June 3, 2009
COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M junior Maggie Gratny (Leavenworth, Kan.) has been selected as one of 12 riders nationally to compete in the 2009 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Collegiate Derby scheduled for Saturday, June 27, in Oklahoma City.
Gratny earned the opportunity to compete at the Derby after catching the eye of the judges during the Aggie western team's run to the Varsity Equestrian National Championship (VENC) title in Waco this past April. Gratny posted a perfect 3-0 record, scoring no less than a 142 each time, and won all three rides by at least two points each. She completed the season with a 10-4-1 record.
"We are very excited that Maggie is getting the chance to represent Texas A&M at this competition," A&M head coach Tana McKay said. "She is an outstanding rider with a ton of talent. She was a significant part of our western national championship this spring."
Gratny was one of four varsity equestrian riders picked to compete shortly after the conclusion of the VENC show. She joins Oklahoma State's Bri Parnell, Georgia's DiAndra St. Hilaire and TCU's Carrie von Uhlit on that list.
The Derby gives varsity equestrian riders a chance to compete with their Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) counterparts. Varsity equestrian is made up of schools with athletic department-sponsored equestrian teams while the IHSA is made up of more than 300 collegiate equestrian club programs throughout the United States. Texas A&M made the switch to varsity-only competition at the start of the 2006-07 athletic year.
Four IHSA riders were selected for the Derby following their national championship competition in May: Renae Burks of West Virginia, Keith Ceddia of Ohio State, Alicia Daughtery of Texas Tech, and Katelyn Morehead of Findlay. Ceddia won the IHSA individual national title in reining while Daughtry took second. Burks and Morehead finished third and fourth, respectively.
A panel from the NRHA added four final competitors to the field, with all four coming from varsity equestrian. Chloe Gray of South Carolina, Lyndsey Jordan of Auburn, Helen Lauth of South Dakota State, and Kate Stewart of Georgia all were added to complete the field.
Gratny becomes the sixth among a highly successful group of past A&M western riders to earn a spot to compete at the Derby. Past riders who have earned the chance to compete at the Derby include six-time individual IHSA national champion Quincy Cahill ('00-'02), individual national champion and two-time IHSA team national champion Katie Forest ('03-'05), recent team national champion riders Tonna Brooks ('06-'08) and Maddi Williams ('07-'08) as well as Tannetje' Mayeux (`01-`03).
"We are looking forward to the competition at the NRHA Derby," McKay said. "The NRHA has been a great supporter of collegiate reining and this is a wonderful venue and showcase for 12 talented riders from across the nation."