Fresno State Athletics
'Dog Duo Headed To Florida
2/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Feb. 7, 2012
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State is sending Kimberly HewsonBudnik and Hillary West to the third Annual Collegiate Equitation Challenge to be held at the WEF in Wellington, Fla. The finals of the event will take place on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in the International Arena of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
Fresno State is sending sophomore Hillary West to compete in Equitation over Fences. This will be her first experience at the Equitation Challenge and she is set to compete against Nelli Foosaner from University of Miami.
"The Collegiate Equitation Challenge at WEF creates a unique opportunity for Hillary West to represent Fresno State at an Open Competition on a horse owned by a private individual," said Hunter Seat head coach Julia Scrivani. "This competition takes the idea of NCAA Equestrian to a whole new level because it takes away the home field advantage from every team. I'm excited to see Hillary take on this challenge."
Equitation over Fences will be held in the NCEA head-to-head, bracketed format and will have 16 top collegiate riders coming in from all over the country. All 16 riders will compete in the Preliminary Round competing over an equitation course with heights up to 3'6".
The top eight finishers will qualify for the Finals that evening and the remaining eight riders will compete in a consolation bracket immediately following the Preliminary Round. The winner of the Consolation Bracket will receive a trophy donated by Pierre and Martha Jolicoeur and the champion will be presented a trophy sponsored by the South Florida Hunter Jumper Association.
In its third year, the Collegiate Equitation Challenge is expanding the competition to include Equitation on the Flat. HewsonBudnik will be attending the Equitation Challenge for the second time in her Bulldog career, this time as a selected rider from the NCEA. In 2011, she competed in Equitation over Fences, but with the expansion she will now be competing in Equitation on the Flat and is set to ride against Taylor Brown from Baylor.
"New this year we are adding a flat competition to Collegiate Equitation Challenge at WEF," said Scrivani. " Kimberly HewsonBudnik was selected by the NCEA to compete. This will create an exciting platform to show the industry the high level of riders within NCAA Equestrian. These competitions introduce the industry to collegiate equestrian."
The Collegiate Equitation Challenge will take away any home field advantage since the horses will be on loan from local professionals and unfamiliar to the riders.
Participating Schools Auburn University, Baylor University, Fresno State, Delaware State University, Florida State University (alternate), Kansas State University, New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State University, Sacred Heart University, South Dakota State University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University, Texas Christian University, University of Georgia, University of Miami, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee Martin
More information can be found at collegiateequestrian.com (also directed from varsityequestrian.com) and wellingtonwef.com.
"We Are Your Team!" - The Fresno State equestrian team will host its next home competition on Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19, which will be the Best in the West Invitational.
