Campus Equestrian: Zone 8, Region 1 Home Page

IHSA ZONE 8 - REGION 1

No hunter seat team has a longer active streak of appearances at IHSA Nationals with a full team as the Stanford Cardinal. Head coach and former Stanford rider Vanessa Bartsh (on left) has guided the Cardinal through Zone 8 Zones to Nationals every year since 2006. On the right is Rafi Wolf, a Stanford freshman from Bellevue, Washington who represented Region 1 in the Cacchione Cup Competition at 2024 IHSA Nationals in Mill Spring, North Carolina. Wolf had already impressed many an IHSA coach in January by winning team open fences and placing second in team open flat at the Winter Tournament of Champions invitational in Hardeeville, South Carolina. At Nationals Wolf placed seventh in the Cacchione Cup Competition; eighth in team open over fences; sixth in individual open on the flat and third in individual open over fences.

Jaimieson Knode of Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo (on right, with head coach Lou Moore Jacobsen) was the final Zone 8, Region 1 western rider to compete at 2024 IHSA Nationals. From Bellingham, Washington, Knode earned the best ribbon of any Region 1 rider over the weekend be they Western or English. Riding on Sunday, May 5th, Knode closed out her sophomore year with a second in individual Level II Western Horsemanship that day.

Taylor Stephens of the College of the Sequoias (on right, with head coach Kim Pitigliano) got to ride on both May 4th and 5th since she was the Region 1 high point western rider for the season. This meant an automatic trip to IHSA Nationals to compete in the Individual High Point Open Rider competition, with the Rail Phase on the fourth and the Reining Phase on the 5th. From Ventura, California, Stephens finished her junior year by placing tenth in the individual High Point Open Rider. This means Stephens can claim to be the tenth-best western open rider within the IHSA for the 2023-24 season. College of the Sequoias also was the Region 1 high point western team, taking that honor for the first time since 2013.

The University of California at Davis was second to Stanford in the Region 1 hunter seat team standings for 2023-24. Aggies coach Harper Salley (on right) poses with Evelyn Smith at IHSA Nationals in Mill Spring, North Carolina on May 3rd. Smith had previously won individual intermediate over fences and placed second in individual intermediate on the flat at Zones on April 6th to earn a pair of rides on May 3rd. From Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Smith completed her junior year by placing ninth in the individual intermediate on the flat at Nationals that morning.

According to Reedley College head coach Desi Molyneux (on left) Zone 8, Region 1 is the fifth-largest IHSA Western Region based on the number of riders entered in 2023-24. One of the many Region 1 western riders is Brenna Orchard of Reedley (on right), who was the first rider within all of Zone 8 to compete in a western class at 2024 IHSA Nationals. After having placed fourth in individual Open Western Horsemanship at the Murfreesboro, Tennessee Semifinal on March 23rd to qualify for the National show Orchard closed out her sophomore year with a tenth in the division in the second western class held on May 3rd.

At 2024 IHSA Nationals Parker Watt of Stanford University (on right) was so popular he even wound up on the Campus Equestrian Zone 8, Region 2 page with two riders from the USC Trojans as well as on this page with coach Bartsch. A senior from Thomasville, Georgia, Watt showed twice in North Carolina with his best ribbon being a ninth in team limit over fences on May 4th.

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The Zone 8, Region 1 Smorgasbord

Schools competing in Zone 8, Region 1 during the 2024-2025 school year: Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, College of the Sequoias, Reedley College, Sonoma State University, Stanford University, Unversity of California at Berkeley, University of California at Davis and University of California at Santa Cruz.

Winter/Spring 2025 Show Schedule for Zone 8, Region 1:

Saturday, January 25 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo (Host) on campus at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, San Luis Obispo, CA 11:00AM WESTERN ONLY

Sunday, January 26 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo (Host) on campus at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, San Luis Obispo, CA 9:00AM WESTERN ONLY

Saturday, February 1 Stanford University (Host) at the Stanford Red Barn Equestrian Center, Stanford, CA 10:00AM ENGLISH ONLY

Sunday, February 2 Stanford University (Host) at the Stanford Red Barn Equestrian Center, Stanford, CA 9:00AM ENGLISH ONLY

Saturday, February 15 University of California at Davis (Host) on campus at the UC-Davis Equestrian Center, Davis, CA 11:00AM WESTERN ONLY

Sunday, February 16 University of California at Davis (Host) on campus at the UC-Davis Equestrian Center, Davis, CA 9:00AM WESTERN ONLY

Date TBA Zone 8, Region 1 Western Regionals Site and Time TBA WESTERN ONLY

Date TBA Zone 8, Region 1 Hunter Seat Regionals Site and Time TBA ENGLISH ONLY

Saturday, March 15 WESTERN SEMIFINALS - DAY 1 Hosted by Black Hawk College at the Black Hawk College East Campus Ag Arena, Galva, IL 9:00AM WESTERN ONLY

Sunday, March 16 WESTERN SEMIFINALS - DAY 2 Hosted by Black Hawk College at the Black Hawk College East Campus Ag Arena, Galva, IL 9:00AM WESTERN ONLY

Saturday, April 5 ZONE 8 ZONES Hosted by Stanford University at the Stanford Red Barn Equestrian Center, Stanford, CA Time TBA ENGLISH ONLY

Friday through Sunday, May 2 - 4 IHSA NATIONALS at Tryon International Equestrian Center, Mill Spring, NC Time each day TBA ENGLISH AND WESTERN

Additional Show Dates to Come. Cal Poly - Pomona, which shows Hunter Seat in Zone 8, Region 2 may show Western in Zone 8, Region 1 during the 2024-25 season. Show Schedule subject to change.

Recent Region 1 Team Champions

Hunter Seat:

1997 - Fresno State
1998 - Fresno State
1999 - Fresno State
2000 - Fresno State
2001 - Fresno State
2002 - Fresno State
2003 - Fresno State
2004 - Fresno State
2005 - Fresno State
2006 - Stanford University
2007 - Stanford University
2008 - Stanford University
2009 - Stanford University
2010 - Stanford University
2011 - Stanford University
2012 - Stanford University
2013 - Stanford University
2014 - Stanford University
2015 - Stanford University
2016 - Stanford University
2017 - Stanford University
2018 - Stanford University
2019 - Stanford University
2020 - Stanford University
2022 - Stanford University
2023 - Stanford University
2024 - Stanford University
2025 - Stanford University

Western:

1997 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
1998 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
1999 - Fresno State
2000 - University of California at Davis
2001 - Fresno State
2002 - Fresno State
2003 - Fresno State
2004 - Fresno State
2005 - Fresno State
2006 - Fresno State
2007 - Stanford University
2008 - Stanford University
2009 - Stanford University
2010 - Stanford University
2011 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
2012 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
2013 - College of the Sequoias
2014 - Stanford University
2015 - Stanford University
2016 - Stanford University
2017 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
2018 - Reedley College
2019 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
2020 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
2022 - Stanford University
2023 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
2024 - College of the Sequoias
2025 - Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo

Regional Qualifiers

Open Level Rider Standings

Team Standings

ZONE 8 NEIGHBORS

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