Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Equestrian to Compete at VENC
April 14, 2009 | Cowgirl Equestrian
The Oklahoma State Equestrian team heads to Waco, Texas, this week to compete at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships. The event will be held at the Heart of Texas Fairgrounds.
Oklahoma State has competed strongly in this event in the past, claiming championships in 2003, 2004 and 2006 while capturing the Reserve championship in 2005.
The Cowgirls are coming off a strong finish to the season. Last month, OSU defeated Texas A&M and Baylor to earn the first-ever Big 12 Conference Championships in Stillwater. OSU finished the season 9-3, claiming a victory against each Big 12 opponent. The Cowgirls also defeated defending Hunt Seat national champion Auburn late in the season.
For the first time this season, OSU's English and Western teams will be split up. There is both an English and Western Bracket that the Cowgirls will compete in, meaning there is an English, Western and overall championship up for grabs. The brackets are single elimination, with the loser going to the consolation bracket. Each bracket consists of 12 teams, with the top four receiving a bye.
In the English bracket, the Cowgirls earned the six seed and will be paired against SMU. The equitation over fences will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday in the Dodge Arena, while the equitation on the flat will start at 1:30 p.m. in the Pavilion Arena. The winner of the matchup will take on third-seeded South Carolina, with the flat portion of the competition starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday and the fences event slated for 10:30 a.m. Friday.
The Cowgirls finished the season with a 7-5-1 record in the English portion of the shows.
On the roster for the Cowgirls in equitation on the flat will be seniors Charlotte Collingsworth, Sam Collingsworth and Sarah Summers, juniors Ally Blais and Jen McLaughlin and freshmen Jordan White and Sarah Brown.
Blais has earned five MVPs this year with an 11-3 record in the discipline. Charlotte Collingsworth has racked up 12 wins with an MVP, while Sam Collingsworth has earned three MVPs and 10 wins.
Summers also holds two MVPs with nine wins, while Brown has seven victories on the season.
Blais is also in the mix to show for equitation over fences, along with senior Jaclyn Osterstock, sophomores Alice White and Erin Prutow and freshmen Taryn Nolte, Kaila Nix and Jordan White. In this discipline, Blais holds an 11-3 record and three MVPs, while Osterstock has seven victories with an MVP.
OSU's Western team has compiled an 8-4 record this year heading into nationals. The Wesatern team earned the four seed, giving them a bye into the second round. The Cowgirls will compete against the winner of fifth-seeded Kansas State and 12th-seeded Tennessee-Martin. OSU swept Kansas State during the regular season.
All western events will be held in the Coliseum Arena. The Cowgirls will show reining on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. while they will compete in horsemanship at 11 a.m. on Friday morning.
On the roster for the reining discipline are senior Jacque Roberts, juniors Rachell Shobe, Leah Kuehn and Molly Tipton, sophomore Bri Parnell and freshmen Caroline Daniels and Rachel Houchin. Parnell has earned three MVPs this season with a 9-3-1 record. Roberts has earned two MVPs, while Shobe also has one. Both girls have captured nine victories this season. Kuehn also holds an MVP with an 8-5 record.
Showing for horsemanship will be senior Jordan Pickelman, junior Suzanne Randolph, sophomores Courtney Whitacre and Margaux Tucker and freshmen Nicole Chirico and Mamie Tomlin.
Whitacre and Pickelman each hold 9-3-1 records with Whitacre earning four MVPs and Pickelman one MVP on the season. Tucker has earned seven wins and a MVP, while Chirico also holds a MVP and six victories.
Outside of the team competitions, the top eight riders from each discipline are selected to show for an Individual National Championship opportunity. Oklahoma State has six participants, which is tied for the most entries from any school with Georgia. The Cowgirls are represented in both Western and English and in all four disciplines. The bracket is single elimination with no consolation bracket.
Blais was chosen to ride in both equitation over fences and on the flat. Blais was granted the eight seed in the fences bracket and will take on top-seeded Haylie Jayne from Georgia at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. In the fences bracket, Blais is the two seed and will show against the seventh-seeded Caroline Cramer of Tennessee-Martin at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Also in the equitation on the flat for the Cowgirls are Sam Collingsworth and Charlotte Collingsworth. Charlotte Collingsworth earned the four seed and will take on the fifth-seeded Victoria Middelton from South Carolina at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. Sam Collingsworth will show as the six seed and take on third-seeded Carly Babcock, also from South Carolina, at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Parnell was selected to show as the eight seed in the reining bracket. She will take on the top-seeded Tarah Christiansen from Texas A&M at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Whitacre will also compete individually for the Cowgirls. She will compete in the horsemanship bracket as the seven seed and will take on the second-seeded Courtney Chown of TCU at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The semifinals and finals of each individual bracket will be played out on Saturday.
