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Senior Julianna Fischer will represent SMU at the Winter Equestrian Festival February 7 in Wellington, Florida.

Fischer is a native of Wellington, and was the reserve champion of the consolation bracket at this competition in 2012.

Also, SMU's Schaefer Raposa won this event last year.

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-equest/spec-rel/012214aaa.html

Good luck, Julianna!

Is this a big deal? Or some kind of exhibition?

Sorry. I don't know anything about equestrian.

It's an exhibition in the sense it is an individual competition and it doesn't affect the NCEA team records or rankings, but it is a huge festival. They have a college competition section that attracts top riders which is what our student-athletes compete in each year if invited.

http://www.equestriansport.com/

FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival

The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) is the world's largest and longest running equestrian competition. The 12-week event, which runs from January 9 through March 31, awards over $6 million dollars in prize money and hosts 5,000 horses and 2,800 riders from 50 states and 31 countries. During WEF, spectators can enjoy Saturday Night Lights every Saturday evening beginning at 6 pm. The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

Fischer defeated Kansas State's Rachael Webster 83-79 in the first round this afternoon and moves on to the quarterfinals in the winner's bracket this evening at 6pm!

Fischer will face Oklahoma State's Samantha Elser in the quarterfinals (on Atlantis).

Elser defeats Fischer 85-70 in the quarterfinals.

Katherine Schmidt from South Carolina was the champion tonight. Samantha Elser was the reserve champion.

Here is the SMU release on Julianna Fiscsher's efforts today:

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-equest/spec-rel/020714aaa.html

“Julie went out there on a big stage and rode just like you can depend on a senior to ride,” head coach Natalie Burton said. “She gave two very gutsy rides and although sometimes the chips don’t fall your way, I couldn’t be more proud of her, and the way she represented SMU today.”