forest, Texas A & M University. 9. DeAnn Ital, Murray State University. 10. Stefani Redding, Parkland College. Individual beginner western horsemanship: 1. Jen Jones, Texas A & M University. 2. Sharon Tebbe, University of Findlay. 3. Lani Jurena, Texas A & M University. 4. Dora Bernardi, Midway College. 5. Tera Popielarz, Cal Poly - Pomona. 6. Amy Gillette, Black Hawk College. 7. Diana Phillips, University of Maryland. 8. Kacie Garrison, College of the Sequoias. 9. Kristin Hess, Black Hawk College. 10. Larissa Perlmutter, Syracuse University. Individual novice western horsemanship: 1. DeeAnn Whitehead, University of Findlay. 2. Karen Sinnott, Cazenovia College. 3. Jamie Gilmore, Murray State University. 4. Meri Dawson, Berry College. 5. Lacey Lausten, University of Minnesota at Crookston. 6. Farah Roberts, University of Montana at Missoula. 7. Kimberly Chester, Midway College. 8. Amanda McNally, Oklahoma State University. 9. Sophia Stolarcyk, Morrisville State College. 10. Mattea Sampair, University of Wisconsin at River Falls.
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