Marsh takes the reins
When you have been around horses as long as Carina Marsh has, you gain a certain “horse sense.”
Marsh has used the talents and abilities she has gained throughout her life to help the USU Western Equestrian team return to Nationals in her three years in Logan.
Marsh, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, has been riding horses as long as she can remember.
“I started out doing 4-H and stuff like that.” Marsh said. “Just local shows at home.”
Marsh said the main reason she came to Utah State was for the Equestrian team, and she never even considered any other schools.
USU head coach Jason Romney is glad she came.
“She’s had a great impact on the team,” Romney said. “She’s been here awhile now and been an outstanding member of the team … The kids like to look up to someone, kind of that best rider, which has been Carina this last year. [She] really sets the tone for the rest of the kids on the team.”
Marsh was able to fill the spot that had been left by previous riders who had graduated. She was the only rider on the team that rode in the Open level, the highest level of competition.
“It’s crucial to have a top open division rider for our team, which she has been,” Romney said. “She comprehends, she’s very competitive. That’s very nice to have someone like that … She’s just a humble student that’s worked her way up and really become successful in what she’s done, so we’re really glad to have her around.”
Last Spring, Marsh was the high-point rider for the entire region. She won the all-around, which qualified her for an individual spot at the national competition in May in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“It was really exciting,” Marsh said, regarding her regional victory. “Overall I was just happy for what I accomplished.”
Marsh added that she’s been working toward it for a long time.
Marsh led multiple riders from Utah State to the national competition.
“The team did awesome,” Romney said. “Everybody placed in the top 10. They really represented last year well at nationals.”
The level of competition increased when Marsh and the team got to Springfield.
“Our region is smaller, and there weren’t very many open riders, which is the division I was competing in,” Marsh said. “Also, a lot of schools practice every day, and we only have the opportunity to practice once a week. It was a lot stiffer competition, but I still managed to get third out of 25 at nationals.”
Marsh’s third place finish at nationals was good enough to qualify her for the American Quarter Horse Association’s Collegiate Challenge in Oklahoma City. The Collegiate Challenge invites the top 16 riders in the country from both the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association to compete.
“Down there, I was competing against NCAA riders that get scholarships. They got recruited to their schools,” she said.
As tough as the competition was at Nationals, it was even tougher in Oklahoma.
“It’s a lot bigger show,” Marsh added. “Every year, my goal was to make it to nationals, and that only happened my junior year. I honestly only found out about the Oklahoma competition a month before, so that was another intimidating thing.”
Marsh graduates this spring with a degree in exercise science.
“I haven’t asked her to coach. I’ve been wanting her to be on the team though,” Romney said. “As far as her being here, it’s really been beneficial. She’s always so supportive.”
Her future holds trail rides with her soon-to-be husband, Kaden Price, and hopefully living in a house with a couple of acres and a few horses, including Price’s mule.
“I went for just the experience because not many people have the opportunity to go there,” Marsh said. “The show was a lot of fun, and I had a good ride.”
— tristan.boyce@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @Tristan_Boyce1