UMC Western Equestrian Ties for Reserve High Point Team Sunday
CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston western equestrian team tied for the Reserve High Point Team Sunday at North Dakota State University.
“Our riders were reminded of the importance of riding ‘smart”, in which they thoroughly applied during Sunday’s competition,” said Head Coach Kayla Krueger. “Each show is a new learning experience, one in which each rider learn and grows from.”
The Golden Eagles started out Saturday strong as Cathy Ackroyd (Sr., Spirit Lake, Iowa) finished third in a deep class of Reining competitors. From there, UMC managed to hit a few bumps in the road with numerous breaks of gait causing lower placings than the team had originally hoped. Katelynn Robertson (So., Roseau, Minn.) represented strongly for UMC by winning her Novice Horsemanship class with a flawless ride. Hannah Van Dyke (Sr., Edgerton, Minn.) took fourth in her section of Novice. Freshmen EmmaRae Nelson (Fr., Thief River Falls, Minn.) and Madeline Drayna (Fr., Milaca, Minn.) also had well executed rides with Nelson winning her Intermediate Horsemanship division and Drayna following with a third-place finish. Sarah Zellmer (Fr., Mahtomedi, Minn.) found her stride after a handful of challenging rides finishing second in her class of Intermediate Horsemanship.
Sunday, the Golden Eagles were able to bounce back after several costly mistakes on Saturday. Minnesota Crookston’s riders were determined not to let those mistakes affect Sunday’s showing. Ackroyd had a beautiful ride to win Open Horsemanship. Katie Warner (Jr., Warba, Minn.) would ride confidently dominating her Advanced Horsemanship class in order to bring home another win. Robertson continued to find her groove and placed third in her class of Novice Horsemanship. Nelson and Drayna flipped placings from the day before with Drayna winning the Intermediate Horsemanship and Nelson finishing a solid third. Whitney Weidenborner (Fr., Bemidji, Minn.) pulled a tough draw in her class of Intermediate Horsemanship yet still pulled a confident third-place finish. Skyla Knudtson (So., Blooming Prairie, Minn.) would ride to a fourth-place finish in Beginner Horsemanship.
Minnesota Crookston will return to competition Dec. 3 and 4 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
