California Gold Rush takes third in Grand National Rodeo; team’s
outstanding finish at Cow Palace belies its inexperience
San Jose – As the California Gold Rush equestrian drill team entered the 2006 Grand National Rodeo, its first-ever competition, the team’s six members had hopes of staying on their horses and not making fools of themselves. Taking the arena at the Cow Palace on Monday, the Gold Rush, made up of riders from Santa Clara County and the South Valley, accomplished much more.
By the end of the evening, not only did the Gold Rush not make fools of themselves, the team, led by coach Jo Lynn Tetzlaff, performed its 4-minute, 50-second program to the soundtrack of The Greatest Game well enough to capture third place in the seven-team competition. Considering that the eventual 2006 Grand National Champion team was in their division and that the Gold Rush has only been practicing together since mid-January, taking third was an amazing feat. Five of the team’s six members had never ridden drill competitively before.
Four days later, as the team gathered at team manager Johanne Roberts’ house to go over some tape of the competition, the afterglow of its successful showing had not worn off.
“I knew we didn’t look bad. I felt like we rode our best ride,” team member Shannon Fitzgibbon said. “I had no idea where we were in comparison to the other teams. The most important thing was we had a good time.”
“I thought that since we didn’t have some of the big moves after seeing some of the other teams that we wouldn’t place,” added Nancy White, who had to ride a horse that had never done drill until the week prior to the competition. “It was the first time I had ever ridden drill. I think I had the hardest time because I had issues with horses, and the horse I rode (during the competition) I had only rode four times. The thrill of the drill, it’s like now we’re all addicted.”
An equestrian drill team is a group of riders working in unison to create a ‘dance’ on horseback. The performance is a series of patterns or maneuvers choreographed into a full routine. In competition, the more complex the maneuvers, the higher the points that are awarded, but even a simple pattern ridden well can score highly.
“We have the best coach out of them all,” Gilroy resident Stacey Lingenfelter said of Tetzlaff. “She transformed endurance and pleasure riders.”
“She is a phenomenal coach,” White added. “She builds the foundation that we can work off of.”
Originally, the Gold Rush intended to perform a longer program with a team of eight riders. But some horse issues forced the team to drop down to a six riders and take out some of the program’s more intricate moves. A competition team can earn up to 100 points for alignment, 100 points for spacing and 100 points for tracking. The California Gold Rush averaged 80 points per category.
“You guys did it,” said Tetzlaff, adding that she thought she might cry. “That is a competitive team.”
Tetzlaff is the only member of the team that has prior experience riding drill. The other Gold Rush members – –White, Fitzgibbon, Roberts, Melanie
Paulson and Lingenfelter – are new to drill riding.
“I’ve been riding for 10 years,” Fitzgibbon said. “I always wanted to try (drill) and a friend told me about this team. I think it’s the most fun I’ve had on a horse.”
“Jo Lynn asked if I wanted to do it and I said ‘Sure, I’ll try it out,'” said Paulson, the youngest member of the team at 15.
For many of the team members, the experience of performing at the Cow Palace’s main arena was something they never thought they would have a chance to do.
“I never dreamed of riding in the arena. I’m still imagining it all,” Lingenfelter said. “I thought I was going to throw up.”
“I was really nervous,” Fitzgibbon added. “We’d been working so hard for it.”
White said, “I got totally centered. It was a thrill of a lifetime to ride in the arena.”
The California Gold Rush is a non-profit organization and has been an official team since last year, although Tetzlaff had been working to get a
team together for three years. The team practices in San Martin and is always looking for new members and sponsors.
“When we first began, the requirements for the team was just to be a rider,” Tetzlaff said. “Now that we’re at a different level, we need a rider who is advanced, who can make a year’s commitment at least, and be nice and fun.”
According to Tetzlaff, drill team competition is so friendly a sport that, if you had a problem with your horse, you could go to another team and ask to borrow a horse and they would say yes.
“It’s a very friendly competition,” Roberts said. “The other teams wished you luck and told you you looked great.”
“You do it as a team and it’s not an individual sport,” White said. “It’s just a really wonderful new skill to have.”
“Nothing compares to drill,” Lingenfelter added.
The team is excited to compete together again and welcomes any rider who has the time and drive to try out.
“We are the funnest girls on Earth,” White said.
