UT hosts The Burnt Orange Classic 1 & 2 at Bel Canto Farms in Driftwood

Seven teams participated in The Burnt Orange Classic 1 & 2 hosted by Bel Canto Farms in Driftwood last week.

The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association event was hosted by the University of Texas Equestrian team. Five teams from Texas riding in the Hunt Seat competition were the University of Texas at Austin, Texas State in San Marcos, Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas A&M University in College Station and Schreiner University in Kerrville. They were joined by two Louisiana teams, McNeese State University in Lake Charles and Louisiana State University at Lafayette. Nearly 250 individual rides were completed during the two day event.

Following IHSA rules, the athletes were required to participate in a random draw for the horses they would ride. No personal tack or warm up was allowed.

UT Coach and owner of Bel Canto Farms, Suzanne Warmack, said that UT did well in the competition, although LSU dominated the event, due in large part to the size of their team.

“Bel Canto and the UT Equestrian Team enjoyed hosting their first horse show and look forward to doing it again next year.”

The IHSA provides education and equestrian competition for university students with the aim to promote horsemanship and academic excellence.

Full-time undergraduate students are eligible to compete. Riders qualify for the National Championship through a point system. During the year, contestants accumulate points at their local IHSA shows to qualify for the Regional Finals in their respective divisions. The top two riders in each class of the Regional Finals move forward to the Zone Finals. The top two competitors in each class at Zones qualify for Nationals.

PHOTOS BY BECKY KITTLEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY