Freshman Brittany Tisthammer, from Omaha
Freshman Shelby Winnail, from Valley
Junior Stephanie Smolek, from Battle Creek
Dustin Renken, from Bertrand
Four students from this year’s Principles of Horse Evaluation class traveled to Alvarado, Texas, for the 2012 American Paint Horse Association Intercollegiate Horse Judging Spring Sweepstakes on April 2. This was the first collegiate horse judging contest for all four students, and although they did not place as a team, the four students finished with high scores.
Notably, sophomore Dustin Renken, from Bertrand, finished as the 11th place individual overall. Renken placed 14th in reasons and 6th in the halter division. Freshman Shelby Winnail, from Valley, was two points short of placing as an overall individual and was two points short of placing in the performance division. The following two team members had never competed in a judging competition before April. Junior Stephanie Smolek, from Battle Creek, was short six points of placing in the reasons division. Freshman Brittany Tisthammer, from Omaha, was 26 points from placing in the reasons division.
The team judged 11 classes. These included: trail, western pleasure, western horsemanship, western riding, hunter under saddle, hunt seat equitation, reining, 2-year-old mares, 3-year-old and up mares, 3-year-old and up geldings and yearling stallions. After placing the classes, each member of the team had to give oral reasons on the hunter under saddle class, western pleasure class, 2-year-old mares class and 3-year-old and up geldings class. Fifty points were given for a perfect score in placing the animals, and fifty points was a perfect score for oral reasons.
The team was coached by Dr. Kathy Anderson, UNL Extension Horse Specialist, and assistant coach Dana Hahn, UNL Animal Science Graduate Student. The four members will finish the Principles of Horse Evaluation class this semester. They can consider participating in the UNL Horse Judging team in the fall. The fall team travels to the All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, and the AQHA World Championship Intercollegiate Contest in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Requirements:
- Junior Standing
- Full - Time Student (12+ hours)
- Overall GPA of 2.0 or higher
Contest Format:
- 4 horses per class, 8 - 12 classes per contest, 4 - 6 sets of oral reasons per contest
- Examples of Some Judging Classes: Halter, Western Pleasure, Reining, Western Riding, Hunter Under Saddle, Hunter Hack, Pleasure Driving, Western Horsemanship, English Equitation
- See the National Horse Judges Team Coaches Association for more details.
For more information on the Horse Judging Team please contact Kathy Anderson .