Sam Chiodo Selected to Compete in AQHA Horsemanship Challenge

July 24, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – University of South Carolina senior Sam Chiodo has been selected to compete at the 2014 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge, it was announced Thursday. The challenge runs Nov. 19-20 as part of the AQHA World Championship Show in Oklahoma City.

The Mount Pleasant, Mich., native went 10-4-2 for the Gamecocks last season, posting two MVPs and helping lead Carolina to its second straight SEC Championship. Chiodo was named to the NCEA All-Championship Team.

Eight riders, who will be current student-athletes during the 2014-15 season, will represent eight different institutions at the event. Riders were selected using 2013-14 individual statistics for horsemanship.

The preliminaries take place Wednesday, November 19 beginning at 11 a.m. CT, while the finals are set for 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, November 20.

The collegiate riders selected for the AQHA Horsemanship Challenge are as follows:

2014 AQHA Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge Participants
Sam Chiodo, South Carolina
Lauren DeVoe, New Mexico State
Sydney Elliot, Fresno State
Lindsey McMullen, Oklahoma State
Megan McMullen, TCU
Elizabeth Niewonja, South Dakota State
Logan Pluhar, Texas A&M
Heather Schmidt, Georgia

First Alternate: Lucy Igoe, Auburn
Second Alternate: McKenzie Perry, UT-Martin