Wagner Brings Blue Home for Auburn at the 2018 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship
“He was amazing; I can’t thank him enough,” Aubrey Wagner, winner of the CCI* at the Virginia Horse Trials, credited her horse, Clooney MS (Clinton II x Stutbuch). The only horse and rider pair to jump clean in the challenging Coliseum arena in the CCI*. Wagner and her 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding moved from seventh to first place. It’s their first one-star together and they bring home the blue ribbon for Auburn Orange team at the 2018 USEA Intercollegiate Championship.
“That last rail we hit, and it started rolling in the cup, that made me a little nervous.” Managing to leave all the rails up, Wagner was all smiles after her double clear show jump round. “We’re still figuring each other out but he’s such a good horse. I’m so proud of him,” Wagner said.
“[There was] a little pressure knowing that I had to jump clear, [for Auburn Orange], but it was definitely a team effort all around.” Her teammate Sallie Johnson completed her first one-star on Looking Rosey (Ludwig H x Rose’s Double), Cynthia and Mark Rowan’s 13-year-old Thoroughbred mare, to finish seventh.
University of Kentucky’s Jackie LeMastus was hot on Auburn’s heels as she put in a strong show jumping round, to finish third in the CCI*. Similar to Wagner, LeMastus piloted her new horse, Indian Mill (Millkom x Charwelton), a 13-year-old English Thoroughbred owned by James LeMastus, in their first CCI* together. “He was lovely. This is my sixth event on him, and it’s just getting better.”
A couple other Intercollegiate Championship riders put in strong efforts on the final day. Sydney Ayres and her horse, Free and Easy, a 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, earned a completion for University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s championship debut in the CCI*.
University of Virginia’s Madeleine Ix completed her first ever one-star with The Gambler (Century City x Last Offer), a 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Justine Ix.
Texas Christian University’s sole rider, Caroline Madden, and her own Kilpatrick Orlanda (Lux Z x Kilpatrick Miss Cruise), a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, had a very successful weekend by finishing sixth in the CCI*.
Stay tuned for more team updates as we wrap up the final day of the Intercollegiate Championship!
Click here to view the full scores for the Intercollegiate Championship. Click here for scores from the Virginia Horse Trials.
2018 Intercollegiate Championship: Championship Scores | Live Scores | Ride Times | Entries | Meet the Teams | VHT Website
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About the USEA Intercollegiate Program
The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA and many events across the country now offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges throughout the year, where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. Click here to learn more about the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.
The USEA would like to thank World Equestrian Brands and US Equestrian for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship.
About the Virginia Horse Trials
The Virginia Horse Trials has been a premier eventing destination for over 25 years. Situated on 600 acres, the Virginia Horse Center is a first-class venue. Brian and Penny Ross founded the Virginia Horse Trials in 1989 and organized the event through its 25th Anniversary in 2014. Andy Bowles took over the organization of the Virginia Horse Trials in 2015 and looks forward to maintaining it as a destination for east coast eventers in the years to come.
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