MSU Home to One of Nation’s Top Stock Horse Teams; Kolodziej is Reserve National Horsemanship Champion
MSU Home to One of Nation’s Top Stock Horse Teams; Kolodziej is Reserve National Horsemanship Champion
7/24/08
Contact: Sara Long
517-432-1555, ext. 170
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State University (MSU) Equestrian Team concluded its successful 2008 show season ranked as the seventh highest stock seat team in the United States, and Charlene Kolodziej, an MSU nutrition science sophomore from Williamsburg, MI, returned home from the contest as the nation’s reserve national champion in novice horsemanship.
MSU qualified for its championship berth at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship Show, held May 8-11 in Burbank, Calif., with a third place finish at the IHSA National Western Semifinal Show in Laurinburg, N.C. The bid capped off a season in which the MSU team placed no lower than second at any of its seven regular season shows and ranked as the top team in its region. This season marked the first time that the entire team qualified for nationals since the 1990s.
Team MSU was represented by: Kolodziej; Chelsey Shivley, Lyman Briggs/zoology senior from Battle Creek, in open reining; Stephanie Murray, political science senior from Traverse City, in open horsemanship; Jamie Kalleward, animal science senior from Mason, in advanced horsemanship; Lisamarie Radomski, marketing freshman from Evart, in intermediate horsemanship; and Aleta Daniels, zoology junior from Petoskey, in beginner horsemanship.
Daniels placed third overall in the beginner horsemanship division, and Kalleward finished sixth in the advanced horsemanship class.
“Qualifying for nationals was an exciting and rewarding experience for the entire team,” said Adrienne Woodward, MSU Department of Animal Science doctoral student and team coach. “Each girl performed very well in her respective class, and it was so gratifying to see them perform so well at the national level. It’s the experience of a lifetime, competing against the best of the best.”
The MSU Equestrian Team was one of only nine stock seat teams to qualify for the championship show. They competed against teams from Stanford University, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, the University of Findlay, the Ohio State University, West Texas A & M, Oregon State University, Alfred University and West Virginia University.
To learn more about the MSU Equestrian Team, contact Woodward by calling 517-353-2260 or sending an e-mail to woodwa46@msu.edu.
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