Tecumseh equestrian relives reserve state champion season
TECUMSEH — The last time that the Tecumseh equestrian team was in state finals, the oldest competitor for the 2021 iteration of the team was three years old.
A 15-year drought of not making the state finals was overcome by the 12-rider team under the guidance of the husband and wife coaching pair of Rick and Diane Kimmitt, along with former Tecumseh equestrian captain-turned assistant coach Bailey Miller.
“We’re pretty proud of what the girls accomplished,” Diane Kimmitt said. “We had a strong team from the start and we expected them to go far, and we were really proud that they did.”
While it was an accomplishment to get the state meet at the Midland County Fairgrounds, what the team finished with in the end was big.
After winning their district and regional competitions, Tecumseh’s riders, led by their three senior captains Ava Salenbien, Hailey Cheasick and Bailey Miller’s younger sister Brooke Miller, along with strong underclassmen like freshmen Elizabeth Justice and Faith Wiedyk, fought their way to a second-place finish in the state finals. It was a program-best finish at states to earn the reserve state champions honor.
“It was crazy to walk into states and it was a great experience too,” said Bailey Miller. “Especially coming from a small town going into something like that. No one had ever heard of Tecumseh before and we walked in and, I think, we represented Tecumseh very well.”
Tecumseh’s district victory, comprised of three meets hosted at the Lenawee County Fairgrounds, qualified the team to make the regional round.
At the regional competition in Mason, Tecumseh’s riders turned in another strong performance, as they scored 625 points as a team, finishing 163 ahead of the next closest team in the region in Division A, which is for all teams with 10 or more riders.
In the Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association state finals are from October 14th to the 17th, Tecumseh found itself in fifth place in their division after the first day of competition, but knew it had a chance to climb the ladder.
Led by four first-place awards for Brooke Miller in the Hunt Seat Fitting and Showing, Saddle Seat Fitting and Showing, Western Equitation and Western Bareback classes, Tecumseh climbed three spots on the second day, finishing with a total of 329 points to take the reserve state champions spot, trailing only Caldeonia on 363 points and clearing third place Milford (309) by 20 and fourth place Hopkins (305) by 24.
“There were 10 A-Teams at state, and we were just thrilled to be a state qualifier,” Diane Kimmitt said. “We told the girls that they were just as good as any of the other teams. You’ve made it this far, you’ve got the ability and it can happen. We were down three riders for state for different reasons, so the rest had to step up and they did. We were in first place a couple different times over the weekend and that was a big boost.”
For Bailey Miller, who graduated from Tecumseh in 2019 and became an assistant coach ahead of the 2020 season, seeing the team and her sister finish as strong as it did was a dream come true.
“It was amazing," she said. "I feel like I was definitely living vicariously through them a little bit because my four years on the team, we never made it to states, so being a part of it, getting to go and experience states was a great experience. It’s also a great experience for these girls. Not a lot of kids get to say that they go to states in their high school careers, especially the freshmen that were on the team. It’s amazing to say that you were able to go to states in your freshman year. The only way I can explain it is that it was an amazing experience.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh earns second at Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association finals
