Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
English/Western
Equestrian Leaves Competition In The Dust At Home Show
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Feb. 21, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State claimed the champion title in both the English and Western divisions at its home show Saturday in the Animal Science Pavilion. UC Davis was reserve champion in the English division and Cal Poly was reserve champion in the Western.
The Bulldogs had 14 first-place finishes throughout the show - eight in the English competition and six in the Western. The high-point rider title for the English division was split among three Fresno State riders, senior Dawn McIntosh, senior Amanda Hancock and junior Leyla Mundy. Senior Michelle Tonello was reserve champion. Senior Christy Webb claimed the high-point rider title in the Western competition and Michael Kovach of Cal Poly was the reserve champion.
First-place finishes in the English competition included Tonello in Open Fences, Hancock in Intermediate Fences, Mundy in Novice Fences and McIntosh in Open Flat. Senior Rachel DeCamp captured first in Intermediate Flat Sec. A, sophomore Katie Flanigan was first in Novice Flat and freshman Jacklyn Alewyn nabbed first in Beginning Walk-Trot-Canter. Sophomore Stacey McCalmont finished first in Walk-Trot.
Junior Beth Knapp opened the Western division with a first-place finish in Open Rail and freshman Lindsey Cox kept up the momentum, finishing first in Advanced Rail. Senior Andrea Crisp captured first in Novice Rail Sec. B and junior Kayla Merritt was first in Intermediate Western Horsemanship II.
Freshman Sierra Daniels gave a first-place show in Intermediate Western Horsemanship I and Webb finished first in Reining.
"We had a wonderful day as a team," head coach Chuck Smallwood said. "Our hard work really showed in this performance. There is a lot more pressure riding in the Pavilion - the horses are tense being indoors with the noise and movements of the crowd and the echos in the building. But this was good for our riders because all of the championships during the rest of the season will be held indoors."
Smallwood expects competition to be intense three weeks from now when Fresno State hosts the IHSA Zone Eight Regional Finals and the California Classic, March 13-14.
"We will have to switch gears slightly because we will be competing against some of the better teams in the nation," Smallwood said.
Players Mentioned
