The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) western team attended their last horse show of the season this past weekend at Blackhawk College East Campus in Galva, IL. Teams from Iowa State, Truman State, Blackhawk College, Northern Ilinois, Illinois State University and Augustana College also competed in the event. Saturday was the last regular show of the season, and Sunday was the regional show. All members of IHSA that had earned enough points to advance into their next division, or “pointed up,” were able to compete in the regional show.
Two of UW-Platteville’s IHSA members qualified for regionals: sophomore animal science major Samantha Gudeman and junior agbusiness major Lexi Olsen.
Gudeman, who pointed up to level one earlier this season, competed in the rookie division at regionals.
“Sunday was a lot of fun, I drew a challenging horse that pushed me,” Gudeman said.
Olsen pointed up into the open division and rode in the level two division for regionals.
Coach Natalie Jozik trains the team in all aspects of horsemanship and prepares them for competitions and patterns.
“Our riders rode very well for the high pressure situation and handled the pressure extremely well, both having some of the best rides I have seen from them. The entire team showed true sportsmanship the entire day,” Jozik said.
While the team will not have anyone advancing to the semifinals in March, they took home fourth place out of all the teams in their region. The team is looking forward to next year and the new opportunities to learn and improve their horsemanship skills.