Granton equestrian team takes seventh
The Granton Area School District’s Equestrian Team took seventh place in Division C at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Horsemanship Association (WIHA) State Horse Show on Oct. 25-27 in Madison.
The team is comprised of Abby Schoessow (8th grade) riding RU Ready for This or “Bubba”, Charlotte Hanna (6th grade) riding My Sweet Impulse or “Buddy”, and Grace Verhalen (6th grade) riding I Got a Girl Crush or “Willow”. Unfortunately, Grace’s pony had medical issues right before the state show but she was able to share the use of Bubba and Buddy to help her team win at state.
The WIHA State Horse Show included more than 75 teams and 214 riders from all over Wisconsin. Each team competed in regional shows against other similarly sized teams in standardized classes consisting of showmanship (showing a pattern in hand), equitation (showing a pattern riding), reinsmanship (showing a pattern driving a cart), and speed events (barrels, poles, etc.).
Granton’s placings at the 2019 WIHA State Horse Show: -- Ranch Riding – Grace, 5th place -- Western Showmanship – Abby, 6th place and Charlotte 10th place -- Saddle Seat Showmanship – Grace, 5th place -- Hunt Seat Showmanship – Abby, 10th place -- Walk/Trot Horsemanship – Abby, 1st place -- Saddle Seat Equitation – Grace, 2nd place -- Huntseat Equitation – Charlotte, 7th and Abby, 8th -- Western Horsemanship – Abby, 5th and Charlotte 6th -- Disciplined Rail – Charlotte, 1st and Abby, 6th.
The Granton Equestrian Club was established in 2018 to promote horsemanship education for all students in grades 6 through 12. This was Granton’s second year to compete in the WIHA regional competition and to also compete at state.
