Hartland Equestrian Faces Perennial Rival at Regionals

There is going to be a different level of competition for the equestrian team at regionals this season.

The Eagles will be going head-to-head with perennial foe Milford this Saturday and Sunday at the Shiawassee County Fairgrounds in Corunna.

Hartland and the Mavericks have dominated Division A high school equestrian in the state of Michigan the last five years. The Eagles have won three state titles and finished as runner-up to Milford the other two seasons.

The top two teams at the regional move onto the state finals, meaning the Eagles and Mavericks may meet again in the postseason.

“It’s a big rivalry between us and Milford,” Hartland coach Kreig Cutter said. “We’re going to run into them at regionals instead of the state finals. In 2006 we went reserve, and they were the state champions. We beat them the next three years. In 2010, they beat us by 12 points in the last class of the day. Last year it was very tight.”

Hartland graduated seven members from last year’s team and three of them were among the top five point-earners. Still, the Eagles won their district for the 13th straight year.

“Yes, it’s given us a lot of confidence,” sophomore Hannah Oldford said. “For the first time we really had to step up our game. Last year we had some really good riders and won by a couple hundred points.”

The districts consist of three meets and in the past, the Eagles have cruised to the title. This year, they were only ahead by about 40 points after the first two meets.

“In the third meet, we increased our lead to 180 points,” Cutter said. “The riders really pushed themselves. The (competition) really wanted to beat us this year. They scared us after that first weekend.”

Cutter went on to say it was an eye-opening experience for the team and the members realized they would have to step up and put in the time and dedication needed to get back to the state-championship level.

“We’re normally used to more riders, more depth,” said senior captain Kendra Hull. “At the first two meets, we struggled. At the next meet, everyone picked up the slack. I was real proud of them.”

Being a captain has allowed Hull, who was the No. 1-point scorer in the district, to become more involved with the team and this has been an enjoyable season for the girls.

“We try to make it as much fun as possible,” Hull said. “The homecoming theme was super heroes, so we made capes with a big ‘H’ on the back and they had everyone’s name under them.

“It’s not all about winning. That’s part of it, but having fun is everything. At the end of the day, if you’re not having fun, then why do it?”

Editor's note: This article was updated Oct. 3 to remove information that the Hartland equestrian team qualified a second team for regionals. That reporting was based on a news brief from another website. The brief was incorrect. Hartland does not have a B team this year.