The U of A ranch horse team won the reserve Division 2 championship at the Stock Horse of Texas World Show in October and earned a spot in the Invitational Collegiate Ranch Horse Competition at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo in February.

Division 2 teams enter four riders in four different events — ranch pleasure, ranch trail, working cow horse and reining — and riders compete in two rounds of each event over three days.

Competing for Arkansas were Kyla Neal, Caitlyn Ferguson, Brianna Keeling and Elise Tremonti, all animal science majors. Individually, Neal placed ninth overall. The team is coached by Jordan Shore and Sidney Dunkel.

"There was a tremendous amount of effort these students had to put in to be able to compete at this event," Shore said. "Both Sidney and I are extremely proud of what they have accomplished. They are not average college students. When the going got tough, they leaned into the struggle and came out with a win for our program. On top of finishing school work and being prepared for this show, they deserve to be called above average students."

Teams advancing to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo include Arkansas, Texas Tech, North Central Texas College, Texas A&M, West Texas A&M, Clarendon College, Tarleton State and Texas A&M Commerce.

The team is housed in the Department of Animal Science in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.