USU Equestrian Team Gears for Kentucky

The Utah State University College of Agriculture equestrian team and four individuals have qualified for the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship May 5-8 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

The team qualified after placing second overall at the IHSA Western Semifinals March 26-27 at the University of Findlay’s Animal Sciences Center and Dale E. Wilkinson Arena in Findlay, Ohio.

USU will compete in the title event for the first time in six years and just the second time in its history. The team headed to Lexington includes Jason Romney, Marie Yamane, Mandy Allen, Dianne Blocker and Lauren Doyle. Individuals heading to the competition include Romney, Darby Robertson, Kelsey Wilson and Zach Schmidt.

The equine team finished behind the University of Findley and just one point ahead of third-place Morrisville State College. The top three teams qualified for nationals, which also welcomes the top finishers from other national semifinal competitions in Springfield, Mo., and Canyon, Texas.

“This is a huge reflection of the quality of our team and of the university and its agriculture program,” said coach Jason Romney, who will participate in both individual and team competition in Lexington.

Romney said Bob Cashion, founder of IHSA, told him that he finds it exciting that a small team from Utah has been able to compete so well against many top equine programs in the nation in a large-scale competition.

“Last year we brought Utah State out into the open because our individual riders did very well,” said English coach Collette Tebeau. “As you look around the general arena at these competitions, you see Utah State everywhere.”

As the team looks ahead to Lexington, the group faces the daunting task of overcoming many of the teams east of the Mississippi with prestigious equine programs and who, like the University of Findlay, have finished ahead in past shows.

The team has often practiced at a Benson farm with Romney’s horses to become better acquainted with the high-quality horses that await them in what Wilson described as the “home of the horse world.”

“Going to Kentucky sets the bar even higher,” Wilson said. “Other competitors are just starting to realize where we are coming from. The opportunity to compete in nationals ups everything, including our need to step up to the bar. The team is raising its game, and the program will continue to take another step forward as well.”

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USU College of Agriculture

Writer: Rhett Wilkinson, 801-603-6004

Contact: Colette Tebeau, 435-752-1251