August 29, 2006
The five-time national champion Texas A&M equestrian team announced the addition of seven invited walk-ons, head coach Tana Rawson announced on Tuesday.
As of Monday, the Aggies have added western riders Genna Fishgold (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Christine Fowler (Newberg, Ore.), Audrey Hart (Afton, Okla.) and Ashley Snoey (Vancouver, Wash.) and English riders Brittney Dodson (Amarillo), Jenn Scholl (Austin) and Kristi Waldal (Battle Ground, Wash.) to the 11 riders signed in the 2005-06 recruiting class.
?I believe that all these girls will be able to make a significant impact on our team and really contribute to the ever-increasing depth that we have established,? A&M head coach Tana Rawson said. ?We feel extremely honored that they want to be a part of our program.?
Brittney Dodson was the 2003 all-around state English riding champion. She has been riding competitively in state 4-H shows while serving as a trainer for younger horses in recent years.
Genna Fishgold transferred to Texas A&M after beginning her collegiate career at Colorado State. Fishgold is a past president of the Arizona Arabian Horse Youth Association and a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) National Medal Finalist as well as a top 10 rated rider in reining. She has shown in the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) and Arabian Horse Association in addition to the USEF. IN 2004, she was named high point rider in reining. Her trainer is Crystal McNutt.
Christine Fowler, who will be the fourth Oregonian on the A&M squad, was a four-year letterwinner in equestrian in high school and has shown nationally on the Morgan circuit. She has multiple wins in USEF western, hunt seat and saddle seat medal classes. She trains with Keith Howe and Sarah Mooney.
Audrey Hart, one of the most diverse of A&M?â„¢s new talent, has won 11 national championships riding Arabians and Half-Arabians. Her most recent national titles came in western pleasure and working cowhorse. She rode for the Interscholastic Equitation League at Oilfields School in Maryland as a prep rider. She trains with her father, Bob Hart.
Jenn Scholl has won numerous championships in the Texas Hunter Jumper Association (THJA) in the Modified Jr./Amateur Jumper division. She earned a third place finish in the United State Equestrian Team (USET) Talent Search at the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show and was a Jr. Medal Finalist in the THJA in 2006. She has also won multiple championships in the Texas and Oklahoma area for Amateur Owner Jumpers and Adult Jumpers. She trains with Janet Christie of Manor, Texas.
Ashley Snoey, another Northwest addition, has been riding competitively since 2000, primarily in the American Paint Horse Association (APHA). She earned the APHA Youth Versatility Award in 2001 and has earned Superior honors in hunter under saddle and showmanship. She also has APHA Register of Merits in horsemanship, trail, western pleasure and hunt seat equitation. She trains with Andrea Simons and Mike and Gretchen Hachtel.
Kristi Waldal has been a very competitive and successful rider in both the equitation and jumper rings. She was the 2006 HITS Tucson Circuit grand champion in equitation (16-17) as well as named best Child Rider on a Horse for both 2004 and 2006. In 2005, she was the reserve champion at the Zone 9 USEF/Pessoa Hunt Seat Medal Regionals and the HITS Tucson Circuit Reserve Grand Champion in High Junior Jumpers. In 2004, she was named the Oregon Hunter/Jumper Association Junior Sportsman of the Year. She trains with Vicki Zacharias at Rain Creek Farm in Oregon City, Ore.
The Texas A&M equestrian season will begin on Sept. 30 in Nacogdoches with a head-to-head match-up against Stephen F. Austin.