Golden Eagle Hunt Seat Equestrian Earns Reserve High Point Team Honors in Pair of Shows at Wisconsin-River Falls
RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The University of Minnesota Crookston hunt seat equestrian team competed in two shows on the road at University of Wisconsin-River Falls in River Falls, Wis., Sat., Oct. 28 and Sun., Oct. 29. Minnesota Crookston earned Reserve High Point Team honors at the conclusion of both shows.
“Our team has gotten strong each meet we have competed in,” said Head Coach Kayla Krueger. “With this being our first away competition, I could not have been happier with how each rider performed.”
Saturday started out strong for the Golden Eagles as Monika Frame (Sr., Polson, Mont.), Mazie Pini (Jr., Grayslake, Ill.), Selena Young (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Rachel Johnson (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.) all had strong showings in Open Equitation Over Fences. Johnson and Pini rode together in the same section with Johnson finishing with the win for the class and Pini coming in a close second. Frame and Young rode in the second section with Young earning second-place and Frame taking fourth. Megan Motter (Jr., Cooperstown, N.D.) rode to a solid second-place finish in Intermediate Equitation Over Fences. Madeline Haeg (Fr., Collegeville, Minn.) and Ellie Waagen (Fr., Bottineau, N.D.) represented the Golden Eagles well in Novice Equitation Over Fences with Waagen taking third in her section and Haeg earning fourth place honors.
Minnesota Crookston opened the flat portion of the competition strong as Young took second and Frame fourth in Open Equitation on the Flat. Johnson also took second in her section of Open Flat, while Pini came in right behind in third-place. Motter had a flawless ride in Intermediate Flat to win the class. Haeg finished fourth in her section of Novice Equitation on the Flat, while Waagen finished third.
Kristina Schroeder (So., Mankato, Minn.) took fourth in her section of Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter. She would point of her class and into Novice Flat. A rider must accumulate 36 points within a division prior to pointing out.
Melissa Eastman (Jr., Superior, Wis.) also rode in Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter, finishing third. Sierra Coons (So., Donnybrook, N.D.), Megan Doughty (So., Hackensack, Minn.) and Sarah Cartier (Fr., Woodbury, Minn.) all rode in the Beginner Walk/Trot/Canter. Cartier came in second, while Doughty finished close behind in fourth. Coons finished fourth in a different section. To wrap up Saturday’s show, Amanda Olson (Fr., Winsted, Minn.) took second-place in Walk/Trot.
On Sunday, the Golden Eagles again started the day off right with strong rides in fences. Johnson won her class of Open Fences, while Young finished fourth. Frame and Pini rode in the same section with Pini finishing second and Frame third. Motter had a strong ride in her Intermediate Equitation Over Fences class, bringing home yet another win for the Golden Eagles. In Novice, Waagen and Haeg experiences challenging draws. Haeg finished fifth, while Waagen was just shy of placings.
Minnesota Crookston made up ground in the Open Flat classes with Young bringing home a win in her section, while Pini took home a victory in the second section of Open Flat. Frame finished fourth. Motter faced a trickier draw but still rode confidently to a third-place finish. Haeg made up ground from her previous fence ride, finishing a strong second in Novice Flat. Waagen also rode in Novice Flat, finishing fifth in her section, while Schroeder finished third.
The Golden Eagles found success in Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter. Eastman took home a win, while pointing out into Novice. Cartier was third in her section. Doughty and Coons also had solid rides in Beginner Walk/Trot/Canter with both riders taking third. Olson rounded out the second day by rocking her ride in the arena to bring home her first win in the largest class of Walk/Trot that the Golden Eagles have faced this season.
Minnesota Crookston will face South Dakota State University Nov. 10, followed by two shows at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Nov 18 and 19.
