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Members of West Texas A&M University's horse judging team include, from left, Baily Summers (assistant coach), Grant "Sal" Washington, Kami Woodard, Grace Wolfington, Lauren Heine, Sheyanne Pruett, Sierra Stammen, Sydney Nilles, Hannah McLochlin, Makenzie Knipe, Shanna Marquart, Quinn Dunham, Lauryn Harris, Calli Montague, Maggie Murphy (coach) and Dr. John Pipkin (head coach).
West Texas A&M University’s horse judging teams successfully closed out its season with high rankings at national and world championships this month.
One WTAMU team was named champion at the National Reining Championship on Nov. 1 in Oklahoma City, outranking teams from Texas A&M University, Oklahoma State and the University of Arkansas. WTAMU’s second team ranked sixth.
At the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship on Nov. 7, WTAMU’s teams ranked third and sixth overall, topping teams from Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Colorado State and elsewhere.
“This completes a pretty spectacular year for our horse judging teams,” said Dr. John Pipkin, Regents professor of agriculture and director of WT’s Equine Industry Program. “They showed remarkable growth over the season, and this positions our teams as competitors to be reckoned with in years to come.”
At the world championship, Makenzie Knipe, junior agriculture education major from New Braunfels, ranked No. 1 in overall and performance and third in reasons. Hannah McLochlin, senior agriculture major from Plymouth, Indiana, ranked second in reasons. Calli Montague, senior agribusiness/equine major from Mason, ranked first in reasons and second in performance. Sydni Nilles, junior agribusiness/equine major from Fox Lake, Ill., ranked first in halter and eighth overall. Sierra Stammen, junior agribusiness/equine major from Allen, ranked fifth in halter and sixth in reasons. Grant “Sal” Washington, junior agribusiness/equine major from Levelland, ranked 10th in halter.
At the national reining championship, Stammen ranked first; Grace Wolfington, junior animal science major from Sheboygan, Wisc., ranked fourth; Quinn Dunham, junior agriculture communications major from Greensboro, N.C., ranked fifth; and McLochlin ranked sixth.
WT’s horse judging teams are one of the ways the University is responsive to regional needs, as set out in long-term plan WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.