Season Kick-Off at North Central Texas College

October 03, 2018

Season Kick-Off at North Central Texas College

On Saturday, September 29th, and Sunday, September 30th, 2018, the Western division of the Tarleton Equestrian Team kicked off the 2018-2019 Show Season at the North Central Texas Equestrian Center. It was a tough start to the season with many talented riders joining our region this year, including our own new members, Amber Fearn and Faith Weimerskirch!

Our western team showing off their ribbons and school pride!

Tarleton Alumni & Coach Michelle Mohr on Oaklie

Our season was given a great start by Tarleton Alumni rider and Coach, Michelle Mohr, placing 4th on Lucky in the first class of the day. Lucky was a challenge on Saturday, continuously dropping and changing leads on his riders. Michelle said she felt like a test subject and would've done better if she had of supported Lucky more. On Sunday, Coach Michelle had a really good ride and placed 2nd on Oaklie who was calmer than she had been the previous day. Coach Michelle has been doing a wonderful job preparing our team for this upcoming season!

Tarleton State University's advanced rider, Natille Barnett, had a great ride on Lucky on Saturday thus giving herself a confident start to the year, followed by another impressive ride on Sunday. Natille did a beautiful job on her rail work and pattern, and succeeded by placing 3rd on LeRoy.


Amber Fearn on Oaklie

One of our new riders, Amber Fearn, represented Tarleton for the first time this weekend in the Novice division. Amber had a fun ride on Max on Saturday, and said that if she had of ridden him better then the duo would have been more accomplished. Sunday, Amber had a wonderful ride on Oaklie; the mare had been working hard all day and by the time Amber's class came around, Oaklie was a little grouchy so rather than focusing on her own success, Amber went into the ring wanting to have another fun ride to start her IHSA career!

" I don't measure my successes based on the ribbons I win." ~ Amber Fearn

Rian Stewart on Pip

This season Tarleton is starting off with four riders representing our university in the Intermediate division. Vice President, Rian Stewart, started her season off riding Krissy, a spur trained horse, who was sensitive and advanced in her cues. Rian felt good and confident about her ride but had tough downward transitions. Sunday was a comeback for Rian when she placed 3rd on Pip after demonstrating impressive rail work. Morgan Salas, also known as Mo, had a successful start to her season, placing 5th on Jasper. Mo says she wasn't too sure of herself before her ride, but once she and Jasper entered the arena Mo gained a lot of confidence in herself and her horse. On Sunday, Mo drew Happy who was happily giving everyone a run for their money. Happy was tough on picking up his leads, leaving several riders frustrated, Mo worked hard and demonstrated her skill when she pushed him into the correct lead for several strides.

Zoey Tucker on Coffee

New member, Faith Weimerskirch, started off her IHSA career by placing 6th on Woody; The two had a great pattern yet Faith felt she could have excelled if she hadn't psyched herself out prior to her ride. Faith was ready to face the competition on Sunday with a beautiful ride placing her 5th on Angel! This weekend was a challenge for our fourth intermediate rider, Zoey Tucker. Zoey drew tough horses this weekend and showed remarkable skill working with them. Saturday's ride was on Happy, the two of them had an outstanding ride but were hurt by Happy's usual challenge of disliking to lope no matter how much leg Zoey kept on him. On Sunday, Zoey drew Coffee, a reiner who had had a long day in the show ring and was ready to go home.

Katie Woodworth on Happy

Tarleton's two walk/ trot riders, Katie Woodworth and Kevin Bobadilla, had an awesome start to their season, showing the hard work they have been investing at home! Kevin had a fantastic ride on Saturday, placing him 5th on Woody, allowing him to get two points closer to pointing up. Happy decided to continue giving his riders a leg workout throughout Kevin's ride on Sunday. Our Secretary, Katie, drew Happy on both Saturday and Sunday. The first day, Katie was nervous about her first ride of the season, she set high goals for herself this weekend and placed 6th out of nine on Saturday. The second day, the duo made a strong comeback when Katie came prepared from the previous day, and was hot when she came off Happy after she had applied a lot of pressure to keep him in his gaits. Katie successfully ended her weekend by placing 1st on Sunday, getting the teams first blue ribbon of the season!

Although it was a tough start to the season, our team is ready to accept this years challenges with smiles and team work! Tarleton Equestrian is proud to announce that this year has been our highest turn out for tryouts in team history, and that it is our first time to have a nearly complete show team for both disciplines! Please keep our English Team in your thoughts as we head to Oklahoma on October 12th!