(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Western Equestrian team hosted 11 other teams this past Saturday and Sunday at the University Teaching and Outreach Center (UTOC) on the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus. The Golden Eagles put together a solid showing.

On Saturday, Kayla Klein (Sr, Hazen, N.D.) put together a nice Reining pattern for second place. Following in the Advanced Division was Kaitlyn Tollefsrud (Jr, Hawley, Minn.) winning a big class that was really quite difficult. In the Novice Division, Amy VanTreeck (So, Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) brought home a blue ribbon with a solid ride. The Intermediate Division saw the largest classes of the day with big wins from Addie O'Neil (So, Redwood Falls, Minn.) and Lisa Schabo (So, Appleton, Wis.). O'Neil's win qualified her for regionals. Rounding out the successful day was Sabra Amundson (Fr, Colton, S.D.) who won her Beginner Class to help the Golden Eagles to Reserve High Point Team just one point behind North Dakota State University.

On Sunday, Klein started the day with a big win in the Open Reining Division while Tollefsrud again won a huge section of Advanced. The win gives Tollefsrud a berth at the regionals in the spring. Megan Kramer (Jr, Owatonna, Minn.) had a great performance in the Novice Division taking home a blue ribbon while Kayla Krueger (So, Walker, Minn.) earned fourth place giving her enough points to go to regionals. Melissa Freitag (Fr, Wolverton, Minn.) continues her steady improvement at each show and took second place in the Intermediate Division with Schabo and Amundson also placing second in their respective divisions. U of M, Crookston was Reserve High Point Team for the day once again.

"Overall, it was a good show for UMC," says Golden Eagle Western Coach Nicky Overgaard. "The classes here were larger than our first horse show. So this really gave us a look at where we landed in comparison to the rest of the region. The girls worked hard to host an organized horse show and our horses and facility really did shine. We are looking forward to traveling to South Dakota State University on Friday, October 29th to work on maintaining the lead in the region."

The U of M, Crookston Western team returns to action on Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30 with shows at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. Saturday's competition begins at 1 p.m. while Sunday's begins at 9 a.m.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an 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: Western Team, Kayla Klein