School(s): Louisiana State University

About Me:
The Equestrian Club at LSU was founded in 1999 by an undergraduate student at LSU. We compete within the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) against schools such as Tulane, Trinity, and Rice. The team currently consists of 20 members and practices at Ravenwood Stables which is located just outside of Baton Rouge (about 20 minutes from campus). During the 1999-2000 season we competed in one show where we finished 4th out of 10 teams, ousting one of the 4 varsity teams from one of the top 4 spots. We ranked 6th in Zone 7, region 2 for the show season. The 2000-2001 season showed dramatic growth for our team. We attended ten regional shows and hosted two of those shows ourselves at BREC Horse Activity Center in Baton Rouge . This event was made possible thanks to the help of local trainers, horse owners, tack shops, and BREC. Our team placed 5th overall for the 2000 season. In our 2001-2002 season, we attended eight shows. Kathleen Aertker qualified for Regionals in two divisions, Novice Flat and Novice Over-fences. Most importantly, on March 11, 2002 the Equestrian Team at LSU was recognized as an official organization of the College of Agriculture . This honor and recognition displays our team’s dedication to Equestrian sports. In our 2002-2003 show season The LSU Equestrian Team placed 3rd in Zone 7, region 2. Leaf Boswell, Lacey Blalock and Kay Thibodeaux qualified for Regionals, where Blalock and Thibodeaux advanced to zone finals. For one competition we earned the rank of Reserve High Point Team, and at another Janet Aertker was named Reserve High Point Rider. Our 2003-2004 team was placed 3rd in our region, which consists of 14 schools from Texas , Louisiana and Oklahoma . Four of those schools were represented by Varsity teams. Other schools include: Texas A&M, OSU, Texas Tech, West Texas A&M, UT and SMU. This year Janet Aertker was named the Region Champion Open Fences rider, defeating about 56 other riders from the 14 different schools. The open division is the highest division in which you can ride. The combination of her scores for both the flat and fences division placed her as the 2nd Place Open rider in the region overall. At individual shows throughout the year, she was the High-Point rider twice and the Reserve High-Point rider once. Point Totals for the region Leaf Boswell, finished her season 5th overall in the Open Division. We also had five riders qualify for regional competitions in this year: Janet Aertker, Leaf Boswell, Julie Saunders, Liz Waguespack and Camille Walker. To qualify for regionals, you must earn a set number of points in your division. Only about 15-20% of riders achieve this each year. We finished our 2004-2005 season ranked eighth in our region, which then consisted of sixteen universities. One of our riders Sarah Bassett qualified for the regional competition this year. LSU riders who took home first place ribbons this year include, Tricia Berrigan, Leaf Boswell and Erin Burger. The 2005-2006 team finished the year third out of 12 teams, defeating three of the five varsity teams. Devon Smithburg and Elizabeth Waguespack qualified for Regionals. During the 2006-2007 season LSU was the High Point Team at every regular point show finishing the season as the undefeated Zone 7, Region 2 Champions. This qualified the team to compete in Zone Finals, which was the first time in team history. At Zone Finals, the team put up a good effort, but unfortunately ended the show placed second behind West Texas A&M. The riders who qualified individually for the Regional Championship were: -Devon Nolan (Open Flat- Regional Reserve Champion) -Megan Burgess (Open Flat- Regional Champion, Open Fences- Regional Champion) -Katie Garon (Intermediate Flat - Regional Champion, Intermediate Fences- Regional Champion) -Melody Noles (Intermediate Flat- Regional Reserve Champion) -Pamela Shao (Novice Flat – Regional Reserve Champion) -Margaret Covert (Novice Flat – Regional Champion) All of these riders went on to show in the Individual Zone Finals at West Texas A&M. Their placings are as followed: -Devon Nolan – Open Flat ~ 3rd Place -Megan Burgess – Open Flat~ 1st Place , Open Fences ~Disqualified -Katie Garon – Intermediate Flat ~ 1st Place , Intermediate Fences~ 1st Place -Melody Noles – Intermediate Flat ~ 3rd Place -Pamela Shao – Novice Flat ~ 3rd Place -Margaret Covert – Novice Flat ~2nd Place From these riders, three went on to show at the 2007 IHSA National Championships in Springfield Massachusetts, which was another first for any LSU rider. Margaret Covert competed in the Individual Novice Flat class and placed 2nd, which made her the 2007 Novice Flat National Reserve Champion. Megan Burgess, since she was the top open rider in Zone 7 Region 2, qualified for the USEF/Cacchione Cup where she finished 29th. She also competed in the Individual Open Flat class where she placed 9th overall. Katie Garon competed in the Individual Intermediate Flat class, and also the Individual Intermediate Fences class where she finished 15th overall. The 2007-2008 Team is currently placed first in Zone 7 Region 2 after traveling to Trinity University in October and at LSU in February. LSU was named high point team both days at both shows! Danielle Taylor was named High Point rider both days at Trinity University in the fall and high point rider the first day of LSU's hosted show. Danielle Taylor was named high point rider the second day of competition at LSU!