The Chelsea Equestrian Team has gone to regionals seven years in a row.
They’ve made it to states four times in the last seven years since Lucy Heimerdinger took over as head coach of the team.
This year, a very young team finished fourth at states, and Heimerdinger said she was very pleased. “It was a big battle for second through fourth place,” she said. “After every class, we switched and it came down to the wire.”
She said Howell was the class of the field. “They started strong and ran away with it,” she said.
Ten teams qualified for the state competition and nine showed for the division A state title, which is for teams with 9 members or more.
This year, Heimerdinger headed to states with just one senior on the team – Weston Barnes, team captain, who won the Saddleseat bareback class while competing in hunt seat equitation and trail class on his horse, Luke.
“It was fun to have him on the team,” Heimerdinger said, adding he was one of four guys on the team this year.
“It was nice for him to go out with a win at states,” she sid, adding, “He went last year and improved his standing this year.”
Ciara Lesko, a junior, won four classes and finished with the highest score for the Chelsea team, earning 92 points.
She and horse, Sam, won Western fitting and showing, hunt seat fitting and showing, and two Western bareback classes.
Taylor Schrock, a sophomore, earned 50 points, the second most for the team on her horse, Tommy.
Finishing with the third most points for the team was Jordan Hirst, a sophomore. She ended states with 44 points and won the hunt seat fitting and showmanship class with her horse Jimmy.
Also placing in the top ten was freshman Olivia Smyth, who finished 10th in hunt seat over fences.
Also competing on the team were Jacob Lahti, a junior, Anthony Nichol, also a junior, Micheala Maynard, a freshman, Annika Corazzol, a junior, Madalyn Allen, a freshman, Elsa Ford, another freshman, and Grant Allen, a junior.
Allen and Corazzol placed seventh in the two-person relay.
Heimerdinger wanted to thank the team’s assistant coaches Lynn Lesko, Jane Barnes, Julie Agar and Tonya Heimerdinger as well as all the rider’s “parents who trailered their horses to the meets and practices, provided food and helped the team get their clothes ready.”
The team would like to thank the following sponsors: Hedding Aerospace, Chelsea Orthodontics PC, Anytime Fitness Chelsea, Tom and Patzy Helzerman, Hopp Electric, Total Smiles Dental Care, H & R Block, Hatch Stamping, Chelsea State Bank, Chelsea Plank Flooring, Dr. Raymond Howe, Cherry Optometry P.C, Staffen-Mitchell, Cavanaugh Properties, Rick Eder Agency, Parts Peddler, Fancy Nails, Middle Bead, The Chelsea Treehouse, River Gallery, Smith Chiropractic, Chelsea Print and Graphics, P.N. Pandya, DDS, Reznick, Wolf and Associates, Jiffy Mix, Howard Hannah, Reed Barbering, Green Age LLC, Chelsea McDonald’s, Moore Pediatrics &Associates.
And, Heimerdinger said, “None of this would have been possible without the Chelsea Community Fair Board allowing us use their arena for practices.”
Thank you Lisa!!! Excellent article as usual!