Though this picture is from IHSA Nationals a few weeks later, (then) Fresno State Head Coach Chuck Smallwood poses with Amanda Hancock, who won team intermediate fences at Zone 8 Zones on April 4th in Twin Falls, Idaho.

FRESNO STATE WINS HUNTER SEAT AND STOCK SEAT COMPETITIONS

Twin Falls, ID - On Saturday afternoon their western team won by eight. On Sunday morning the english team finished ahead by a healthy seven points. Between the two team competitions, the Fresno State Bulldogs won eight of fourteen classes outright, advancing both their hunter seat and stock seat teams to IHSA Nationals May 6th through 9th in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Though she was not the only bulldog rider to have a big weekend, sophomore Stacey McCalmont certainly came through in the clutch, winning the third stock seat team class on Saturday (beginner western) and the sixth hunter seat team class on Sunday. McCalmont's first in the former put Fresno State ahead for good halfway through the western team classes, while her first in the latter helped the bulldogs pull away from Oregon State in hunter seat.

Hosted by the College of Southern Idaho with the help of all other Region 3 schools, the show marked the first time Zone 8 Zones had been held inside the state of Idaho. The show was divided into four sections: Saturday morning was reserved for individual hunter seat classes, while the afternoon was the stock seat team competition. On Sunday the hunter seat team competition was followed by the individual stock seat classes. Though several hunter seat riders were qualified to compete individually more than once, only University of San Diego senior Kate De Kraay managed to place in the top two in both of the open divisions. De Kraay, who already was assured a trip to Nationals in the Cacchione Cup Competition, earned blue ribbons in both of her individual rides. Fresno State junior Taylor Mason was the stock seat mirror image of De Kraay, placing first in each individual open western division while also knowing ahead of time she would be riding at Nationals in the AQHA Cup Competition. Cal Poly - Pomona senior Olivia Ontiveros nearly became the only rider to show individually in both hunter seat and stock seat divisions and qualify once in each. Though she won the very first class of the entire show (first in individual novice fences), Ontiveros was third in individual intermediate horsemanship, the next to last class of Zones.

Region 2, known to most as the Southern California region, dominated the individual hunter seat placings while Region 1, known as the rest of California but including Nevada - Reno, cleaned up in individual stock seat. With only the top two in each individual division advancing, nine of a possible sixteen "Slots" at Nationals went to Region 2 hunter seat riders while Region 1 stock seaters accounted for seven of the twelve openings. Fresno State claimed six of the seven blue or red ribbons, while sophomore Kacie Garrison of the College of the Sequoias won individual beginner western horsemanship to round out the Region 1 onslaught.

Who will keep me company in Murfreesboro?: In the final individual hunter seat class, Oregon State's Claire Winterscheid placed second in individual walk-trot-canter. Though both team competitions and the individual stock seat classes were still to come at the time, Winterscheid turned out to be the only undergraduate individual rider (excluding the Cacchione and AQHA Cup entries) from Region 4 (known as the states of Oregon and Washington) to survive Zones.

Alumni from East Coast Schools advance: Sacha Maxwell, a 2001 graduate of Mount Holyoke College (in South Hadley, Massachusetts) was the only hunter seat rider from Region 4 to qualify for Regionals. Terry Paulish, a 2003 graduate of Rider University (in Lawrenceville, New Jersey) earned enough points on the flat to qualify out of Region 3. Jessie McCarty, who graduated from Montana State in 2003 reached 28 points in alumni fences. With no one from either California region earning anywhere near enough alumni points to qualify, Maxwell and Paulish were assurred of advancing to Nationals in alumni flat, while Maxwell and McCarty (the latter of which rode as an undergraduate at 2003 Nationals) would go forward in alumni fences. Or so it seemed at the time. Though both hunter seat alumni classes were held, with Maxwell placing first in both, McCarty did not compete at IHSA Nationals five weeks later. This was apparently known ahead of time, as McCarty's name is not in the official 2004 IHSA Nationals Program. Though the hunter seat alumni classes were held at Zones, the stock seat qualifiers did not compete. The simple reason is that the same riders settled the score at Region 4 Regionals a few weeks earlier. Dawn Salazar of Oregon State and Corinda Behler of Washington State (both 2003 graduates) rode off at Regionals in alumni western horsemanship, while Salazar was the only alumni in the Zone to reach 28 points in alumni reining. Both moved on to Nationals, with Salazar placing third in Murfreesboro on May 9th.

Stock seat team competition a tad one-sided: Mason won the first class, Angela Klug placed second in the second one (team novice horsemanship). McCalmont won the third. At that point, the Zone 8 stock seat team competition was half over, with Fresno State at 19 points, host Southern Idaho at 17, Cal Poly - Pomona at 12 and Oregon State at nine. With only the top two western teams advancing, the frontrunners were creating more degrees of separation than the other two would have liked. Kristen Marchesi of Fresno State then won the team advanced horsemanship, while Katie Collier of Southern Idaho joined teammates Brenna Burris and Jaylene Lammers as eagles with a red ribbon (Stephanie Watkinds of Southern Idaho won the novice division when Klug was reserve). The fifth of six stock seat team classes had a similar result, with Fresno State's Kayla Merritt earning the blue while Angie Cameron of Southern Idaho won the red. Barring a fall or disqualification, both the bulldogs and eagles had insurmountable leads. Cal Poly - Pomona senior Megan Saul won team open reining, breaking the bronco yellow ribbon streak. Mason placed second, the only time the junior from Pine Grove, California did not win outright. Aurora Stanbro broke the beaver's white ribbon streak with a yellow, while Burris placed fourth. Final stock seat score: Bulldogs 38, Golden Eagles 30, Broncos 27 and Beavers 19.

We are out of Broncos and Golden Eagles. Would you accept Toreros and Grizzlies in their place?: Though Fresno State and Oregon State were regular season high point hunter seat teams in Regions 1 and 4 respectively, the Cal Poly - Pomona and College of Southern Idaho english teams could not duplicate the success of their stock seat teams in 2003-04. The University of San Diego won a VERY close race in Region 2 while the University of Montana won Region 3 with more breathing room than any of the other three regions. It should be noted that San Diego won Region 2 over neighboring University of California at San Diego by two points, Oregon State won Region 4 by six points over the University of Washington and that Fresno State won Region 1 by four points over the University of California at Davis. Fresno State lived dangerously, as NCAA rules limited the number of shows they could take part in. To the bulldog's credit, they came from behind at the final show to win Region 1 in spite of missing one show in it's entirety!

The hunter seat team competition saw three of the four teams lead at some point. De Kraay won the first division, team open fences, while Fresno State senior Amanda Hancock won the second class, team intermediate fences. The third class would be the turning point. Jessica Leupold of San Diego fell off during novice fences, which took the toreros from first to fourth in the blink of an eye. With Oregon State's Jennifer loughlin winning the division, the beavers led with 15, the bulldogs had 14, the grizzlies had 13 and the toreros still had 12. Oregon State then increased their lead via a first for Jen Zinck in team walk-trot-canter. Though San Diego had a very experienced team and Fresno State was regarded as the elite program in the Zone due to facilities, funding and dual status as NCAA, Oregon State was up 22-19 on Fresno through half the team classes.

At this point the bulldogs got into high gear. Senior Michelle Tonello won team open flat to put Fresno State back on top by a point. McCalmont placed first in team beginner walk-trot, increasing the Fresno lead to 33-29. Unlike the western team competition, Zone 8 only advances the top hunter seat team to IHSA Nationals (due to the fact that Zone 8 is still the only Zone nationwide with under 500 hunter seat riders, though they came close to that number this time). Oregon State had 29, Montana 26 and San Diego 23 (the legendary De Kraay only third in the open flat class Tonello won). A first in the seventh section for Fresno State would mean elimination for the grizzlies and toreros. Only a complete colapse by the bulldogs would give even Oregon State a chance.

Farrah Roberts earned the only team hunter seat blue ribbon for the host region, as the Montana team intermediate flat rider won the class. With Leyla Mundy of Fresno placing third while Oregon State earned a fourth the grizzlies had stayed alive for a tie while the beavers and toreros were mathematically eliminated. Fresno State took a 37-33 lead into the final division. Katie Flanigan not only avoided fourth place for the bulldogs, she even won team novice flat outright! Leupold was second, while Liz McClemore of the grizzlies was third, which left the University of Montana out of the running for Nationals but still gave them second place, their best Zones performance in school history.

--Story by Steve Maxwell; Results courtesy Kamie Nutack & Curt Fuller. Additional information provided by Megan Feil and Kate De Kraay.

Class results, with the top two in each individual and alumni class advancing to IHSA Nationals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee May 6th through 9th:

Individual novice equitation over fences: 1. Olivia Ontiveros, Cal Poly - Pomona. 2. Marce Evans, University of California at San Diego. 3. Laine Hendricks, Fresno State. 4. Ashlee Ascione, University of Montana at Missoula. 5. Stephanie Watkinds, College of Southern Idaho. 6. Carissa Sauer, Washington State University.

Individual intermediate equitation over fences: 1. Linda Torres, University of California at San Diego. 2. Molly Kohler, University of Montana at Missoula. 3. Erin Savage, University of Washington. 4. Megan Feil, University of San Diego.

Individual open equitation over fences: 1. Kate De Kraay, University of San Diego. 2. Jenny Sharon, University of Montana at Missoula. 3. Meghan Sederholm, College of Southern Idaho. 4. Kate McComas, University of California at San Diego. 5. Molly Chappell, University of Oregon. 6. Laura Hussey, University of Washington. 7. Laura Blau, University of California at Davis.

Alumni equitation over fences: 1. Sacha Maxwell, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Jessie McCarty, Montana State University.

Alumni equitation on the flat: 1. Sacha Maxwell, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Terry Paulish, Rider University.

Individual novice equitation on the flat: 1. Jaqueline Frechette, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo. 2. Sylvie Togno, University of San Diego. 3. ??????. 4. Ainsley Boan, University of Montana at Missoula.

Individual intermediate equitation on the flat: 1. Megan Feil, University of San Diego. 2. Sarah Phaklides, University of California at Los Angeles. 3. Meghan Twohig, University of Montana at Missoula. 4. Kristin Goulding, Oregon State University. 5. Molly Kohler, University of Montana at Missoula.

Individual walk-trot equitation: 1. Taya Lanford, Utah State University. 2. Delhem Compagna, Cal Poly - Pomona. 3. Kara Wong, Stanford University. 4. Amie Tendick, Oregon State University. 5. Kacie Garrison, College of the Sequoias. 6. Jennifer Hull, Cal Poly - Pomona. 7. Bryna Maloney-Keyes, Oregon State University. 8. Jessica Davis, University of Montana at Missoula.

Individual open equitation on the flat: 1. Kate De Kraay, University of San Diego. 2. Laura Blau, University of California at Davis. 3. Jenny Sharon, University of Montana at Missoula. 4. Linda Torres, University of California at San Diego. 5. Erin Savage, University of Washington. 6. Laura Hussey, University of Washington. 7. Meghan Sederholm, College of Southern Idaho.

Individual walk-trot-canter equitation: 1. Shannon Ward, University of California at San Diego. 2. Claire Winterscheid, Oregon State University. 3. Stephanie Rejzer, University of San Diego. 4. Liz McLemore, University of Montana at Missoula.

Team open western horsemanship: 1. Taylor Mason, Fresno State. 2. Brenna Burris, College of Southern Idaho. 3. Megan Saul, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Carrie Kolstad, Oregon State University.

Team novice western horsemanship: 1. Stephanie Watkinds, College of Southern Idaho. 2. Angela Klug, Fresno State. 3. Cristin Hicks, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Kathleen Neiman, Oregon State University.

Team beginner western horsemanship: 1. Stacey McCalmont, Fresno State. 2. Jaylene Lammers, College of Southern Idaho. 3. Jorge Walker, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Jessica Hart, Oregon State University.

Team advanced western horsemanship: 1. Kristen Marchesi, Fresno State. 2. Katie Collier, College of Southern Idaho. 3. Amber Mitchell, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Courtney Toch, Oregon State University.

Team intermediate western horsemanship: 1. Kayla Merritt, Fresno State. 2. Angie Cameron, College of Southern Idaho. 3. Mallory Salcedo, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Claire Wintershied, Oregon State University.

Team open reining: 1. Megan Saul, Cal Poly - Pomona. 2. Taylor Mason, Fresno State. 3. Aurora Stanbro, Oregon State University. 4. Brenna Burris, College of Southern Idaho.

Team open equitation over fences: 1. Kate De Kraay, University of San Diego. 2. Lauren Galderisi, Oregon State University. 3. Jenny Sharon, University of Montana at Missoula. 4. Dawn McIntosh, Fresno State.

Team intermediate equitation over fences: 1. Amanda Hancock, Fresno State. 2. Sylvie Togno, University of San Diego. 3. Ashley Ascione, University of Montana at Missoula. 4. Kristen Goulding, Oregon State University.

Team novice equitation over fences: 1. Jennifer Loughlin, Oregon State University. 2. Laurie Askew, University of Montana at Missoula. 3. Leyla Mundy, Fresno State.

Team walk-trot-canter equitation: 1. Jen Zinck, Oregon State University. 2. Angela Klug, Fresno State. 3. Stefanie Jones, University of San Diego. 4. Callie Berg, University of Montana at Missoula.

Team open equitation on the flat: 1. Michelle Tonello, Fresno State. 2. Jenny Sharon, University of Montana at Missoula. 3. Kate De Kraay, University of San Diego. 4. Sydney Rodgers Goode, Oregon State University.

Team walk-trot equitation: 1. Stacey McCalmont, Fresno State. 2. Anika Hedstrom, University of Montana at Missoula. 3. Susanne Moesta, Oregon State University. 4. Uyen-Uyen Vo, University of San Diego.

Team intermediate equitation on the flat: 1. Farrah Roberts, University of Montana at Missoula. 2. Sylvie Togno, University of San Diego. 3. Leyla Mundy, Fresno State. 4. Jennifer Loughlin, Oregon State University.

Team novice equitation on the flat: 1. Katie Flanigan, Fresno State. 2. Jessica Leupold, University of San Diego. 3. Liz McLemore, University of Montana at Missoula. 4. Claire Wintershied, Oregon State University.

Individual open western horsemanship: 1. Taylor Mason, Fresno State. 2. Laine Hendricks, Freson State. 3. Jenny Sharon, University of Montana at Missoula. 4. Carrie Kolstad, Oregon State University. 5. Brenna Burris, College of Southern Idaho. 6. Aurora Stanbro, Oregon State University. 7. Linda Torres, University of California at San Diego. 8. Lauren Davis, Cal Poly - Pomona.

Individual novice western horsemanship: 1. Farrah Roberts, University of Montana at Missoula. 2. Nikki Ward, Utah State University. 3. Andrea Crisp, Fresno State. 4. Rachel McDonnell, Washington State University. 5. Shane Elben, Western Washington University.

Individual advanced western horsemanship: 1. Shauna Erickson, Fresno State. 2. Elizabeth Knapp, Fresno State. 3. Jaynalee Waldrip, Linn Benton Community College. 4. Jennifer Loughlin, Oregon State University. 5. James Stewart, Montana State University. 6. Laura Rowland, Mount San Antonio College.

Individual beginner western horsemanship: 1. Kacie Garrison, College of the Sequoias. 2. Tera Popielarz, Cal Poly - Pomona. 3. Shawna Winfrey, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Bryna Maloney-Keyes, Oregon State University. 5. Jessica Davis, University of Montana at Missoula. 6. Liz McLemore, University of Montana at Missoula. 7. Susan Young-Crane, Washington State University.

Individual intermediate western horsemanship: 1. Katie Brunelle, College of Southern Idaho. 2. Tiffany Washington, Fresno State. 3. Olivia Ontiveros, Cal Poly - Pomona. 4. Darcy Dimmitt, College of the Sequoias. 5. Natalie Naylor, Utah State University. 6. Katie Hart, Western Washington University. 7. Lacey Miller, Oregon State University. 8. Alicia Cunningham-Bryant, University of California at Davis.

Individual open reining: 1. Taylor Mason, Fresno State. 2. Megan Saul, Cal Poly - Pomona. 3. Aurora Stanbro, Oregon State University. 4. Carrie Kolstad, Oregon State University. 5. Brenna Burris, College of Southern Idaho. 6. Jenny Sharon, University of Montana at Missoula. 7. Lauren Davis, Cal Poly - Pomona. 8. Michael Kovach, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo.

Stock Seat Team Totals: 1. Fresno State 38. 2. College of Southern Idaho 30. 3. Cal Poly - Pomona 27. 4. Oregon State University 19.

Hunter Seat Team Totals: 1. Fresno State 44. 2. University of Montana at Missoula 37. 3. Oregon State University 35. 4. University of San Diego 33.