Feb. 13, 2012

Gamecock Equestrian on Facebook | Gamecock Equestrian on GamecocksInsider

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina equestrian coach Boo Major has announced the signing of Kelsey Urban (East Hampton, Conn./East Hampton) to a national letter of intent to join the Gamecocks for the 2012-2013 season. Urban will be competing with South Carolina’s Western team, and her signing officially closes out the early signing period for the Gamecocks.

“‪I am very excited to have another athlete from Powder Brook Farm with Gretchen Mathes and Geno Spagnola become a Gamecock,” said South Carolina associate head coach/Western coach Ruth Sorrel. “Kelsey will benefit our team both in the arena and in the classroom. Kelsey has has success in the arena on very difficult horses which will help her tremendously in college.‬”

Training with Eugene Spagnola and Gretchen Mathes, Urban has competed in a variety of events, including Showmanship, Horsemanship, Hunt Seat Equitation and Trail.

She has won multiple all-around/high point awards at AQHA shows throughout the northeast, and achieved the AQHA youth register of merit on Thumb Uprising in April 2009. Last year in June, she achieved the youth register of merit on Radical McCue.

Also in 2011, she qualified for the AQHA Youth World Show. At the AQHA Youth World Show, she was a finalist with Radical McCue in NYATT Showmanship & 15-18 Horsemanship, and was a semi-finalist in the 15-18 Showmanship while also claiming 11th in Novice Youth Trail.

A senior at East Hampton High School in East Hampton, Conn., Urban has been an honor roll student her entire high school career. With a GPA of 3.5, she was a recipient of the University of Rochester Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award in Humanities and Social Sciences. She also is a member of the Interact Club, a community service group. She is the president Connecticut Quarter Horse Youth Association (CQHYA) and formerly served on the board as the group’s secretary. She is also the youth leader of Heads Up! Hartford, a faith-based organization for high school youths that focuses on diversity and community service in the greater Hartford area.

Urban’s parents are Ralph and Robin Hammeal-Urban, and she was born in Hartford, Conn. Before signing with the two time national champion Gamecocks, she considered Baylor University.

While at the University of South Carolina, Urban will be a psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences.