Mounted on unfamiliar American Quarter Horses, 16 collegiate equestrian riders will square off November 19 in the AQHA Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge. The competitors are only afforded four minutes of warm-up time before they ride for the Challenge championship.
Eight student-athletes from the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and eight from the National Collegiate Equestrian Association will compete in the Wednesday prelims. The Challenge preliminaries, held in conjunction with the AQHA World Championship Show in Oklahoma City, will be in the Performance Arena at State Fair Park.
With the exception of the AQHA World Championship Show Sale on November 15, you must have a ticket for all of the classes and events that are scheduled for the Performance Arena.
The top four riders after preliminaries will be invited to the finals of the competition the evening of Thursday, November 20. The Collegiate Championship will start before the junior ranch horse pleasure finals in the Jim Norick Arena.
The following riders will represent their school in the AQHA Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge:
IHSA Riders
Kaitlin LeBlanc, University of Findlay
Ariel Herrin, Middle Tennessee State University
Emily Dean, Purdue University
Michelle Hustad, St. Andrews University
Julia Roberts, West Texas A&M University
Austin Griffith, Ohio State University
Samantha Kirby, SUNY Oswego
Allison Board, University of Kentucky
NCEA Riders
Samantha Chiodo, University of South Carolina
Lauren DeVoe, New Mexico State University
Sydney Elliot, Fresno State University
Lindsey McMullen, Oklahoma State University
Megan McMullen, Texas Christian University
Elizabeth Niewonja, South Dakota State University
Logan Pluhar, Texas A&M University
Heather Schmidt, University of Georgia
First Alternate: Lucy Igoe, Auburn University
Second Alternate: McKenzie Perry, University of Tennessee-Martin
Not only will the 16 riders be competing for their school’s honor and glory, but also for the title of the AQHA Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge champion and a championship plaque custom-designed by Award Recognition Concepts, AQHA’s trophy company.
Spectators are encouraged to sport their favorite school’s colors and come ready to cheer for the best collegiate riders in the country November 19-20.
