Fresno State Athletics
Equestrian Showcases New Year with Stellar Competition
1/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Jan. 14, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. -
The complete Fresno State equestrian release in PDF Format
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Equestrian glossary of terms in PDF Format
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2002-03 California Classic
The Fresno State equestrian team will host one of the biggest events of the season on the college level. The Bulldogs are playing host to the third annual California Classic Tournament this weekend at the Fresno State Student Horse Center. Six schools will be competing in this highly touted field. This tournament is considered to be a preliminary showdown to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Finals, which will be held May 1-4 in Cazenovia, N.Y.
Big Guns
The six schools attending, including the 'Dogs, will be Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, and Texas A&M. Texas A&M is the defending 2001-02 IHSA national champions while Oklahoma State was the national runner-up. Three schools will be making their first appearance in Fresno: Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina.
Zone and Region Information
In the world of equestrian the IHSA has a collection of eight zones. Each zone contains a certain number of regions. The number or regions can range from two to four.
Zone 1 consists of four regions and includes the areas of Northern Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts , New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Zone 2 includes three regions and includes the areas of Upstate New York, Westchester, New York City, and Northern New Jersey.
Zone 3 consists of four regions and includes areas of Delaware, New York, Long Island, Pennsylvania, Southern Connecticut, Southern New Jersey, and Northern West Virginia.
Zone 4 consists of three regions and includes areas of District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Zone 5 consists of four regions and includes areas of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, and Tennessee.
Zone 6 consists of four regions and includes areas of Northern Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Zone 7 consists of two regions and includes areas of Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming.
Zone 8 consists of four regions and includes areas of California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
2001-02 Classic in Review
Last spring at the California Classic the 'Dogs just lost out to Texas A&M. With the Aggies and 'Dogs tied at 37 points, Texas A&M rider Catrina Neslage took second in the last reining class of the show, one spot above Fresno State owns rider, Kendre McQueen, to seal the win for Texas A&M. The Aggies defeated Fresno State 42-41 with Oklahoma State coming in third with 39 points. Ohio placed fourth with 31 points while University of Fairfield rounded out the top five with 21 points.
Hosting History
This is the third time in Fresno State history that the equestrian team will host a NCAA tournament. The first was the California Classic in 2001.
Auburn
First visit to Fresno State ...equestrian program in its first full season of varsity competition after being a club sport the last six years ... became the university's 21st varsity sport ... program under the direction of sixth-year head coach Greg Williams ... In the fall, won two show titles (western and huntseat) while being runner-up at two shows (western and hunt seat) ... sits in first place in region (Zone 5, Region 2) ... currently, rider Lindsay Neubarth leads all individuals in zone as the high point rider while teammate Kelly Gottfried is fourth.
Riders to watch:
Meredith Gil (hunt seat) ... Lindsay Neubarth (open equitation) ... Kelly Gottfried (open over fences) ... Erin Gaddy (novice equitation) ... Julia Givens (advanced walk/trot/canter) ... Melissa Purdy (walk/trot) ... Amy Lyons (advanced western).
Georgia
First visit to Fresno State ... equestrian program in its first full season of varsity competition after being a club sport for a long time at the university ... became the university's 21st varsity sport in 2001 ... one of three Southeastern Conference schools to sponsor equestrian (Auburn and South Carolina) ... competes in Zone 5, Region 2 ... under the direction of second-year head coach Meghan Boenig ... this fall, finished had one first place finish and placed second at two shows ... also had two shows cancelled ... hosted first ever home competition on Nov. 23 ... sits in second place in region (Zone 5, Region 2) ... currently, rider Collins Daye is second among all high point riders in zone.
Riders to watch:
Erin Hernandez (hunt seat or western) ... Sherry Wilson (western) ... Collins Daye (open equitation) ... Ashley Greve (intermediate class) ... Nicole Blane (novice class) ... Mendy Ford and Monny Hedrick (intermeidate class) ... Leigh Heusner and Sarah Meier (reining class) ... Sherry Wilson and Jessica Wittmeyer (open horsemanship).
Oklahoma State
National runner-up at the 2002 IHSA National Championships in Cazenovia, N.Y. ... 2002 regional champion ... had an individual national champion in Luann Ulrich ... captured its regional and zone team championship ... competes in Zone 7, Region 2 ... under the direction of fourth -year head coach Larry Sanchez.
Riders to watch:
Luann Ulrich (western intermediate)... Lindsey Smith (hunter novice fences) ... Crissy Meeks (western open/hunter open horsemanship) ... Emily Hoaglan (walk/trot) ... Chandy Hale (hunter intermediate) ... Corrie Janssen (open fences) ... Emily Harison (hunter intermediate fences... Kelli Combs (hunter intermediate flat) ... Lindsay Pounds (hunter open flat) ... April Peck (hunter intermediate).
South Carolina
First visit to Fresno State ... competes in Zone 5, Region 2 ... returns a veteran hunt seat team and brings in a young western squad ... under the direction of fifth-year head coach Boo Duncan ... sits in fourth place in region (Zone 5, Region 2) ... currently, rider Tara Brothers is fifth among all high point riders in zone ... finished tenth at Varsity Equestrian Championship last season ... rider Lisa Wilson finished third nationally in the individual Walk/Trot/Canter.
Riders to watch:
Lisa Wilson and Sarah Ki-Tomasi (hunter open divisions) ... Sarah Tomasi (hunter open fences) ... Chelsea Koornick, Molly Harrison and Brooke Spitzer (hunter intermediate fences) ... Lisa Boyin, Lisa Wilson, Lindsey Wilson and Alexic Pospischil (novice fences) ... Lindsey Weathers, Ashley Williams and Kendra Burdett (walk/trot/canter) ... Kerrie Reeves (open horsemanship and reigning) ... April Payne, Laura Pipken, Jessica Keels and Cindy Davis (advance horsemanship).
Texas A&M
Defending IHSA national champions ... this fall, has finished among the top three in eight of nine shows, including five top places ... lost the services of six-time national champion Quincy Cahill due to a December graduation ... under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tana Rawson ... competes in Zone 7, Region 2 ... returns a pair of national championship riders in Courtney Gregory and Susanna Howe.
Riders to watch:
Katie Forest (reserve) ... Courtney Gregory and Susanna Howe (intermediate horsemanship) ... Claire Adian and Jennifer Jones (hunter intermediate) ... Ashley Shiffler (open division) ... Marka Richardson and Ashley Ferguson (horsemanship) ... Andrea Hanson (fences) ... Emily Eastman (flat and fences) ... Amanda Dougherty (open fences) ... Courtney Stinson (walk/trot/canter) ... Meredith Houx (open fences) ... Anne Marie Reubin (novice fences).
