Equestrian Team Adds Eight Additional Riders
Jul 01, 2008 | Equestrian
July 01, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas- The Texas A&M equestrian team has added eight new riders for the 2008-09 season over the past few months, head coach Tana McKay announced on Tuesday.
The Aggies have signed Kristin Bell (Barrington, Ill.), Maggie Earle (Fallbrook, Calif.), and Brittany Hartl (Plano) to letters-of-intent while Cailey Dreyer (Merritt Island, Fla.), Katie Lisabeth (Canton, Ga.), Jessica McMullen (Spring Run, Pa.), Hannah Soibelman (Evergreen, Colo.), and Megan Webb (Burlington, W.V.) will also join the team in the fall.
Kristin Bell is a 2008 graduate of William Friend High School in Palatine, Ill. She has numerous hunter/jumper wins in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri, one of which being a victory at the Ledges Winter Classic Horse Show. Bell was on the honor roll and was an Illinois State Scholar while in high school. Her current trainer is Ashley Hill.
Cailey Dreyer was the 2008 valedictorian of Bradenton Preparatory Academy in Bradenton, Fla. She has won numerous circuit championships in hunter under saddle and equitation as well as individual wins in horsemanship and showmanship. She has achieved multiple top five placings at Congress in all-around events with her top finish a reserve Congress championship in equitation in 2006. Dreyer has rode to recent wins at the Redbud Circuit (Oklahoma City) in hunter under saddle and qualified for the 2008 American Quarter Horse Youth Association (AQHYA) World Show in multiple events. She was also the National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) reserve world champion this year in youth hunter under saddle. Dreyer, who is trained by Brett and Allison Clark and Robin Frid, will ride horsemanship for the Aggies in the fall.
Maggie Earle is a 2008 graduate of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, Calif. She is a U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) Hunt Seat Medal Regional Finalist and ASPCA Maclay Medal Regional Finalist while being both a USEF Talent Search Medal Winner and an ASPCA Maclay Medal Winner during week two of the Arizona HITS Circuit. Earle came back to win the ASPCA honor in back-to-back weeks on the circuit. In weeks two and three of the Arizona HITS circuit, Earle was a Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) medal winner and was the large junior hunter champion in week three of the HITS circuit. Earle was also the West Coast Equestrian (WCE) medal winner at the Capital Challenge during HITS Thermal Championship Week. Earle’s trainer is Emily Esau.
Brittany Hartl is a 2008 graduate of Lakehill Preparatory School in Dallas. Hartl was the 2006 and 2007 reserve champion in the Texas Hunter/Jumper Association (THJA) in Large Juniors as well as the fifth-place finisher at the zone show both years. She also finished fourth in Junior Equitation 14-17 in the THJA. In both 2006 and 2007, Hartl qualified for the Junior Hunter Finals and Medal Finals at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. This spring, Hartl has changed horses and already won the Adult Jumper class at the Lone Star Round-Up “AA”. Her trainers are Jim and Joan Henson.
Katie Lisabeth, like Cailey Dreyer, is a 2008 graduate of Bradenton Preparatory Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Lisabeth is a 2008 AQHYA world championship show qualifier in horsemanship, showmanship, trail, and western riding. She is the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Congress champion in western riding and has AQHA Superior ratings in horsemanship, showmanship, trail and western riding. Lisabeth’s 2008 AQHA Circuit Championships include the Texas Classic, Gold Coast (Fla.), and Silver Dollar Circuit (Las Vegas). Lisabeth is the sister of former Aggie team member Casie (Lisabeth) Williamson (2001-04) who is now the western coach at Kansas State. Lisabeth, who trains with Robin Frid, will ride horsemanship for the Aggies in the fall.
Jessica McMullen is a 2008 graduate of St. Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown, Md. McMullen, who shows all-around in the AQHA, placed in the top 10 at the AQHA Congress in 2007. McMullen has qualified for this year’s AQHYA world show on two different horses, a show in which she has competed in for numerous years. She is currently the National Secretary for the AQHYA and is a past Region 5 Director. McMullen, who trains with Rhonda Replogle, will ride horsemanship for the Aggies.
Hannah Soibelman is a 2008 honors graduate of Evergreen High School. Soibelman spent the majority of her junior career working with and showing young hunter prospects. She has earned numerous high placings in junior equitation on the flat, including second at Show for Champions and fifth in her junior zone finals. She also earned high placings in Children’s and Modified Hunters at High Prairie Circuit in Parker, Colo. Soibelman is trained by Tracye Ferguson.
Megan Webb is a 2008 graduate of Keyser High School in Keyser, W.V. Webb competes on the East Coast having scored numerous wins and top ribbons in the Children's and Large Junior Hunters, Children's Jumpers and Equitation Divisions at the Upperville Horse Show in Virginia, the Washington International Horse Show, HITS Culpepper in Culpepper, Va., the Lexington (Ky.) Spring Premier and Encore, the Loundoun Benefit, the Showplace Spring Festival, and Kentucky Summer Horse Show series. Webb rides with two-time Olympic show jumping medalist Joe Fargis and Tommy Brawley.
These eight new Aggies join Kelsey Adams (Colleyville), Lia Chafee (Wakefield, R.I.), Abigail Grabein (Houston), Dana Hall (Kerrville), and Jackie O’Connell (Saunderstown, R.I.) who signed with A&M in the fall.
