Giants' equestrian duo earns top five placings at IHSA national championships

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

Two years ago, Brenda Yocom-Gomez had essentially never been on a horse and Sarah Costa wasn't entirely sure if she'd be able to continue showing on one.

Now, the two College of the Sequoias' equestrian riders are national medalists.

Yocom-Gomez was the reserve champion in Beginner Western Horsemanship, while Costa placed fifth in Western Ranch Riding during the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association's National Championships held May 2-4 in Mill Spring, N.C. The event gathers competitors from both two- and four-year colleges.

It's the best placings for Giants' riders in Kim Pitigliano's 15 years as the program's coach.

"I'm so excited and so happy for the girls," said Pitigliano, who's previous best finish at nationals was Jamie Thompson's sixth-place performance in Rookie Horsemanship. "My girls got to ride on some of the best horses in the nation, and they really shined through with those horses because they are both really good riders."

A sophomore from Lindsay, Yocom-Gomez competed against 11 other riders in an event designed to evaluate the rider's ability to execute a set of maneuvers prescribed by the judge with precision and smoothness while exhibiting poise and confidence, and maintaining a balanced, functional and fundamentally correct body position.

Riders were assigned horses randomly, and Pitigliano said Yocom-Gomez' draw was well-trained and responsive. Riders did not receive a warm up on the horse before competition.

Dressed in a black cowgirl hat, shiney blue long-sleeved shirt, black pants and black boots, Yocom-Gomez directed her horse through a pattern that consisted of several circles, some backing up, a walk, trot and an extended trot.

Pitigliano said the performance was nearly flawless, and the judges agreed. After all the riders finished their patterns, the judges read off the placers from last to first.

Yocom-Gomez' name was announced second-to-last, with only Dylan Allison of the University of Findlay announced after.

"I'm still shocked with it," Yocom-Gomez said. "It's very exciting."

It's been a meteoric rise to national prominence for Yocom-Gomez, especially since joining the equestrian team wasn't even her idea.

A former volleyball player and swimmer in high school, Yocom-Gomez was having issues signing up for classes at Sequoias prior to the start of her freshman year in 2023.

So her older sister, Angelica, who was already a student at the college and a member of the equestrian team, offered to help.

Angelica signed Brenda up for the equestrian class out on the Sequoias farm in Tulare.

And, despite Brenda's initial objection, Angelica signed her up to be a member of the equestrian team, too, despite the fact she had never been on a horse other than a roughly "3 minute walk" on one as a young girl during a family trip to Tijuana, Mexico.

By the second day of practice, Yocom-Gomez started to change her mind about being on the team. Pitigliano was calling her a natural.

"Once I got on the horse the first time, it kind of clicked," Yocom-Gomez said. "I was like 'this is fun.'"

When Yocom-Gomez placed first at her first equestrian competition, finishing ahead of Angelica in the same event, she was hooked.

"I feel like after my first show, that's what made me want to stay on the team," Yocom-Gomez said. "That was a fun moment because me and my sister are very competitive."

Rather than being jealous, Angelica did all she could to support Yocom-Gomez and help her improve.

And, improve she did.

Over the course of her first season-plus on the team, Yocom-Gomez earned the 36 points needed to qualify for the Western Regionals, which were held Feb. 22-23 at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.

Needing a top-two finish at Western Regionals to move on to the national semifinals, Yocom-Gomez won the Beginner Western Horsemanship division championship.

Needing a top-four finish at the national semifinals at Black Hawk College in Galva, Ill., Yocom-Gomez placed third to punch her ticket to the national finals.

Angelica went to every event, providing support and helping Yocom-Gomez with her hair and outfits.

"She has been my biggest supporter. I really appreciate her," Yocom-Gomez said. "My coach and my sister got me to this moment. "They worked really hard on me. Two years ago, I knew nothing at all. To come this far, I'm really happy. I feel very proud."

Costa, meanwhile, was the only rider from a community college in a field of 12 for Western Ranch Riding, which demonstrates a combination of Western Pleasure and Horsemanship skills in a ranch setting.

The event emphasizes a horse's ability to be a pleasure to ride while performing ranch tasks. Ranch riding classes assess the horse's smoothness, responsiveness, and ability to execute various gaits and maneuvers, including extended gaits, lead changes, and potentially maneuvers like crossing logs.

Costa wore a brown cowgirl hat, a tope and white long-sleeve plaid shirt, blue jeans and brown boots for her ride, which was assigned by blind draw. Costa guided her horse on a preset pattern over logs, through gates, on walks and trots, and did spinnings as if she was working cattle on a ranch.

"I felt really comfortable with the pattern," Costa said. "When I walked into the area, the horse was super responsive. He was ready to go. I was ready to go. It felt like I was floating through it. Everything I asked, he did it immediately. Once I was done, I was happy with it no matter how I placed because I felt I did that pattern to the best of my ability."

The sophomore from Exeter finished behind champion Savannah Lindsey of North Carolina State, Kyley Pelfrey of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, Sophie Karney of Missouri State and Mitchell Ullom of Oklahoma Panhandle State.

"I knew I did well by my standards, but I also didn't know about the judges' standards," Costa said. "Placing that high in competition was super fantastic. When they called sixth place, and it wasn't my name, I was like 'oh my gosh.'"

That Costa returned to compete for Sequoias' equestrian team this season was not a given.

Costa welcomed a daughter, Ila, into her life 18 months ago, and she wasn't sure how she was going to juggle motherhood, work, school and being on the team. She only showed in one event during the 2023-2024 season after giving birth to Ila.

"I didn't think I'd be able to come back and show," Costa said. "But everyone involved -- my family, my team, my coaches -- were like, 'yep, we're going to figure out how to do it.' That was such a big deal."

So when it came time to practice, her teammates or coaches would watch Ila while Costa rode. And her mother, Christy Costa, played a big role, too, watching Ila when she had competitions.

Ila's easy-going nature helped as well.

"I'm lucky that she is perfectly happy sitting in the stroller on the side of the arena watching us ride," Costa said. "She looks forward to it as much as I do. I got lucky in that department."

Once Costa knew Ila would be in good hands if she competed this season, Costa set the goal of participating in the postseason. She hoped to go as far as the national semifinals.

Costa earned the 36 points needed to get into the postseason, which she started by winning the Western Ranch Riding event at the Western Regionals in San Luis Obispo.

She was fourth at the national semifinals in Galva, Ill., to earn the event's final qualifying berth into the finals.

At the finals, Costa delivered what her coach described as her best ever performance of that particular pattern.

"She had a heck of a run," Pitigliano said. "I'm super proud of her."

Costa said the national finals will be her last collegiate event. She is planning to earn her Registered Veterinary Technician certification and hopes to start a career in sales for a Veterinary pharmaceutical company.

"It was my last show and I felt it was as much as I could have hoped for," Costa said. "I feel like I've left on a good note before I go on to what's next."