By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association announced its Horse of the Month selection for November Monday and the winner was That’s A Good Point (also known as “Tag”) from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Tag is a 2007 Appendix Quarter Horse Gelding who stands 18.1 hands. He was bred, trained and shown by professional horseman Chuck Briggs and was generously donated to the Skyhawk program by Melissa Hendrix in 2021. He competes in flat and has quickly become a favorite of the team as he is the first UT Martin horse to earn national recognition since Shadow was named a top-10 NCEA horsemanship participant during the 2019-20 end-of-season rankings.
In the Skyhawks’ lone home meet in November, Tag produced remarkable scores of 97 (a UT Martin program record by Julia Gilman) and 96 in the Nov. 18 matchup against South Dakota State.
Tag has garnered two MOP’s and a season scoring average of 84.6 points (nearly five points better than the next-highest horse). He is responsible for three scores of at least 93 points and has produced at least a 74 in all eight opportunities this season.
Before joining the UT Martin program, Tag competed in Open and Amateur events, qualifying for the AQHA world show many times in hunter hack, equitation over fences, working hunter and hunter under saddle. In 2012, he won the reserve world champion title in amateur hunter hack and was in the top-10 multiple times over his storied career.
Tag helped the Skyhawks turn in a national rank in each of the 10 NCEA top-10 polls of the fall semester. UT Martin has posted four victories so far in 2022-23 and sits atop the Eastern College Athletic Conference standings going into its spring schedule, which starts on Jan. 27.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information