Equestrian Team Goes to El Reno

El Reno, Okla.—On October 20-21 the Panhandle State Equestrian Team was in El Reno, Okla. showing off their horsemanship skills at an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association event hosted by Southern Nazarene University.

There were seven teams in attendance, with roughly two hundred riders. This time around the Equestrian team elected to bring some of their own horses along to help acclimate them to performing in unfamiliar territory.

Saturday Hannah Hammack and Sarah Atha both placed fifth in their respective classes, while Jacee Barr and MaKayla Hoffman placed fourth in their fields. Cassie Alcorn placed sixth in reining and fifth in the open. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Leach placed seventh in her class. During Sunday’s performance Hammack again placed fifth, as did Atha. Barr came in sixth in her class, while Hoffman came matched her fourth place showing from Saturday. Leach came up seventh on the last day of showing, and Alcorn was not able to place.

When asked how the show went, head coach Lisa Drumhiller had this to say, “The team had a trying weekend at SNU. The girls made some good decisions in their rides, and we learned a lot as a team. We have a very competitive region, as some of the teams we compete against are multiple National Champion title holders. With that being said, the girls really stuck with them this weekend and gained a lot of experience to learn from and grow as riders. The OPSU-owned horses that we took this weekend really stepped up and rose to the occasion, becoming favorites of many riders at the show.”

The next scheduled show will be for Hunt Seat on November 17-18 in Canyon, Texas. The Western show schedule picks back up in the spring.