Manhattan, KS (U-WIRE) -- The Equestrian team saw a new side of competition Saturday, because for the first time this season they did not ride away with a victory. The Western riders traveled to Springfield, Mo., this weekend to compete at the Missouri State Western Show, in an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association match-up against other schools in their region.

The Western team competed in two shows this weekend, with both the qualifying show and the final show taking place on Saturday.

The riders started the day by losing the first show.

Coach Teresa Slough said the loss was a result of lack of focus.

"We had such a big lead in the region, we had practiced well, we were too relaxed and too comfortable with our lead, we weren't focused," Slough said.

Black Hawk College, K-State Equestrian's rival, beat the Wildcats for the first time this season in the first show on Saturday morning by a final score of 24-16.

"Black Hawk is always tough," Slough said. "They kind of kicked us."

The Black Hawk team was high-point team in the first show, with the high-point rider from Black Hawk College as well.

Senior Sarah Haltom said the loss was caused by mental errors and mistakes.

"We just were not focused overall as a team," Haltom said. "We were careless and unprepared."

Although the team suffered its first loss on Saturday morning, it gained focus and made a comeback to win the final show on Saturday afternoon.

Slough said the early-morning loss was a wake-up call for the team, causing them to come back to competition more focused and ready to ride.

The team earned 38 points in the second competition, beating second-place Missouri State with 20 points.

Riders Sara Weller and Shanda Draper shared high-point honors, while the Wildcats finished the second show as high-point team.

Haltom said the team regained its focus and won the second show because of some words Slough gave the team.

"We had a little pep talk from the coaches, and we did not want to have another loss like we had in the first show," Haltom said, "We got in the zone and got prepared. It was important to maintain our lead over Black Hawk."

Because the show was an IHSA competition, each show had its own results. Therefore, an overall first-place finish for the weekend was not possible.

Although the team is no longer undefeated, Slough said she is not worried about the team's overall standings in the region.

"We've got a 35 point lead on Black Hawk and then Missouri State is way far back, like 60 points behind," Slough said.

Even with such a large lead in the region, Haltom said she was a little dissatisfied with the weekend's results.

"I wouldn't say necessarily I was disappointed with specific individuals, some people did a great job and pulled their weight," Haltom said, "But overall, yeah, I was a little disappointed. We were undefeated. I was hoping we would be able to keep that."

(C) 2004 Kansas State Collegian via U-WIRE