(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Hunt Seat and Western Equestrian teams could not have had a better venue to showcase their talents last weekend. The Golden Eagles hosted the regional competition at the University Teaching and Outreach Center (UTOC) on the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus and did not disappoint.

The Hunt Seat team had a very successful regional championship competition. Nicole Veres (Sr, Random Lake, Wis.) was the reserve champion in both Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and Intermediate Equitation on the Flat. This gave her a spot at the Zone Finals in both jumping and on the flat. "This was such a huge success to qualify both on the flat and over fences," says Golden Eagle Head Coach Brooke Leininger. "I couldn't be more proud of Nicole." In Novice Equitation Over Fences, all three of the U of M, Crookston qualified riders made it back to the final call-back. These three riders were Sara Wells (Sr, Calgary, Alberta), Lauren Snively (So, Herndon, Vir.) and Heather Fogelson (So, Grant, Minn.). In the end, Lauren Snively was the champion and Heather Fogelson was reserve champion which qualified both of them for the Zone Finals. "I am very excited to have the University of Minnesota, Crookston take the top two spots in Novice Jumping, which is a very competitive division," says Coach Leininger. Jessica Charles (Fr, Belgrade Lakes, Maine) was the champion on Walk-Trot-Canter. "Jessica overcame great odds to win this class of 19 riders and really deserved it" says Coach Leininger.

The team, which qualified for Zone Finals in DeKalb, Ill. on April 10-11, will be made up of the following riders:

Jessica Biddle (Sr, Elburn, Ill.) - Open Equitation Over Fences and Open Equitation on the Flat
Sara Wells (Sr, Calgary, Alberta) - Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and Intermediate Equitation on the Flat
Jessica Charles (Fr, Belgrade Lakes, Maine) - Novice Equitation on the Flat
April Jordan (Fr, Beaver Dam, Wis.) - Novice Equitation Over Fences
Katelyn Mueller (So, Belle Plaine, Minn.) - Walk-Trot-Canter
Anna Steen (So, Hanover, Minn.) - Walk-Trot

Individuals that qualified for the Zone Finals and will be representing UMC:

Nicole Veres (Sr, Random Lake, Minn.) - Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and Intermediate Equitation on the Flat
Heather Fogelson (So, Grant, Minn.) - Novice Equitation Over Fences
Lauren Snively (So, Herndon, Vir.) - Novice Equitation Over Fences
Jessica Charles (Fr, Belgrade Lake, Maine) - Walk-Trot-Canter

The Western team finished the season with several riders qualifying to advance to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Semifinals March 27 - 28 in Pomona, California. Tandra Klein (Jr, Hazen, N.D.) started the day finishing as Reserve Champion in the Reining with a solid ride. Shortly thereafter, Amanda Peterson (Sr, Rochester, Minn.) took the Open Horsemanship Class. A difficult Advanced Horsemanship Class saw Tandra Klein finishing fourth and Kayla Klein (Jr, Hazen, N.D.) finishing sixth.  In the Novice Class, Kaitlyn Tollefsrud (So, Hawley, Minn.) remained tough capturing the Reserve Championship ribbon with a great performance. Becky Rhodus (Jr, Kansas City, Missouri) also took third place.  A very large class of Intermediate riders with several ride-offs found Megan Kramer (So, Owatonna, Minn.) returning to the finals and unfortunately not getting into the top six.  Finally, Anna Steen (So, Hanover, Minn.) had a great ride and took third in the Beginner Class. Due to the fact that the first place rider of that class is unable to attend semifinals, Steen will take her spot and continue on to the semifinals.

Tandra Klein, Peterson, Tollefsrud and Steen will move on to compete at the semifinals as individuals and will also ride in separate classes as team riders. The team members that vied for positions to go to semifinals with the team are as follows:  Reining - Tandra Klein; Open - Amanda Peterson; Advanced - Kaitlyn Tollefsrud; Novice - Kayla Krueger (Fr, Walker, Minn.); Intermediate - Anna Steen; and in the Beginner, Lisa Schabo (Jr, Appleton, Minn.).

"I am so proud of how all of the ladies rode this past weekend," says Golden Eagle Western Coach Nicky Overgaard. "Not only did they work hard all season, but they truly came together to work as a team.  When you have team unity, great things can and do happen!"

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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Photo Caption: (2010 University of Minnesota, Crookston Equestrian Team Regional Participants)