Press release submitted by Black Hawk College East

GALVA, Ill. – Black Hawk College East Campus Horse Judging Team sophomores, coached by Aaron Callahan, finished their BHC judging careers Nov. 16 with a Reserve Championship at the American Quarter Horse World Show in Oklahoma City, Okla., and a No. 1 National ranking! Team “A” came home Reserve World Champions by placing 1st in Performance, 2nd in Reasons and 3rd in Halter. Team “B” followed with a 3rd in Performance, 4th in Halter and 4th in Reasons to earn a 4th Overall placing. This contest followed the prestigious All American Quarter Horse Congress contest in October where the team placed first Overall for the seventh time in eight years. In Congress Overall Individual rankings, BHC had five students place in the top 10 rankings: · Ashley Davis of Russiaville, Ind. – 2nd Overall, 1st Performance, 5th Reasons, 8th Halter

· Josh Clevenger of Mt. Olive, Ill. – 4th Overall, 3rd Performance, 7th Reasons

· Austin Scholl of Menoken, N.D. – 8th Overall, 7th Performance

· Sarah Lewis of Fishers, Ind. – 9th Overall, 9th Performance, 10th Halter

· Sarah Schobert of Salem, Va. – 10th Overall, 4th Reasons, 5th Halter

· Morgan Gadd of Fishers, Ind. – 6th Halter, 10th Reasons

· Amanda Sonnenberg of Crystal Lake, Ill. – 8th Performance

· Katie Grimm of Bettendorf, Iowa – 9th Halter

Josh Murphy of Ewing, Mo., Sarah Simpson of Dennison, Ill. and Caryn Scholl of Menoken, N.D. rounded out the team. “From March to November, we have had five contests, given 21 sets of reasons, marked 49 cards and seen 196 horses in a contest setting alone. This does not count the hours we have spent on Monday and Wednesday nights in the classroom, the farms we have explored and the shows we have gone to as practice,” team member Sarah Lewis posted on Facebook. “Today, we marked our final cards and gave our last sets of reasons as a Black Hawk East horse judger. It is unbelievable how fast this experience has blown by! So blessed to have such amazing team mates and mentors!” she wrote. Team member Katie Grimm posted, “Seems just like yesterday the sophomore horse judgers were turning the team over to us. Everyone wasn’t kidding when they said enjoy it while it lasts cause it’s gonna fly by. We have so much to be proud of and have accomplished so much individually and of course as a team. “Tonight we hand over the reins to the freshman to walk in our boots, best of luck to you guys we are here if you need us! So thankful for my teammates and coaches who helped make this something I will never forget!” she wrote. The freshmen begin their first of five competitions for the BHC Horse Judging Team at the Middle Tennessee State University Spring Contest in March.