After a long and tough day March 13th, 2011 at our very own Stonegate Farm for Regionals, Ohio University Equestrian Team is proud to announce that we will be taking four riders to Zones at Otterbein in April!
You may know Junior Sara Dziegielewski for several reasons. She’s our team Secretary for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school year, she’s been a dominating figure in the Open division for the past two years, and this year she captured the Zone 6 Region 2 Cachionne Cup! She competed in Regionals in the Open Fences division and put in a beautiful course, winning the class and securing her place at Zones! A huge congratulations to Sara on all her work so far this year!
Senior Hallie Seiser is known for being funny and our team safety officer, but she is also a beautiful rider. Her and her horse Ralph have come a long way in the four years she has been on the team and she is now competing with him outside of IHSA in the 3’6 classes at ‘A’ shows. After a very tough class in Intermediate Fences, she placed 2nd, paving her way to Zones, and hopefully Nationals this April!
OUET has many dedicated riders, but none more so than Freshman Anna Duble. She has made it a point to take more lessons, compete at more shows outside of IHSA, and work harder on her riding than any other member of the team. It has paid off well! Anna soared through Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter, winning class after class and making it look incredibly easy. At Regionals, she qualified in the first split to Finals, and excitedly mounted Flagg for the Finals class. After riding Flagg and switching horses with teammate Katie Martin and getting a chance to ride one of her favorites, Zen, Anna took 2nd and will make a very promising début at Zones!
Last, but certainly not least, is Junior Katie Martin. If you recognize her name, it’s because Katie Martin will not only be Vice President of the team next year, but she is also the current reigning National Champion in Walk/Trot. Katie’s riding has always been one step ahead of her competition, and Regionals was no different for her. She made the first split of her class look simple, easily making it into Finals on a horse she has regularly ridden in shows outside of IHSA, Avis. There she drew a horse she has also shown outside of IHSA, Zen. Clicking as usual, Katie was asked to switch with Anna riding Flagg. The judge switched these two for a reason, she had them placed 1st and 2nd! Katie rode Flagg beautifully, winning the Walk/Trot/Canter class and will be making yet another trip to Zones as an individual this year!
OUET is so very proud of these talented riders, our teammates and we cannot wait to see how they fare at Zones!
After Regionals, it is tradition for the year’s officers to hand off their responsibilities to the new officers. Junior Stephanie Framer will now be taking over the responsibilities of President and Senior Brittany Smith. Junior Katie Martin will now be handling Vice Presidential duties of Senior Kari Besler. Junior Megan Chalk takes over handling money and the Treasurer position of Senior Rachel Saunders. Senior Katie Montgomery is handing over the Community Service and Fundraising reins to Sophomore Chrissy Hunley.
And Sophomore Carly Klose will now be taking over for me, Senior Beckee Milton as Public Relations Chair. This marks my last post as an officer, and I am proud to hand over the blog, Twitter, Facebook, and webpage to Carly. Expect to hear a new voice when reading about OUET; Carly will do an amazing job keeping readers updated about OUET activities, horses, and riders! These last four years have been an incredible journey. I’ve met my best friends, ridden great horses, and shared experiences with an unforgettable team. There is nothing in the world that can compare to the fun, talent, and dedication of the OUET and it will be the thing I miss most about Ohio University when I graduate this Spring. I am in awe of how many genuine and fun people are on this team, and their passion for the sport, horses, and for each other is unrivaled by anyone else. I wish best of luck to all my teammates in the coming years, I know you guys will continue to amaze and wow the country and our school.
Ohio University Equestrian Team 