Minnesota Crookston Western Team Takes High Point Honors Saturday after Hosting Pair of Home Shows

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Minnesota Crookston Western Team Takes High Point Honors Saturday after Hosting Pair of Home Shows

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston western equestrian team hosted a pair of home shows at the University Teaching and Outreach Center Sat., Oct. 20 and Sun., Oct. 21 in Crookston, Minn. The Golden Eagles had a strong Saturday taking High Point Team riders, while Whitney Fenna was named Reserve High Point rider for Minnesota Crookston. In addition, Beatrice Streifel (Fr., Hawley, Minn.), Alyssa Evavold (So., Battle Lake, Minn.), and Whitney Fenna (Sr., Foley, Minn.) all claimed wins for the Golden Eagles over the weekend.

Saturday’s show started out with Fenna earning first in the Reining, while Megan Motter (Sr., Cooperstown, N.D.) claimed sixth place.

In Open Horsemanship, Fenna finished fourth, while Motter finished right behind her in fifth place.

In Advanced Horsemanship, Madeline Drayna (Jr., Milaca, Minn.) took home a third-place finish.

Evavold led the Golden Eagles in Novice Horsemanship as she took first in her section with a stellar ride. Shayla Marthaler (Jr., Osakis, Minn.) took sixth on a challenging draw, while Whitney Weidenborner (Jr., Bemidji, Minn.) placed in fourth with a solid ride in her section.

Streifel had a great debut in Intermediate II Horsemanship as she placed first with a beautiful ride. April Klecker (Fr., Amboy, Minn.) finished sixth on a challenging draw, while Tristyn Hoecht (Fr., Winnebago, Minn.) took third in section of Intermediate II with a solid ride. Rae Ann Michel (So., Monticello, Minn.) placed in second with a knock out ride in Intermediate II.

In Intermediate I Horsemanship, Jayde Proffitt (Jr., Winsted, Minn.) placed fifth. Lastly, Savanna Weber (Fr., Silver Lake, Minn.) had a solid appearance in her first ride in the competitive ring as she took sixth in Beginner Horsemanship.

“We had a successful day in our first home show of the season,” said Head Coach Kayla Krueger. “We took home High Point Teams, while Whitney Fenna was Reserve High Point rider for the day. I was very proud of our efforts in our first show of the season.”

In Sunday’s show, Motter started things off by claiming third in the Reining, while Fenna finished fifth. The pair had the same finishes in Open Horsemanship with Motter taking third, and Fenna fifth.

Madeline Drayna

In Advanced Horsemanship, Drayna had a solid ride in a deep class as he finished second.

In Novice Horsemanship, Jordyn Newberg (So., Deer River, Minn.) led the way with a second-place finish, while Weidenborner claimed sixth in her section. Marthaler also claimed second, while Evavold took home sixth in their sections.

In Intermediate II Horsmenship, Klecker placed third with a solid ride, while Hoechst took fifth in the same section. Michel had another outstanding showing as she placed first in her section, while Streifel finished third, with Katie Crum behind them in fifth.

Proffitt rounded out the weekend with a fifth place showing in Intermediate I Horsemanship.

“All in all, we had a great weekend,” Krueger said. “It is going to be a competitive year among teams, however I feel we set the bar high and stayed competitive within team points. We look forward to building on this momentum and bringing our best to NDSU in November.”

The Golden Eagles return to the show pen for a NCEA show Nov. 3 at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. Their next IHSA shows will be Nov. 16, 17 and 18 at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D.