By Staff
Judy Stilwell of Dowagiac has been named the District 3 chairmain of the Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association (MIHA).
Stilwell, who has been the coach of the Dowagiac Equestrian Team since 1984, was elected at the Berrien County Fairgrounds on Jan. 15.
Stilwell has recently stepped down as head coach of the team and will assist new coach Stacy Davis.
Davis, who has been a coach with Dowagiac since she graduated in 1995, owns and shows Tennessee Walking Horses.
Lisa Crowder of Stevensville was appointed assisted chairman for District 3. Crowder currently coaches the River Valley Equestrian Team. Crowder started out as the coach of the Berrien Springs Equestrian Team and then formed a team at Eau Claire.
Currently District 3 has 24 registered teams. They are Bangor, Berrien Springs, Bridgman, Buchanan, Cassopolis, Coloma, Covert, Decatur, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, Gobles, Hartford, Lakeshore, Lawrence, Lawton, Marcellus, Mattawan, Michigan Lutheran, Niles, Paw Paw, River Valley, South Haven varsity and junior varsity, St. Joseph and Watervliet.
District 3 had 135 riders in 2004, 97 riders in 2000 and 110 in 1995. State-wide there were 2,055 riders in 2004.
Anyone interested in starting a team at their school or needing information as regards to joining a team should contact Stilwell at 269-782-9342 or Crowder at 269-422-2957.
District 3 will hold three double ring meets for their senior division. Meets dates are Sept. 18, Sept. 24 and Sept. 25. All Senior Division meets will be held at the Berrien County Fairgrounds.
The MIHA has added a regional competition which will follow the three double ring meets.
The state is going to be divided into five regions. The top A, B and C Division teams from each district will compete at the regional. Regionals will be two-day meets and all classes will be double judged.
The top two division teams (A, B or C) in regional competition will advance to the state meet.
Regionals will be held either Oct. 1-2 or Oct. 8-9 with the state meet to be held on Oct. 14-16. The regional meet for District 3 will be held at the Mason County Fairgrounds.
The state meet will be held in Midland.
New this year is a Junior Division.
Nancy Whelan of Hartford is coordinating the Junior Division for District 3. The Junior Division is open to sixth, seventh and eight graders. Eighth graders who participate in the May meet are eligible to participate in the fall in the Senior Division.
Anyone wanting to start at junior team should call Stilwell or Whelan at 269-208-3916. Donations to help get the new Junior Division off to a good start can be made by contacting Stilwell or Whelan.
Registration deadline is April 24 with the show scheduled for May 21.
A coaches information meeting for Division 3 will be held on Wednesday at the Van Buren County Community Building starting at 7 p.m.
Dowagiac's Junior Division squad is being coached by Brittany McCormick and Erin Ausra.
They are currently looking for team members. Anyone interested in joining the team should contact McCormick at 782-6312 or Ausra at 782-7584 to register.
A meeting for the Dowagiac Equestrian Team Junior Division will be held on Thursday at Ausra's home on Yaw Street (call for directions).
McCormick and Ausra competed on the Dowagiac Equestrian Team from 2000 to 2003 and were assistant coaches in 2004.
Registration fees, all equipment, animals and travel expenses are currently paid for by each individual riders. If you and your business would like to sponsor a rider or team please contact Stilwell, Crowder or Whelan.
The MIHA is a non-profit organization and your donations are tax deductible.