Newkirk earns 2 honors in 1st season with UC Davis MHS alum named MOP for Reining, co-rookie of the Year
Freshman Macey Newkirk stood out so much on the University of California Davis equestrian team, that her teammates selected her Most Outstanding Player-reinier of the Year and co-rookie of the Year.
Newkirk, a graduate of Monache High School, said this first season had its challenges but she worked hard and was proud to know her teammates saw her hard work too.
“It was a pretty cool feeling to know that my team thinks of me that highly,” Newkirk said.
In an Instagram post from the equestrian team (@ucdaviseq) announced Newkirk’s Mop-reining selection saying, “Macey finished her inaugural year off with a 4-3-1 record, garnering 4 scores above a 71. Notable rides: She kicked off her freshman debut with 2 wins at the Willis Invitational winning an MOP with Penny against DSU. She scored a career high 73, tying her point against OSUS Hannah Mitchell on Trigg. And also defeated Auburn’s Boo Kammerer with Remi.”
One of the challenges Newkirk faced this season was learning to ride a different, and sometimes new, horse at every meet. She said unlike previous levels when she always rode the horse she grew up riding, in college they would draw a horse and have four minutes to get it ready to show.
“Talk about a home field advantage,” Newkirk said after explaining they work on different horses every day.
Newkirk and sophomore teammate Cameron Nembach’s Rookie of the Year selections were also announced on social media with another Instagram post reading, “Today we recognize our Rookies of the Year, these can be freshman, transfers or those who made the team from tryouts. This is voted on by their fellow teammates for their contributions both in the arena and outside of it . ... You could always find these athletes working at the barn, going above and beyond what was expected of them. We appreciate your hard work and all that you bring to this team!”
Newkirk said she enjoyed her first year with the Aggies and noted how welcome and supported by her teammates and coaches.
“Everybody was so supportive of each other that it just boosted everybody and kind of gave somebody that wasn’t very open, (helped them) make friends easier,” she said. “And Jessie (Weisinger), our coach is probably the backbone of the whole team, you can say, cause she kind of kept us going in the right direction.
“Made sure we were all together, supporting each other no matter what. Just made it really easy. She’s a great coach, if we had any problems on the back of a horse, whether it be ourself getting ready to show or not, she was always there to help.”