The UC Davis equestrian team takes down Minnesota Crookston with multiple sweeps
On Jan. 24, the UC Davis equestrian team faced off against the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles in Crookston, Minnesota. The Aggies secured a dominant 18-2 victory, sweeping multiple events and highlighting their depth across the board.
The first event was fences, where riders had to guide their horses around the course. The UC Davis Aggies produced a perfect 5-0 win in this event. Lauren Kolbe, a second-year political science major, recorded the highest score amongst all riders for the event with an 86 on her horse, “Bear.” All UC Davis riders scored above 80 points in fences, showcasing their dominance in the event.
In horsemanship, where riders must display a good performance of body position and accuracy in movements, Natasha Replogle, a fourth-year human development major, set the bar and scored first, putting up a score of 73.5. Laura Kate Holliday, a second-year biological sciences major, followed Replogle’s efforts and achieved a score of 74, while riding on horse “Bella,” and achieved the highest score from the Aggies.
Anna Donovan, a first-year psychology major, finished right behind Kolbe, scoring 85 riding on horse “Otis.” Emma Jolly, a fourth-year political science major, Jessie Rechs, a fourth-year sociology major, and Carmen Gonzalez, a first-year animal science major, all contributed to the 5-0 sweep, putting up strong points around the 80-point region.
The next event was reining, where riders had to perform a series of spins, sliding stops and rollbacks in a specific pattern. Mya Clader, a third-year undeclared major, set the bar high with a high score of 71.5 amongst competitors with horse “Mr. T.”
This event would end up being the second Aggie sweep in an event. Avery Adamson, a first-year psychology major, scored second-highest with 70.5, while Emma Dillon, a fourth-year animal science major, and Nicole Shroyer, a third-year communications major, scored 69 points.
The flat event was the last of the meet, where riders were required to perform different patterns of movement without jumping, with judges observing the control and effectiveness the riders had with their horses. The Aggies won the event 5-0.
Margaret Franke, a graduate student in the Department of Communication, scored 31 more points than her opponent with a score of 84, earning her the Most Outstanding Performance award. Kolbe on horse “Courtage,” scored an impressive 85 points. Marin Gilliland, a fourth-year history and cinematography double major, accompanied by Donovan and Rechs, participated in the 10-0 sweep of the event.
Overall, the meet proved to be a success for the Aggies. On Jan. 25, Rechs and Franke were named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Riders of the Week for their impressive performances against Minnesota Crookston. The Aggies will look to build on this momentum in their upcoming National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) matchup in College Station, Texas on Friday, Jan. 21.
