For most collegiate riders competing in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, the greatest goal and accomplishment is to reach Regionals, Zones, Semifinals, and Nationals. Andrea Smith, Captain of the Berry College Western Team, was given the chance to compete in an experience much more than that. At the end of her sophomore year in May, Smith competed in the Open Horsemanship Class at Nationals in Raleigh, North Carolina. After placing second in the Open Horsemanship, Smith was then ranked within the top 16 collegiate riders which qualified her for an even greater opportunity. Smith then received the invitation currently in her junior year, to participate at the American Quarter Horse World Show in the Collegiate Challenge which took place this past November in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Photo Credit - MHarris Photography
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After months of rigorous training with coaches Margaret Knight and Allie Jones, the time finally arrived for Smith to head to Oklahoma. The first round of the AQHA Collegiate Challenge took place on November 14. Smith, along with the rest of the riders, eight from the NCEA, performed the strenuous patterns set forth by the judges. After all 16 riders had completed the pattern; they were then called to return to the ring for judging on the rail. Once completed, the top 8 riders were then called back to continue on to the next round in the inaugural challenge.
While Smith was not called back to continue on with competition, she did succeed in placing tenth among the sixteen riders, which is an incredible accomplishment within itself. Smith has provided a huge standard and goal for her younger teammates, current and future, to aspire to. As a Viking Nation we are proud to call her our teammate and to have the change to witness her World’s Accomplishment.