April 14, 2009
COLLEGE STATION - The Texas A&M equestrian team will compete at the 2009 Varsity Equestrian National Championships (VENC) this Thursday through Saturday at the Heart O' Texas Fair Complex in Waco.
The Aggies (9-4) have finished second overall at each of the past two national championships, both of which were also held in Waco. A&M won the inaugural VENC back in 2002.
The Aggie western squad will head to the national meet as the top seed for the third time in four seasons. Thanks to earning a top four seed, the western riders will have a bye in the first round. A&M will face the winner of the Auburn-New Mexico State match-up in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The Aggies earned a 6-4 win over NMSU in Las Cruces just over a month ago and have not faced Auburn so far this season.
A&M's hunter squad, which qualified for the national title match last season, enters the competition as the No. 5 seed and will face 12th-seeded Delaware State in the first round at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The meeting will be the first ever between Delaware State and Texas A&M. The winner will face No. 4 seed Baylor at 4 p.m. Thursday.
From an individual standpoint, A&M western riders locked up both of the national No. 1 seeds thanks to very impressive regular seasons.
Junior Caroline Gunn (Greensburg, Ind.) became the first-ever VENC horsemanship national champion a year ago after closing the season with 12 straight victories. She will begin defense of her title on Friday at 6 p.m. when she takes on Allison Orosz of Baylor.
Sophomore Tara Christiansen (Snohomish, Wash.) turned in the nation's best record in reining this season, 11-1, making her the first A&M rider to qualify for the individual reining tournament. Christiansen will face Oklahoma State's Bri Parnell on Friday at 1 p.m.
The Varsity Equestrian National Championships will begin on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. with opening ceremonies and is scheduled to finish on Saturday at approximately 5:30 p.m.