Texas Tech’s Equestrian Team Earns Individual, Team Titles

Written by: Jessica Behnham

Ten riders from Texas Tech University's Equestrian Team, the most in school history, are preparing to compete April 5 at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Hunt Seat Zone 7 Championship in Cheyenne, Wyo. where they will vie for a shot at the national championship in their respective disciplines. The riders qualified for the IHSA regional championships during a pair of March competitions.  "The ten riders that individually qualified for the Regional Championships this year are the most we've ever had," said Robin Morris, a graduate student in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences and the team's coach. "We look forward to sending many riders to the national championship." The IHSA National Championship show will be held April 23-26 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The team competed at the IHSA Zone 7, Region 2 Hunt Seat Regional Championships March 1 at West Texas A&M University and the IHSA Zone 7, Region 2 Western Regional Championships March 8 at the Texas Tech Equestrian Center. Texas Tech had two individual qualifiers at the IHSA Hunt Seat Regional Championships. Lindsey Mortimer, a junior general studies major from Austin, won the Intermediate Hunt Seat Equitation on the flat and was the Reserve Champion in Intermediate Hunt Seat Equitation over fences. Chelsea Hosmer, a sophomore marketing major from Tucson, Ariz., was the Reserve Champion in the Novice Hunt Seat Equitation on the flat and placed fourth in the Novice Hunt Seat Equitation over fences. At the IHSA Western Regional Championships, the Texas Tech Western team earned the title of Reserve Champion Team for Zone 7, Region 2. The team also had eight individuals qualify for the Regional Championship: Alicia Daugherty, a junior agricultural communications major from Alpine, won championship honors in both the Open Reining and the Open Western Horsemanship.  Chelsea Campbell, a freshman agricultural communications major from Hereford, earned the title of Advanced Western Horsemanship Champion, and Amanda Cage, a senior animal science major from Ponder, placed third. Kelsey Lieurance, a freshman animal science major from El Paso, was named the Novice Western Horsemanship Champion, and teammate Jessica Jarvis, a sophomore animal science major from Spearman, earned the reserve championship. Stacy Jobe, a sophomore biology major from Columbus, was named the Intermediate Western Horsemanship Champion, and Cristina Talcott, a junior landscape architecture major from New Braunfels, earned the reserve championship. Cheryl Hensley, a senior animal science major from Lubbock, captured the Beginner Western Horsemanship Reserve Championship. CONTACT: Robin Morris, coach, Equestrian Team, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2805 or robin.k.morris@ttu.edu.