Giants to host equestrian event
By Nick Giannandrea
COS Athletics
Cheyenne O'Dell begins chase of a second straight postseason appearance when College of the Sequoias hosts its only equestrian competition of the season Oct. 26-27.
O'Dell (Golden West High) will compete in the Open Division of Reining and Western Horsemanship during the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association-sanctioned event at COS' Tulare campus, 4999 E. Bardsley Ave.
The event will also feature riders from Stanford, Cal Poly, UC Davis, Cal State Monterey Bay, Sonoma State and Reedley College.
Competition starts at noon both days.
Last season, O'Dell reached the national semifinals in Ocala, Fla. This season's national semifinals are set for March 21-22, 2020, in Galva, Ill.
Open Division riders start from scratch each year, meaning O'Dell needs to compile 20 points during COS' four weekends of events to qualify for the national semifinals. The Giants' three other competitions are set for Nov. 9-10 at UC Davis, Jan. 25-25 at Cal Poly and Feb. 22-23 at UC Davis.
"This is like home field advantage in football or baseball," COS coach Kim Pitigliano said. "We'll be on our own horses. And we've been practicing since mid August. We'll have a little advantage over the other teams, which didn't start practicing until September."
Five other COS riders - walk jogger Brooklyn Dieter (Visalia), novice rider Megan Frassetto (29 Palms), intermediate rider Angela Patterson (Visalia), intermediate rider Emily Smith (Visalia) and walk jogger Heather Williams (Granite Hills) - are poised to qualify for the postseason in lower divisions based on their accomplishments from last season.
Points roll over season-to-season for all but Open Division riders.
COS also features walk jogger Paige Hardin (Hanford), intermediate rider Lacey Jurecke (Visalia), walk jogger Andreina Martinez (Monache), novice rider Jada Sunderland (Tulare Western) and walk jogger Katelyn Williams (Tulare Western).
"The team looks good," Pitigliano said. "It's a very new teach, though, so we're going to do our best."
