UW-River Falls team at IHSA semi-finals in Utah were (left to right) Dirk Vanderwall, Utah State University College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences Associate Dean;  Krista Schoenfelder, Advanced Horsemanship; Kendyl Bennett, Novice Horsemanship; Danielle Paulson, Reining, Open Horsemanship; Libby Alders, Intermediate Horsemanship; Emily Edwards, Beginner Horsemanship; Janie Huot, Coach,  UWRF IHSA Western); Chris Brown, IHSA Zone 8 Region 3 president; Jason Romney, Utah State University coach; and Bob Cacchione, CEO and founder of IHSA.

Equestrian team earns top honors at regional final and IHSA semi-final events

March 21, 2019 - After outstanding results at regional finals held Feb. 23-24 and IHSA semi-finals held March 15-16, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Western Team now has their sights set on IHSA nationals in Syracuse, N.Y., May 3-6.
 
At regional finals hosted by North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D., the UWRF western team was named Team Champions. The following individuals qualified for IHSA semi-finals based on their performance at regional finals:

• Samantha Abrahamson (agricultural education major from Minneapolis) – Individual Beginner Horsemanship (1st Place Champion)
• Libby Alders (animal science major from Madison Lake, Minn.) – Team Intermediate Horsemanship
• Kendyl Bennett (accounting major from Preston, Minn.) – Team Novice Horsemanship
• Emily Edwards (animal science major from St. Paul) – Team Intermediate Horsemanship
•  Sydni Loose (animal science major from Cedar Grove) – Individual Advanced Horsemanship (1st Place Champion)
• Grace Miller (animal science major from West Bend) – Individual Intermediate Horsemanship (Reserve Champion)
• Danielle Paulson (animal science major from Pine Island, Minn.) – Team Open Horsemanship, Team Reining,

Individual Open Horsemanship (1st Place Champion) and Individual Reining (1st Place Champion)

• Krista Schoenfelder (agricultural business major from Rochester, Minn.) – Team Advanced Horsemanship
• Jackie Thayer (agricultural business major from Ridgeland) – Individual Advanced Horsemanship (Reserve Champion)

The IHSA semi-final competition hosted by Utah State University, Logan, Utah, was one of three IHSA semi-final competitions taking place that weekend across the country. The other two being held in Ocala, Fla. and Findley, Ohio. Overall, the UWRF team was named Reserve Champion securing their team’s advancement to nationals in May. Individuals advancing to nationals to compete in team events include:

• Alders – Team Intermediate Horsemanship (1st Place)
• Bennett – Team Novice Horsemanship
• Edwards – Team Beginner Horsemanship (1st Place)
• Paulson – Team Open Horsemanship (3rd Place) and Team Reining (3rd Place)
• Schoenfelder – Team Advanced Horsemanship

UWRF placements in individual categories at IHSA semi-finals included the following with the top four placements advancing to nationals and noted as such below:

• Abrahamson – Individual Beginning Horsemanship (3rd Place, advancing to nationals)
• Loose – Individual Advanced Horsemanship (Reserve Champion, advancing to nationals)
•  Miller – Individual Intermediate Horsemanship (5th Place)
• Paulson – Individual Open Horsemanship (Reserve Champion, advancing to nationals) and Individual Reining (5th Place)

For more information, email Coach Janie Huot at janie.huot@uwrf.edu.