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FINDLAY FAIRS THE BEST IN INDIVIDUAL WESTERN DIVISIONS TOO West Springfield, MA - If you have been reading our articles on 2007 IHSA Nationals you know very well that the University of Findlay dominated the Western Team Competition, the individual AQHA Trophy division, finished tied for second in the Hunter Seat Team Competition and won more individual hunter seat classes than any other team. Findlay did not disappoint their faithful in the individual western undergraduate classes either. With at least one rider entered in each of the six individual undergraduate divisions (and two riders entered in half of these six), Findlay won two and finished second four times. For the fourth season in a row the IHSA National show began with a full day of hunter seat competition, with the first western class of any kind not occuring until the fifth class on day two (and this was only the first of two sections of individual AQHA Trophy western horsemanship, which meant no ribbon would be awarded). The only undergraduate individual western class held all day was the individual intermediate horsemanship, which was the tenth of thirteen classes including the two AQHA Trophy horsemanship sections on Friday, May 4th. Ironically, only three schools could claim their entry in this division was their first western entry at 2007 Nationals of any kind, and each of these three riders would claim a top-ten prize. After all twelve riders walked, jogged and loped and then went through the pattern one-by-one announcer Ken Marash was ready with the placings. In tenth place was Danika Kent of the University of Minnesota at Crookston, the only Zone 9, Region 3 western rider NOT from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to qualify for the National show. Ninth place went to College of Southern Idaho sophomore Corrie Watson, one of two undergraduate Golden Eagle riders to qualify for 2007 Nationals. Morrisville State College had a full team and an individual AQHA Trophy rider at Nationals in addition to five individual qualifiers, including eighth-place winner Madison Cassidy. Deborah Simmers-Shahadey became the first of three St. Mary of the Woods individual qualifiers to finish inside the top ten with a seventh while Rebecca Dingus was the first of two Ohio University western riders to place with a sixth. Fifth place went to Adrienne Smith of Oregon State. Though the Beavers were the only Zone 8 school to advance a full western team through Semifinals Smith was their lone qualifier for Nationals in an individual class (excluding the individual AQHA Trophy). Fourth went to Texas Tech senior Allison Griest while Zone 7, Region 1 opponent Kristine Thompson of West Texas A & M was third. At Semifinals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on March 24th Griest finished second while Thompson had been fourth overall, with the top four all advancing to Nationals.
The University of Findlay had at least one rider in all six undergraduate individual divisions and the first of these Oilers to earn a ribbon was Valerie Siegel. The official Findlay website lists Siegal as a sophomore from Woolwich, Maine, which likely makes her the only New England resident to place inside the top two in any of the western divisions at 2007 Nationals. However Siegal did not win the division, as Middle Tennessee State senior Sarah McKee had that honor. From Galitin, Tennessee, McKee had won the very same division at Semifinals over a month earlier (in the same competition as Griest and Thompson). McKee's blue ribbon in intermediate western gave the Blue Raiders their first win in the division at Nationals since Sherry Higdon won in 1983, the last time seperate english and western IHSA Nationals were held. McKee is the third Blue Raider to win the division, as Dotti Arnold won the very first intermediate western horsemanship class in Nationals history back in 1982. As had been the case on Friday the 4th, only one undergraduate individual western division took place on Saturday the 5th (for a recap on the results of the western and hunter seat alumni divisions please see the separate article on our home page - Editor). The individual open western horsemanship division was the seventh of nine classes held on a day devoted to several awards presentations and a visit by former (and possible future) olympian David O'Connor, the President of the United States Equestrian Federation. Of the twelve entries in individual open, six of them would ride two classes later in the reining portion of the individual AQHA Trophy division. Two riders had time in the seat less than an hour earlier, as St. Mary of the Woods senior Christina Ecker had placed second in team open reining while Caley Coffey of Black Hawk College had finished out of the top six in that same class. Coffey would improve in the individual section. Though there had been difficulties with re-rides during the earliest of the western divisions on Friday the Saturday session ran quite smoothly, with individual open western horsemanship completed in under an hour. Black Hawk sophomore Jessica Lynch was one of the six riders who would compete in the individual AQHA reining a short time later, but would place tenth here. Ninth place went to yet another individual AQHA qualifier in Southern Nazarene sophomore Janislynn Isackson while eighth place went to Kaitlyn Mix, the lone representative from the Alfred University western team to reach IHSA Nationals in 2007. University of Nebraska at Lincoln senior Lindsey Salestrom was seventh while Tyler Chavez was the lone Washington State University rider at 2007 Nationals of any kind, earning sixth. Coffey moved up into the top five with her open western ride at fifth while Ecker slipped back slightly to fourth. Considering that Findlay had won the first two western team classes while Siegel finished second in individual intermediate western it did not come as a surprise to see a pair of Findlay riders still among the five on horseback waiting for the placings. One of these Oilers heard her name called next as Erica White was third overall. A senior from New Iberia, Louisiana, White had finished fourth in the Zone 6, Region 3 western open rider standings behind teammates Trevor Dare, Travis Womer and Kelsey Huffman, perhaps the finest top four from one single team any time this decade. White once again was behind Dare, who was still waiting to be placed. Though Dare would win two other western classes in his IHSA Nationals debut (including the Individual AQHA Trophy), the freshman from Delaware, Ohio would not win this time. Dare earned yet another red ribbon for the Oilers as he was the individual open western reserve champion.
The top prize went to Cazenovia College senior Meghan Dauler. From Hanibal, New York, Dauler is one of only two non-Findlay riders ever to finish ahead of Dare in an IHSA competition so far (Dare had been third behind teammate White in reserve and Isackson with the blue ribbon at Semifinals on March 24th). Joining Dauler in the winner's circle were both Cazenovia first-year Western Coach Mike Bednarek and former Cazenovia Western Coach Brian Maxwell, who had been Daulers' coach the previous three seasons. Maxwell and Bednarek are good friends with Maxwell recommending Bednarek prior to stepping down for personal reasons prior to the 2006-07 season. Only six classes remained to be completed as the Sunday session began, with individual advanced western horsemanship riders entering the ring at 8:09AM. By 9AM the class was lined up and ready for Marash to announce the placings. Tenth place went to Renee Burks of West Virginia University, the only undergraduate western rider from a Zone 3 school to earn a top ten ribbon at 2007 Nationals. Amber Tewell of Morrisville State College was ninth while College of Southern Idaho freshman Jennifer Johnson was eighth, besting teammate Watson by a placing to earn the Golden Eagles their best undergraduate ribbon. Black Hawk sophomore Jacqueline Johnson (no relation to Jennifer) earned seventh place while Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo senior Dawn Ross was sixth. Ross was the first Cal Poly - SLO undergraduate western rider to qualify for IHSA Nationals since Michael Kovach was fourth in the same division in 2002. Though teammate Casey Bennington placed sixth in the individual AQHA Trophy division the previous evening, Berry College senior Denise Wright finished a place higher with a fifth. Jessica Robbins was the first of four Ohio State riders to earn a top five placing in an individual western division, claiming fourth. The Pacific Northwest was well represented in the individual western divisions, as University of Washington sophomore Joanna Dove became the third rider from three different Zone 8, Region 4 schools to place sixth or higher in an individual class at 2007 Nationals. Dove was third, the highest placing for a Huskie rider at Nationals in program history. To the surprise of few a Findlay rider was still in the ring waiting for a placing. And this time second was not an option. West Texas A & M junior Shannon Lee earned the red ribbon. From Kerrville, Texas, Lee bested teammates Thompson and Courtney Douglas (third in team advanced western) for the Buffs' best ribbon at 2007 Nationals. Though he had been second to teammate Travis Womer in individual novice western at 2005 Nationals, University of Findlay senior Adam Smith was on top this time. From Dobson, North Carolina, Smith was the first Findlay rider to win an individual western class at 2007 Nationals. Counting all english and western classes, Findlay had nine blue ribbons through Smith's placing. Following yet another Findlay blue ribbon in team intermediate (given to Raffi Kechejian, who had also competed in an english team class), the most prestigeous of all the individual western classes took place. The National Reining Horse Association sponsors the individual open reining pattern, with the top four invited to compete at the NRHA Derby in Oklahoma City two weeks later. Only two of the fourteen riders who competed in this division at 2006 IHSA Nationals were able to survive Regionals and Semifinals to compete for an appearance at the Derby this season, and both of them would improve on their placings in Harrisburg last May. Findlay had both Dare and Womer competing in the division, with Dare among the first to compete. Those in the audience who saw his individual AQHA Trophy ride specifically made certain not to miss Dares' final reining ride of 2007 Nationals. As had been the case the night before, Dare was essentially separating the men from the boys, earning a score of 144.5, only half a point less than his AQHA Trophy appearance. Former West Texas A & M rider Meghan Mackeys' article on IHSA Nationals in the July 2007 issue of the American Quarter Horse Journal mentions Dare is a former AQHYA Director (from their Region Four) while Ohio University - Southern Campus Head Coach Flint Adkins and Ohio University Western Head Coach Tony Kennedy were of the opinion that Dare had been riding his entire life. Among the better rides to follow were Utah State University freshman Jason Romney's '142,' Ohio State University senior Ashley Kovar's '141' and Kovars' temmate Keith Ceddia's '141.5.' All very good rides, yet none within two and half points of Dares'. However one of the final riders in the division was Womer. The 2006 individual AQHA Trophy champ delivered a ride not unlike Dare's, and when the combined scores of Judges Dawn Clason and Mike Jennings were tallied, Womer had earned a '146,' the highest reining score of any rider competing in the various reining divisions at 2007 Nationals. The NRHA open reining was the only individual western class where riders did not remain on their draws for the presentation of ribbons. Though two of the riders had missed out on a top ten placing (and had received zero scores) the other ten riders returned to the ring via foot for the placings. Georgia Tech junior Stacey Mahlmeister received a score of '123' for tenth place while Coffey was ninth this time having earned a '124.5.' Perry DiCiccio of Cazenovia had finished out of the ribbons in the NRHA Open Reining last season but earned eighth place this time with a score of '131.5.' Salestrom was one of the more consistant riders at 2007 Nationals, scoring '140' to repeat her individual open western placing while finishing eighth in the individual AQHA Trophy inbetween. Dauler's third and final undergraduate IHSA ride resulted in a '140.5' score and sixth while Kovar just missed out on a trip to the Derby with a '141' and fifth place. Kovar earned the highest placing of any female in the division, as males held the top four positions for the first time in IHSA history. Because the scores for each rider had been read aloud after their ride anyone in the stands with a pen and paper could figure out the placings. The good news for the remaining four riders was that their season was not over on this day, and that perhaps another blue ribbon was in the cards. Ceddia, who had placed sixth in the division at 2006 Nationals moved up to fourth. Romney, riding in his first IHSA Nationals class of any kind, was third. Though Dare had come from behind during the regular season to finish three points ahead of Womer in the Zone 6, Region 3 western open rider standings it was the latter who came out ahead in their final IHSA class versus each other. Several weeks later at the Derby the Findlay teammates were again at the top, with Womer once again the champion. The senior from Camarillo, California received a combined judge's score of 219.0, three points ahead of Dares' 216.0 reserve championship performance (The NRHA Derby employs three judges whose scores are added together at the end. Womer earned scores of 73.0 from all three judges. - Editor). The Findlay duo finished ahead of several very strong riders, including third-place winner Kate Stewart of the University of Georgia, an at-large selection based on what the NRHA calls her 'Industry' performance. However Stewart won all eight of her NCAA/Varsity regular season appearences while going 11-1 leading up to the derby. Romney finished tied for seventh with Auburn University sophomore Ashley Griffith, whose father Ollie and mother Debbie coach the Ohio State IHSA Team (ie Ceddia, Kovar and several others entered at IHSA Nationals). Romney and Griffith both received a combined score of 212.0 while Ceddia was at the back end of the standings, twelfth out of twelve with a 205.5. Strangely enough, one year ago Ceddia had not made the top four at IHSA Nationals but had been one of the four 'Industry' invities and went on to finish second overall to 2006 Morrisville State graduate Jamie Abel who won last seasons' IHSA/NRHA Reining class at Harrisburg.
Following the NRHA individual open reining was the individual beginner western horsemanship division. Tenth place went to St. Mary of the Woods senior Stephanie Sorensen, who was the only member of her team to ride exclusively in the individual western divisions. Brittany Thomas was the lone member of the Ohio University - Southern Campus team to compete at 2007 IHSA Nationals, with the senior (who has eligibility remaining for the 2007-08 season) in ninth place. It remains to be seen if junior Emily Wolfe's eighth place ribbon is the final appearance in IHSA competition for a Kansas State rider, as the Wildcats stayed out of several IHSA shows during the 2006-07 season as to avoid conflicts with NCAA/Varsity regulations. Hopefully Kansas State will continue to host several IHSA shows a season (though travel to the 'away' IHSA competitions would probably be sporadic at best). Ohio University sophomore Rosemary Fleming came in one place lower than teammate Dingus had faired two days earlier while April Smith of Findlay was sixth to round out the placings for beginners at 2007 Nationals who compete for schools located in the state of Ohio. Some might seem surprised to see a Findlay rider outside the top five but Smith is only a freshman and Findlay riders tend to make great improvement over the course of several seasons. Cazenovia had six rides over the course of six individual classes, with Brittany Burns earning a fifth here. Burns had also competed in the individual walk-trot two days earlier, but had finished out of the ribbons on that occasion. State University of New York at Oswego sophomore Robin Wheeler was the only member of the Lakers to reach 2007 Nationals, earning a fourth here. Riders from schools in Upstate New York held down three of the top five placings in beginner western as Corey Hayes of Morrisville State College was third. All three did not travel the same route to get to West Springfield, as Hayes was third in the division at Semifinals in Findlay, Ohio (Smith of the host Oilers won) while Wheeler won the division at Semifinals in Murfeesboro, Tennessee with Burns coming in fourth. The rider who finished second had earned the exact same honor when riding on her own turf at the MTSU-hosted Semifinal. Middle Tennessee State senior Elaine Gray earned the reserve championship, giving the Blue Raiders their second red ribbon of the day (freshman Matthew McMurtrey had finished second to Kechejian in team intermediate western) and had nearly equaled teammate McKees' intermediate western ribbon. From Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Gray went out with a bang, but not as big of a bang as Stanford senior Kate Farrell. From Sacramento, California, Farrell repeated her placing at the Murfreesboro semifinal, earning the Cardinal their final blue ribbon of the 2006-07 season. Farrell, who was Stanfords' only representative at 2005 Nationals and who rode three days earlier in team walk-trot-canter provided the Cardinal with another memorable statistic: Stanford became the first team in IHSA history to claim the individual beginner western and individual walk-trot champions at the same National show! Farrells' teammate Karen Lone won the individual walk-trot on Friday, giving Stanford both individual beginner champion trophies. In addition the Cardinal and Findlay can claim individual champions at 2007 IHSA Nationals in both the english and western divisions, which no other school can say.
The final individual western division of the season was novice horsemanship. The class started shortly after 12Noon and was ready to be pinned in under 40 minutes. Ashley Gleis placed tenth, providing Morehead State University with their only top ten ribbon at 2007 Nationals. Kirsten Swankie was the first of two Findlay riders in the division to hear her name announced, placing ninth. Though St. Andrews Presbyterian College had one of the best seasons among hunter seat programs that came in second place within their respective regions, the Knights did not qualify a single english rider for 2007 Nationals. However junior Chelsea Caron earned St. Andrews a ribbon nevertheless, taking home eighth place in novice for the Knights' western team. North Central Texas College had only one rider in the competition, and that rider is sophomore Ashley Barger. Barger placed seventh for the Lions, earning the first IHSA Nationals ribbon of any kind in team history. Jeremy Mimitz provided Morrisville State with their final ribbon of 2007 via a sixth while Cazenovia senior Lacie Smith did the same for the Wildcats with a fifth. Fourth place went to Janie Teten of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Teten had finished second in the division at the Semifinal show held in Pomona, California over two days in late March (while the Pomona Semifinal was the only two-day post-season event prior to 2007 Nationals, chances are good that two of the three semi's next season will be spread out over the March 29/30 weekend). Black Hawk College freshman Rachel Olson repeated her third place showing at the Semifinal in Murfreesboro with a third while riders from Ohio schools again took the top two placings. Findlay received their final red ribbon of the day (another blue was yet to come via Dare in team open western horsemanship less than an hour later) as junior Andrea Shaffer was the reserve champion. From Tiffin, Ohio (where Tiffin University will field an IHSA team for the first time starting this fall - Editor), Shaffer earned Findlay their fifth red ribbon of the four-day event. The Ohio State Buckeyes may have followed up their 2006 Western National Championship with a slip down to second place but their final individual rider was second to none. From Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, sophomore Natalie Norval won the individual novice western, a slight improvement over her second place showing in team novice one year and one day earlier. Norval had won the division at the Pomona Semifinal her previous time in the ring. The 2007 IHSA Nationals western classes will be remembered as the Findlay-fest, with the Oilers earning either a first or second in eleven of thirteen undergraduate classes counting the individual AQHA Trophy (only in the individual and team beginner divisions was Findlay no better than fourth). Will Findlay be as dominant in 2007-08? With Zone 6 getting an off-season re-alignment the Oilers will face a slightly different field (all the Michigan schools are a region of their own while Miami of Ohio will now compete directly with the Oilers). With several key riders graduating it will be interesting to see if Findlay had talent of the same caliber on the bench - or dare help the IHSA - even better! ---Steve Maxwell The following is a list of the Individual Western Class-by-Class Results from 2007 IHSA Nationals, held in the Big E Coliseum at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The first class listed was held Friday, May 4th, the second class was held Saturday, May 5th and the final four classes were held Sunday, May 6th. The judges for all western classes were Dawn Clason and Mike Jennings: Individual intermediate western horsemanship: 1. Sarah McKee, Middle Tennessee State University. 2. Valerie Siegel, University of Findlay. 3. Kristine Thompson, West Texas A & M University. 4. Allison Griest, Texas Tech University. 5. Adrienne Smith, Oregon State University. 6. Rebecca Dingus, Ohio University. 7. Deborah Simmers-Shahadey, St. Mary of the Woods College. 8. Madison Cassidy, Morrisville State College. 9. Corrie Watson, College of Southern Idaho. 10. Danika Kent, University of Minnesota at Crookston. Individual open western horsemanship: 1. Meghan Dauler, Cazenovia College. 2. Trevor Dare, University of Findlay. 3. Erica White, University of Findlay. 4. Christina Ecker, St. Mary of the Woods College. 5. Caley Coffey, Black Hawk College. 6. Tyler Chavez, Washington State University. 7. Lindsey Salestrom, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 8. Kaitlyn Mix, Alfred University. 9. Janislynn Isackson, Southern Nazarene University. 10. Jessica Lynch, Black Hawk College. Individual advanced western horsemanship: 1. Adam Smith, University of Findlay. 2. Shannon Lee, West Texas A & M University. 3. Joanna Dove, University of Washington. 4. Jessica Robbins, Ohio State University. 5. Denise Wright, Berry College. 6. Dawn Ross, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo. 7. Jacqueline Johnson, Black Hawk College. 8. Jennifer Johnson, College of Southern Idaho. 9. Amber Tewell, Morrisville State College. 10. Renae Burks, West Virginia University. National Reining Horse Association open reining pattern: 1. Travis Womer, University of Findlay. 2. Trevor Dare, University of Findlay. 3. Jason Romney, Utah State University. 4. Keith Ceddia, Ohio State University. 5. Ashley Kovar, Ohio State University. 6. Meghan Dauler, Cazenovia College. 7. Lindsey Salestrom, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 8. Perry DiCiccio, Cazenovia College. 9. Caley Coffey, Black Hawk College. 10. Stacey Mahlmeister, Georgia Tech. Individual beginner western horsemanship: 1. Kate Farrell, Stanford University. 2. Elaine Gray, Middle Tennessee State University. 3. Corey Hayes, Morrisville State College. 4. Robin Wheeler, State University of New York at Oswego. 5. Brittany Burns, Cazenovia College. 6. April Smith, University of Findlay. 7. Rosemary Fleming, Ohio University. 8. Emily Wolfe, Kansas State University. 9. Brittany Thomas, Ohio University - Southern Campus. 10. Stephanie Sorensen, St. Mary of the Woods College. Individual novice western horsemanship: 1. Natalie Norval, Ohio State University. 2. Andrea Shaffer, University of Findlay. 3. Rachel Olson, Black Hawk College. 4. Janie Teten, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 5. Lacie Smith, Cazenovia College. 6. Jeremy Mimitz, Morrisville State College. 7. Ashley Barger, North Central Texas College. 8. Chelsea Caron, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 9. Kirstin Swankie, University of Findlay. 10. Ashley Gleis, Morehead State University.
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