OSU has another NRHA Champion

Sean Hubbard - NewsPress

July 02, 2008 03:05 pm

— Every year, the Oklahoma State equestrian team sends at least one competitor to the NRHA College Reining Championship.
However, last weekend, OSU head equestrian coach, Larry Sanchez, sent both Leah Kuehn and Rachell Shobe to the competition.
“I expect us to at least have someone in the competition every year,” Sanchez said. “I knew they had a shot to win it.”
Sanchez’s inkling was correct. Kuehn became the first Cowgirl to win the NRHA College Reining Championship since OSU reiner Kristin Dickerson won the event in 2004. The championship is comprised of the top 12 collegiate reiners in the country.
“We’ve had riders in this event every year, and it’s exciting to win it again,” Sanchez said. “Having two girls heading who competed who are both heading into their junior years, it’s great to know that we’ll have them for two more years.”
Reining, which is next on the equestrian list to be added to the Olympic Games, consists of all competitors running a pre-selected course and completing several maneuvers, Sanchez said. The competitors are awarded and/or deducted points based on each maneuver.
The difficult part of this event is that the horses used for the championship are not owned by the competitors.
“(Kuehn) rode the horse like it was her own and really impressed the judges,” said Sanchez. “(220) is a really good score, especially on a horse that you’ve had only five minutes to warm up on.”
Kuehn tallied a score of 220, which was good enough to beat out Ohio State’s Keith Ceddia (219) to claim the Morrison bronze trophy, which is given to the champion. Shobe finished with 216 points to earn a fifth place finish.
“They are both huge assets to our team and doing well (at the NRHA Collegiate Reining Championship) does a lot for a person’s confidence,” said Sanchez. “Hopefully, the experience will be something that will help propel our team to a national championship.”