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The horrid rainstorm at Spring Bay. We all hid in the horses's stalls and Ted found the Triscuit box! -Lauren Sweezy Singing Dont Stop Believing with Kari as I tacked up for my Stadium ride at Spring Bay and then jumping a clear round. Its a new pre-ride show ritual. - Lindsay Paulsen

As the season comes to a close, team members reveal their favorite moments of the year .

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equestrian
OTTERBEIN
NewsEventing, and Hunt Seat Bits Dressage,
Teams shine in competition
All three of Otterbeins Dressage, Hunt Seat, and Eventing teams have enjoyed overwhelmingly successful competition seasons. After advancing through the stages of local competition, the Dressage Team qualified to compete at the IDA National competition. A team of four riders including Annie Garrett, Emma Heald, Colleen Grant, and Anna Beckman represented Otterbein. Their performances earned them third place out of 12 teams. The Hunt Seat Team had its own share of victories throughout the season, but most notably, Otterbein student Jane Sarosy competed at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Nationals. Although the Eventing Team still has a few competitions remaining in the season, all combinations of riders and horses proved that they are prepared to take on whatever may lie ahead. Riders Kelsie Bricker, Theresa Hubble, Lindsay Paulsen, Lauren Sweezy, Sean Bryant, Coleen Grant, and Emma Heald had successful rides at Spring Bay Horse Trials and Winona Horse Trials.
Otterbein Universitys Equine Facility is located aproximately three miles away from campus on 600 N Spring Rd. The Center for Equine Studies houses about 40 school owned horses and 10 student owned horses. The school owned horses range from rescued foals to Prix St.Georges level schoolmasters and are used in academic classes, as well as riding lessons and team competition. Otterbeins Equine Program and Equestrian Teams are nationally recognized for producing outstanding riders and horsemen.

Our Mexican Restaurtant trips every time we go to a show and the large number of chips and queso we eat. Good times. Oh, and add rain storm at Winona in there. - Colleen Grant

About the Otterbein University Equine Program

Barn Announcements Trainer KARI Spotlight BRIGGS


Dont forget to clean out your tack locker before departing for the summer. Circulate the word about our two three month old foals, Castaway and Maverick who still need homes. Please call 614-823-2030 for more information. Barn volunteer hours are due by the end of the quarter. Submit yours to Wendy Hovey as soon as possible. Lucy Cryan congratulates the Otterbein Eventing Team for their spectacular performance, on the weekend of May 4th-5th at Indianna Horse Trials at the Hoosier Horse Park. The Equine Department would like to thank all those who came out to the department banquet, hosted at Old Bag of Nails Pub.
Briggs tackles a water complex with grace and style.
She sits at the front desk of the Otterbein University Equine Facility, scribbling down a note about an upcoming horse show while tapping her mud crusted boot against the floor. As Assistant Director of Equine Studies at the Equine Facility, Kari Briggs plays a vital role in nearly every facet of daily life at the facility. Briggs can be found in the riding arena, teaching lessons or coaching the Dressage and Event teams, and also in the classroom as a professor. She is well qualified for her many duties. She earned a highly coveted spot on the official long list for the United States Equestrian Team in 2004 which she achieved by competing at the highest levels of the sport of Eventing on her horse Truman. Before her time as a faculty member at Otterbein, she achieved the highest ranking possible in the United States Pony Club by earning status as an "A" level rider. A life centered around the equine world was inevitable for Briggs, as she herself admits that she "didn't really have a choice" when it came to riding. She practically grew up on horses, since her mother was, and continues to be, an active equestrian. With her mother's guidance, she rode for fun. She competed in contesting and "Egg and Spoon" races with her equine partner, Russ, a Pony of the Americas. She became involved with her local 4-H club and was a regular participant in its activities. It was on one 4-H outing to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington, that she was first introduced to the sport of Eventing, also known as the triathlon of the horse world.

Briggs cracks the whip during a lesson.


Since attending the Rolex in 1992, Briggs has ridden with some of the most well respected names in the sport, including the seasoned Olympic competitor Ian Stark and Captain Mark Phillips, head of the United States Equestrian Team. Briggs says "if I had to choose the most important thing that I have learned over the years, it's that we, as riders, make our own luck in the sport." In spite of her attitude towards luck and opportunity, Briggs said that her career at Otterbein more or less "fell into [her] lap." She entered Otterbein as a Middle Childhood Education major and continued to ride throughout her schooling. A position at the Equine Facility became available, which she accepted her senior year. When she is not at the university's equine facility, she can be found at her parent's house, where she boards her horse named Buddy. In addition to developing Buddy into an event horse, Briggs is also in pursuit of an MBA to provide her with opportunities beyond the riding arena. Kari doesn't need to explain her love for the sport of riding. Dressed in tan breeches, tall boots, and a fleece vest covered in horse hair, her dedication to the sport is evident upon first glance. Her wardrobe is only one indication of her identity as a horse woman, which becomes even more apparent when she effortlessly hops onto the back of a horse without a second thought, even after a long day at a horse show and proceeds to canter around the ring as her blonde pony tail bounces with each stride the horse takes.

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