Ranch horses open season at Brighton

By NCTA News

The season opener for the NCTA Ranch Horse Team was in Colorado over the weekend.

The open and collegiate show was sponsored by the Colorado-Wyoming-Nebraska Stock Horse Association.

“The Brighton show was perfect as a warm-up show for both our students and their horses,” said Coach Joanna Hergenreder.

“All team members excelled and took away critical experience needed to approach the upcoming season with strength,” added Hergenreder, animal science professor who heads the NCTA equine programs.

Weekend results were:

• Cauy Bennett of Elwood on Katy Sugar Lena competed in the Non Pro division and won the Pleasure classes. They also placed 3rd in Cow Work and Trail classes, and 5th in Reining.
• Macy Zentner of Cedar Rapids on Blue, Limited Non Pro to finish Reserve Champion in Reining and Trail classes, 4th in Cow Work and 5th in Pleasure.
• Connor Crumbliss of Fairfield on Baymax , Limited Non Pro placing 3rd in Pleasure, 4th in Reining and 5th in Cow Work and Trail classes.
• Devry Bellomy, Keyes, Oklahoma, on Ottis, Limited Non Pro and were 6th in Reining, and 7th in Trail and Pleasure classes.
• Gillian Brinker, Anchorage, Alaska, on Big Gem Surprise, Novice and finished well in the largest class of the day:  9th in Reining, 13th in Cow Work, 15th and Pleasure, and 21st in Trail.
• Jessica Burghardt, Fedora, S.D., on PR Remake, Novice to finish 11th in Cow Work, 14th in Trail, 13th in Pleasure and 16th in Reining.

Freshmen team members Gwen Olberding and Emma Yarolimek provided ground support for the riders at the CoWN contest. They videorecord the competition which provides valuable review later for Coach Hergenreder and riders.

The next contest is Oct. 1-3 at the Slidin’ Daze Fall Classic in Elbert, Colorado. That will be followed by shows on Oct. 7-11 at Loveland, Oct. 15-17 at Fort Collins, and Nov. 5-7 in Torrington, Wyoming.

Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and for the success of student teams in competitive activities including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.