West Texas A&M University’s horse judging team opened its competitive season with an overall third-place finish at the American Paint Horse Association Collegiate World Championship Sept. 19 in Fort Worth. The team took a second place in halter and in reasons and fourth in performance.
The WT team earned a total of 2,212 points to garner the third-place position. Kansas State University took first place with 2,251 points, followed by Black Hawk College at second with 2,243 points. The event brought in 70 contestants and 21 teams competing in halter, performance and reasons.
In individual placings, Isaiah Chandler, a junior agribusiness-equine major from Carthage, Mo., finished second overall, with a second-place finish in performance. Teammate Baily Summers, a junior agribusiness major from Sparta, Mo., finished seventh overall, with a fifth-place finish in reasons and a 10th-place finish in performance. Cali Pontnack, a junior agriculture education major from Winchester, Ill., placed third in halter. Cheyenne Detherow, a junior agribusiness major from Ozark, Mo., finished fourth in reasons. Lastly, Alexis Deelsnyder, a junior agribusiness-equine major from Spring, Texas, finished ninth in performance.
"The team did really well in their first competition this fall," said Dr. John Pipkin, director of the equine industry program and coach of the horse judging team. "They are a very talented group of fantastic people that have very lofty goals. I am confident they will make WT proud."
The WT horse judging team will compete Oct. 16 at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio. The AQHA World Championship will follow on Nov. 16 and the NRHA Futurity is Dec. 3 and 4, both in Oklahoma City.
-West Texas A&M University
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