(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Hunt Seat and Western Equestrian teams will travel to Brookings, S.D. for shows at South Dakota State University (SDSU) this weekend. The Western squad will compete on Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31. Friday's show will begin at 5 p.m. while Saturday's show will begin at 9 a.m. The Hunt Seat team will see action on Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1. Saturday's events will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's competition will begin at 9 a.m.

Golden Eagle Western Coach Nicky Overgaard is looking forward to this weekend's events after coming off a solid showing at UW-River Falls two weekends ago. "Now that we are settled into a practice and work-out routine and have had a chance to see the competition, I feel the team is confident and ready to do well at SDSU," says Coach Overgaard. She will be looking for a good performance out of Amanda Peterson (Sr, Rochester, Minn.) in the reining and open horsemanship. Mary Hurley (Jr, Grand Meadow, Minn.) will also be participating in the reining where she found success at South Dakota State's show last year. Tandra Klein (Jr, Hazen, N.D.) is close to pointing out of her division to qualify for regional competition. Coach Overgaard also expects a blue ribbon performance from Kayla Krueger (Fr, Walker, Minn.) who is participating in her first show.

Golden Eagle Head Equestrian Coach Brooke Leininger is excited about the hunt seat team's chances. She expects to see consistency from Sara Wells (Sr, Calgary, Alb.), Nicole Veres (Sr, Random Lake, Wis.) and Jessica Biddle (Sr, Elburn, Ill.). Veres and Wells are looking for top placings in both on the flat and over fences to qualify them for the Regional Championships. Paige Marek (Fr, St. Croix Falls, Wis.) and Kaitlyn Weiger (So, Duluth, Minn.) will be competing for U of M, Crookston for the first time this weekend.

"I expect for these riders to do very well," says Coach Leininger. "The team has been training hard and we have been working on keeping the big end goals in mind as we prepare for this competition. It is amazing to see the huge improvements this team is making in their horsemanship skills and confidence. I expect the team to finish out the fall season strong with a home competition November 7-8."

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at http://www.goldeneaglesports.com/.

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is a NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

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