News

The Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) Equine Judging Team recently claimed reserve high team overall at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress (AQHA Congress), in Columbus, Ohio, under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Pool. For the past several years, NEO Gold and Blue teams have been among the top-three. This year, the NEO Gold Team was named Reserve Champions and the NEO Blue Team finished third. Ariana Horton, a sophomore Agriculture major from Easton, Kan., also claimed third high individual overall following a strong performance in the Reasons and Performance classes. Hannah Tweed, a sophomore Business Administration major from Chouteau, Okla., joined Horton in the top five overall.

The AQHA Congress is the largest single breed horse show in the world. NEO judgers earned multiple top-ten finishes in the individual categories. They also secured half of the top-ten individual spots. “This is an outstanding group and I’m very proud of all of their hard work and effort up to this point,” said Pool. “We haven’t peaked yet and continue to get better with each contest. We made a few mistakes that we can learn from and have plenty of time to improve before the next contest.” Coach Pool now prepare for the AQHA World Show, to be held on the weekend of Nov. 16.

For more information about the NEO Equine Judging Team, contact Gentry Hutchison at gentrsh@neo.edu or call 918-540-6368. For more information about NEO Agriculture teams, visit neoathletics.com.

Overall: NEO Gold – Second NEO Blue – Third Individuals Ariana Horton – Easton, Kan. – Third Hannah Tweed – Chouteau, Okla. – Fourth Hannah McLochlin – Plymouth, Ind. – Sixth Hallie Horsman – Shelbyville, Ill. – Eighth Jenna Scali – Adrian, Mo. – Ninth Halter Class: NEO Blue – Second NEO Gold – Fifth Individuals Hannah Tweed – Chouteau, Okla. – Fourth Hallie Horsman – Shelbyville, Ill. – Fifth Hannah McLochlin – Plymouth, Ind. – Seventh Derek Strawn – Columbia, Mo. – Tenth   Performance Class: NEO Gold – Second NEO Blue – Fourth Individuals Ariana Horton – Easton, Kan. – Second Hannah Tweed – Chouteau, Okla. – Sixth Hannah McLochlin – Plymouth, Ind. – Seventh Taylor Scheulen – Locust Grove, Okla. – Eighth Jenna Scali – Adrian, Mo. – Ninth   Reasons Class: NEO Gold – Second NEO Blue – Third Individuals Hannah Tweed – Chouteau, Okla. – Tied First Ariana Horton – Easton, Kan. – Fifth Hannah McLochlin – Plymouth, Ind. – Ninth Derek Strawn – Columbia, Mo. – Tenth ###