UW Ranch Horse Team members earn awards
UW Ranch Horse Team member Lacey Teigen received multiple honors at the Colorado-Wyoming-Nebraska Stock Horse Association’s (CoWN-SH) 2012 Year End Annual Awards Banquet Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Eaton Country Club in Eaton, CO.
Teigen, a student in the Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, was honored as the 2012 collegiate limited non-pro champion, reserve champion in trial and reining, champion in ranch pleasure, and she placed in the top five for cow-working.
“It was so nice to be recognized,” said Teigen, a Laramie native. “I had worked so hard and finally achieved a huge goal in my life.”
Teigen also won reserve limited non-pro overall at the Region 5 Championship in Denver last November.
“I was on cloud nine,” said Teigen. “My last class of the day was ranch trail, and I knew I was near the top. I started to get teary-eyed, but my horse performed flawlessly, and I just knew that I’d done pretty well.”
The Region 5 win qualified Teigen for the American Stock Horse Association (ASHA) National Collegiate Championship April 19 in Amarillo, TX; CoWN-SH is an affiliate of ASHA.
Team member Brian Moore, a native of Littleton, CO, and a student in the Department of Computer Science, won the overall non-pro division at the Region 5 contest in Denver and is also eligible for the ASHA National Collegiate Championship.
“Since the UW ranch horse team is fairly new, to have one of its members to do so well in 2012 is huge,” said Doug Zalesky, team mentor and director of the Laramie Research and Extension Center. “It certainly is indicative of the quality of students who are members of the team. Lacey’s success last year is a testament to her dedication and hard work. It also is indicative of the competitiveness of the team as a whole and lets other schools and students from other schools know that we do have a competitive team at UW.”
The UW horse ranch team was formed in November 2011. Assistant professor Amy McLean was the original coach and adviser before she left to take an equine specialist position at North Carolina State University.
The team is looking for a new coach.
CoWN-SH sanctions contests in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, and the UW Ranch Horse Team participates in those contests throughout the year.
Students compete in areas that mimic work done with a horse on a working ranch: ranch pleasure, ranch trail, reining and cow work. There are three divisions at the show based upon the student’s level of experience showing: non-pro, limited non-pro and novice.
“I’ve been showing for a very long time, but I still get so nervous and worked up,” said Teigen. “I just take a lot of deep breaths – it’s an adrenaline rush.”
Zalesky said he’s unsure whether or not Teigen or Moore can attend the national championships in Amarillo.
“One of the things the team struggles with currently is funding to go on those types of trips,” said Zalesky.
Lacey said she and Moore hope to compete.
“Hopefully, Brian and I can go down to the nationals so we can make a stand in Texas,” she said.
Team members plan to compete in three sanctioned collegiate events this spring and possibly two this fall. The first is at Colorado State University March 3; the second is at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne later in March; and the third is at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, CO, in May.
