UT Martin Equestrian Team Among Best Of The West February 14-15 By Nancy Brannon The UT Martin Women’s Equestrian team finished third in the Best of the West tournament at Fresno State College February 14-15, 2009. The team performed well in Equitation over Fences and Equitation on the Flat in Saturday’s competition. Over Fences, Madeline Brown, Caroline Cramer, and Brittany Kasprack of Collierville, Tennessee were top riders. On the Flat, Michelle Thompson and Kelsy Abell were had firsts. In Sunday’s competition, Kasprack won Equitation over Fences and was MVP, while Cramer scored in Equitation on the Flat. Stephanie Sanders and Lauren Eichstadt scored points in Western Horsemanship for the team. Riders achieving Most Valuable Player status for the weekend’s competition were Lauren Eichstadt in Horsemanship; Caroline Cramer in Equitation over Fences and on the Flat; Michele Thompson in Equitation on the Flat; and Brittany Kasprack in Equitation over Fences. UT Martin has 18 equestrian team members, with half coming from Tennessee. They range from freshmen to seniors; this year’s team has two graduating seniors. Head Coach is Meghan Cunningham. The UT Martin team typically goes to 10 to 13 shows a year. Horses are donated to the program and the school now has 20 horses. “We have some wonderful performance horses, some donated from Spring Mill Farm near Memphis and some from Carol Harris of Florida,” said Cunningham. The Women’s Equestrian Team made the transition to NCAA Varsity Equestrian three years ago. Varsity competition differs from Intercollegiate competition with its head-to head format. Each rider from competing schools competes on the same horse against members of the other team in four events: Equitation on the Flat, Equitation over Fences, Western Horsemanship, and Reining. Scores are compared across the horse, which eliminates the luck of the draw. Judges for the shows hold USEF or AQHA cards. Athletes get a 4-minute warm-up period to get used to the horse at competitions. Competitors ride the hosting school’s horses, “so there’s a huge home field advantage,” said Coach Meghan Cunningham. Hunt Seat Equitation on the flat simulates patterns in a dressage test, but riders are judged on their Hunt Seat Equitation. Over Fences courses have fences from three feet to three feet, six inches in height. Western Horsemanship is similar to traditional AQHA horsemanship; riders complete 7 to 9 maneuvers that include pivot, fast, slow circles, jogs, and lead changes. Reining is like AQHA patterns. The team does community service activities by providing camps, clinics and lesson programs for local riders to generate interest. These activities are open to all interested community members. See the UT Martin Women’s Equestrian Team web page at: http://www.utmsports.com. More information about Varsity Equestrian is at: http://www.varsityequestrian.com/.