One cannot spell district championship with out an O, H and S as the Oxford High School Equestrian Team captured it’s 11th straight district championship this past weekend.
On Sunday, Sept. 26, the Wildcats took on teams from Lapeer West, Clarkston, Brandon, Romeo and Rochester Stoney Creek in the A division. They ended up with 250 points, 62 points ahead of Lapeer East.
‘I was very pleased with the effort the entire team put into the district meets,? Coach Dee Shepard said. ‘Now we’re going up against even tougher competition and we’re going to have to continue having stellar performances in the show ring.?
The victory at districts proves how far this young team has come since the start of the season on Sept. 11 in Armada.
‘It was a little tight on our first meet, but we did end up pulling it out in the last four classes,? Shepard said. They finished with a 40 point lead over Lapeer West.
‘Lapeer West was beating us until the last four classes, and our State kids pulled it out,? she added.
Senior Captain Mary Cowles scored the most points of the meet, finishing with 31 points.
According to Shepard, the second meet on Sept. 19 was much stronger as Oxford took the lead early and never looked back. They finished in first place, 56 points over Lapeer West.
Sophomore Lauren Ubbing was the high point rider of the second meet with 30 points.
Overall, the Wildcats finished the three meets with a cumulative point total of 699, 158 points ahead of Lapeer West.
‘This was a young team and when they needed to step it up, they did,? Shepard said. ‘They work well under pressure.?
The Wildcats will head to the regional championship on Oct. 2 and 3 at the Shiawassee County Farigrounds to compete against teams from Milford, Yale and a team yet to be determined.