Casie Lisabeth, Head Equestrian Coach

	Contact Casie Lisabeth (785) 532-1210 | E-mail Casie

Casie Lisabeth enters her third season as K-State head equestrian coach, after she took full reigns of the program in 2009-10 following her promotion to head coach during the summer of 2009, after two seasons as co-head coach.

In Lisabeth's first full season, she guided the program to a national runner-up finish at the 2010 VENC and has placed K-State riders among the top five Western teams in the nation in each of the last four seasons.

During the 2008-09 season, she led the Western squad to a fifth place national finish at the 2009 VENC and a 10-6-2 record on the year. She also tutored Alyssa Freeman, who became the first Wildcat in school history to compete at the VENC as an individual.

At the 2008 VENC, the Wildcats took third with their only loss during the tournament coming to eventual national champion Texas Christian.

Also in 2008, each rider that competed in the varsity horsemanship or reining earned a "Most Valuable Player" award. Each show, the judge gives an MVP award to whatever rider he or she thinks rode the best, regardless of whether her score was the highest of the day or not.

The end of Lisabeth's second season at K-State was highlighted by the selection of Morgan Campbell to compete at the prestigious Collegiate Reining Invitational held at the 2008 NRHA Derby. Only four riders from all of the varsity equestrian programs nationwide are chosen each year to compete. Campbell was the second rider tutored by Lisabeth to be selected for the Invitational; former Wildcat Sara Weller participated in 2007.

Prior to coming to Kansas State as an assistant coach in 2006, Lisabeth served as a student coach at Texas A&M University, where she assisted with an Aggie squad that placed third nationally in Western at both the Varsity Equestrian and IHSA National Championships. As a four-year member of the Aggie equestrian team, she was the Reserve High Point Regional Rider of the Year in 2005 and also had two top-four finished at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships as a senior. Lisabeth earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M in 2005.

Casey Finnell, Hunter Seat Coach

	Contact Casey Finnell (785) 532-4462 | E-mail Casey

Former Wildcat standout Casey Finnell enters her fifth season as an assistant coach for the Kansas State Equestrian team and her first as the leader of the Hunter Seat program.

Finnell, a two-year letterwinner for the Wildcats originally from Lenexa, Kansas, assists coaching duties while also managing the day-to-day administrative aspects of the program. A member of the Wildcat Hunter Seat squad from 2003-2007, Finnell was 13-6-1 in her last year of regular season competition and helped lead the Wildcats to a third place Hunter Seat team finish at the 2007 Varsity Equestrian National Championships.

In 2006, Finnell was the Regional High Point Hunter Seat Rider of the Year, earning her a spot at competing for the Cacchione Cup at the IHSA National Championship Horse Show. That year Finnell also earned the Most Valuable Player award at the year-end team banquet.

In addition to her accomplishments with the K-State Equestrian team, Finnell has shown nationally in AQHA competitions since 2001. She earned a finalist placing in the AQHYA World Show competition in Equitation Over Fences and Working Hunter in 2002 and 2003, respectively. In 2006, she earned a seventh place with her horse PAA Mike Joak in Amateur Jumping at the AQHA World Show.

Finnell graduated with two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and Mass Communications and also in Spanish, with a minor in Leadership Studies from Kansas State University in the spring of 2007. Received her Master's of Science in the college of student development in the summer of 2010 from K-State.

Tara Hallan, Assistant Coach

	Contact Tara Hallan (785) 532-1252 | E-mail Tara

Former Wildcat standout Tara Hallan enters her second season as an assistant coach for the Western squad of the Kansas State Equestrian team.

Hallan, a three-year letterwinner for the Wildcats originally from New Braunfels, Texas, was a member of the Wildcat Western squad from 2007-2010. In her K-State career, Hallan registered a 10-2 mark at the VENC.

During her final season of competition for K-State in 2009-10, Hallan notched a 13-4 overall varsity record, including three MVP honors. During the Wildcats' run to a national runner-up finish, Hallan recorded a 3-1 mark at the VENC including a 141-139.5 win over Maggie Gratny of Texas A&M.

In 2008-09, Hallan tallied a 9-2 overall record in the Reining category, including one MVP honor. She also helped K-State to a fifth-place national finish at the VENC with a perfect 4-0 mark. She was also voted a team captain prior to the start of the season.

During the 2007-08 season, Hallan finished with a 4-1 overall record in the Reining category and garnered an MVP honor against Fresno State. At the VENC, registered a 3-1 record.

Hallan graduated in the spring of 2010 with a degree in social science with an emphasis in pyschology of personality