March 24, 2006

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack equestrian team will wrap up the regular-season portion of its inaugural schedule Saturday with a home show against South Carolina. The regular-season finale is scheduled as an NCAA varsity format competition and is set to begin at 10 a.m. from the equestrian arena on the Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Farm, north of Nacogdoches.

In NCAA varsity shows, riders from two schools compete in both English and Western disciplines. SFA's only other home show of the year was an NCAA-style contest against South Dakota State in November. The Ladyjacks lost that show by a narrow margin.

Saturday's opponent, South Carolina, is a heavyweight in the collegiate equestrian world. South Carolina won the 2005 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championship and was the first major Division I school in the nation to declare equestrian as a varsity sport.

The Ladyjacks are coming off fourth-place finishes in back-to-back IHSA shows at Texas A&M, on March 4 and 5. SFA's Amy Hilfer has qualified for the regional competition of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Hilfer qualified in both the Walk-Trot division of Hunt Seat Equitation and in the Beginner division of Western Horsemanship. The regional competition is set for March 26 in College Station, Texas.

- SFA -