AUBURN, Ala. – Check out what our western riders have been up to in this summer update for the corps.
Five returning Tigers have been busy in the first half of the summer, including returning All-Americans Taylor Searles and Deanna Green. Joining the pair are Kara Kaufmann, Emma Brown and Peyton Hall.
Searles, the 2019 NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Year, captured the amateur all-around crown at the Sun and Surf Circuit in Del Mar, Calif., May 16-19. She also took home the amateur western pleasure title and finished as the reserve circuit champion in amateur horsemanship.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., product also had a solid showing at the Cornhusker Classic, June 14-23, in Lincoln. Searles, a rising junior, once again won the amateur all-around title after earning the circuit championship in amateur western riding and finishing in the Top 5 in amateur horsemanship, amateur western pleasure, and amateur trail.
Green, also a rising junior, had a successful showing at the Cornhusker Classic, capturing the circuit title in junior trail. She also won the reserve circuit championship in amateur horsemanship at the Georgia Big A, June 28-July 7.
Rising senior Kara Kaufmann also had success at the Big A meet, finishing first in level 1 amateur western riding. She also finished with multiple Top 5 placings in amateur horsemanship and amateur hunter under saddle at the meet.
In addition, Kaufmann was the circuit champion in amateur horsemanship at the Dogwood Classic, June 13-16, in Tennessee. She added a reserve circuit finish in amateur hunter under saddle at the Stars & Stripes event in Georgia.
Brown, who is set to be a sophomore in 2019-20, has had a busy summer. She had a wealth of success on the Indy Circuit, starting with a reserve amateur all-around finish. She was circuit champion in amateur horsemanship, while earning reserve circuit champion in amateur halter, amateur showmanship and amateur trail.
Brown also had success at the Cornhusker Classic, finishing as the circuit champion in amateur trail. She added a reserve amateur all-around finish and circuit crown in trail at Stars & Stripes, while picked up reserve amateur all-around at Big A.
The Zanesville, Ohio, product picked up a handful of hardware at the Summer Six Pack, June 16-19. In addition to the amateur all-around crown, Brown was the circuit champion in amateur horsemanship, amateur pleasure and amateur trail.
Hall, a rising sophomore, had success at the MQHA Summer Show. She was a unanimous first-place finisher in amateur ranch riding open ranch riding, level 1 amateur reining and NRHA rookie 1 reining.
In addition, a trio of newcomers in Jen Kasper, Kayla Shelnutt and Olivia Tordoff have had success this summer as well.
Tordoff, a Powell, Ohio, product, picked up a pair of horsemanship circuit championships. Her first came at the SOQHA The Madness Circuit, May 14-19, in Wilmington, Ohio. Tordoff also won the horsemanship circuit at the Indy Circuit in New Castle, Ind., June 1-4.
Kasper had success at the Arizona Reining Horse Association's Mother's Day Slide, May 14-19. The Elgin, Ill., native captured the Level 1 and 2 Non Pro Novice Horse Derby crowns as well as reserve in Levels 3 and 4.
Shelnutt, who hails from Loganville, Ga., picked up a first-place finish at the Stars & Stripes show, capturing the reining crown.