Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Equestrian at the Big 12 Championships
March 23, 2015 | Cowgirl Equestrian
As four-time champions and the first-ever winners of three consecutive Big 12 titles, the Oklahoma State equestrian program has built a tradition of success at the Big 12 Championships.
The Cowgirl equestrian program has notched an impressive 10-2 all-time mark at the Big 12 Championships since 2009. The Cowgirls have appeared in the Big 12 finals in five of the tournament's six years of existence.
The team will look to add its fifth overall and fourth-straight conference title this weekend when it travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete at the Big 12 Equestrian Championships.
After winning the inaugural championship in 2009, the Cowgirls became the first program in Big 12 history to win multiple Big 12 equestrian titles in 2012 with wins over Kansas State and Texas A&M. The Cowgirls knocked off the Wildcats, 9-7, in the semifinals after the hunter seat team took a 5-3 victory and the western team notched a win by way of raw scores.
The win over the Wildcats sent the Cowgirls to their second-straight Big 12 championship meet appearance against Texas A&M. It marked the third time the two programs had met in the championship, with the squads splitting the two previous meetings.
The championship meet was a tight one, with the Cowgirls narrowly taking the title in raw scores after an 8-8 deadlock. The raw score tiebreaker gave Oklahoma State a 3329-3326 advantage and clinched the program's second Big 12 Championship.
The Cowgirls hosted the 2013 Big 12 Equestrian Championships at Animal Science Arena in Stillwater and succeeded in defending their 2012 title.
Oklahoma State faced Baylor in the semifinal meet and jumped out to an early 6-2 lead at the completion of the horsemanship and equitation over fences events; however, the Bears would not go down quietly, and won five of the next six points to tie the meet at seven with one ride left. Cowgirl junior Ali Rose came up with the meet-clinching point in the final ride of the day to give the Cowgirls an 8-7 edge and send the Pokes to a third-straight championship meet with a chance to defend their title.
The Cowgirls faced Kansas State in the finals, and trailed, 6-5, with three riders left in the reining event. Cowgirls Katy Krshka, Jenna Blumer and Justine Peters swept the final three points to clinch an 8-6 Oklahoma State win.
The Cowgirls also earned several Big 12 awards following the meet. Samantha Harrison was selected to the All-Big 12 team for equitation over fences for the second consecutive year. Lauren Halvorson and Katy Krshka were also selected to their second consecutive All-Big 12 Horsemanship team. Krshka also went on to win her second consecutive Horsemanship Rider of the Year award.
Last season, wins over Kansas State and Baylor pushed the Cowgirls to their third-straight Big 12 title. In the semifinal meet against Kansas State the Cowgirl hunter seat team took a 5-4 win, while the western squad tied the Wildcats with five points, to record a 10-9 Oklahoma State victory and send the Pokes to the championship meet yet again.
After three events in the championship meet, the Cowgirls found themselves down 8-7. Sophomore Justine Peters won the first match by a close margin, 139.5-139. She improved to 10-2 this season and it was her 10th win in the last 11 matches. There were three video reviews by the judges to determine the correct scores at the end of the event. Senior Jenna Blumer picked up a 137.5-134.5 win over Claire Edwards for her ninth win in the last 10 matches. Junior Katy Krshka tallied a 142.5-138.5 victory, for her fourth-straight win. With her two wins in the tournament, she was named Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Performer in the reining event. OSU won the reining event, 3-1 and the championship meet, 10-9.
The Cowgirls will look to defend their conference crown this weekend when they try and capture their fourth-straight Big 12 crown. The Big 12 Championships begin with semifinal action this Friday, March 27, and conclude with the championship meet on Saturday, March 28.
