Dominating MTSU Stock Horse team earns national championship in Texas

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Middle Tennessee State University stock horse team was crowned the 2025 National Intercollegiate Ranch and Stock Horse Association Division 2 National Champion team in April in Amarillo, Texas.

Students competed in the versatility ranch horse events, showcasing their talents in ranch reining, cow work, ranch trail and ranch riding. The Raider riders placed fifth overall in 2024.

Riding a stock horse named The Oakies Gotta Gun in the cow work category, Middle Tennessee State University competitor Kenlee West of Tuscaloosa, Ala., earns points toward finishing seventh in the Limited Non-Pro Overall All-Around during the 2025 2025 National Intercollegiate Ranch and Stock Horse Association Division 2 national event in Amarillo, Texas, in April. Blue Raider riders earned the national championship. (Photo by Primos Morales)

The team consisted of the following five students, who traveled to compete:

• Marci Leath, junior animal science/pre-vet major from Columbia, South Carolina.

• Kenlee West, senior horse major from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

• Alyssa Davis, senior horse science major from Florence, Alabama.

• Keira Wagner, junior horse science major from Columbia.

• Simone Allen, senior agribusiness major from Mount Juliet.

Riders who maintained high scores in all classes took home top individual honors. They included Davis, Novice Champion All-Around; Allen, Novice Third Overall All-Around; and West, Limited Non-Pro Seventh Overall All-Around.

With their ribbons and other awards, Middle Tennessee State University’s stock horse team earned the 2025 National Intercollegiate Ranch and Stock Horse Association Division 2 national championship in dominating the field in April in Amarillo, Texas. Team members include, from left, coach Andrea Rego, graduate assistant Kara Brown, Faith Dady, Jessica Whicker, Alyssa Davis, Simone Allen, Keira Wagner, Marci Leath, Kenlee West, Faith Fraker, Sam Kawa and grad assistant JoBeth Scarlett. (Photo by High Cotton Promotions)

MTSU dominated with an impressive 117-point lead after two go-rounds of competition against 14 other Division 2 colleges nationwide, Rego said.

Among the competing teams were programs such as Oklahoma State University, which finished in second place, and Tarleton State University, claiming third.

Individually, MTSU students took home top individual honors among 153 other riders in the competition.

Andrea Rego, instructor in MTSU's Horse Science Program in the School of Agriculture, stock horse team coach, and coordinator of the Center of Equine Recovery for Veterans — Andrea Rego

“These ladies laid down their best every time they entered the pen,” said Rego, who coached the team along with graduate assistants JoBeth Scarlett and Kara Brown. “They competed with the grit, grace and unity that defines what it means to be a Blue Raider.”

Rego added the team was gifted the use of a Champion Hughes Ranch Trailer for the year along with additional prizes from Kimes Ranch Jeans and High Cotton Promotions.

“This achievement wouldn’t be possible without the support of our horse community, additional teammates, families and the overall mission of the MTSU Horse Science program to create well-rounded horsemen and women,” Rego said.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)