The Daily O’Collegian

Leah Kuehn might not have seemed the most likely Cowgirl equestrian rider to win The Daily O’Collegian’s Athlete of the Year poll at the start of the season.

Coach Larry Sanchez said Kuehn, a sophomore reining rider, was not OSU’s most highly touted recruit, and Kuehn said she served as an alternate much of her freshman year.

Yet Kuehn put together an impressive breakout season, racking up a 10-2 record in the regular season before taking second place in the reining portion of the individual championship at Nationals.

Last week, Kuehn won the O’Collegian’s Female Athlete of the Year, then helped the Cowgirls to a fourth-place finish at Nationals over the weekend.

“I came in this season, and I just had a breakthrough,” Kuehn said. “I really just kind of had, I don’t know, a brain blast and figured the whole thing out.”

Kuehn attributed much of her success to watching other riders last year.

“I remember being at Nationals last year as an alternate, and I was watching all those girls go, and I was like, ‘What separates the really great riders from the OK riders?’” Kuehn said.

“And I just sat there and watched, and it just kinda hit me what the great riders looked like and what they did compared to what I was doing. And I really do think that had a lot to do with it.”

Kuehn has become one of those great riders herself, Sanchez said.

“She really has come to the top,” Sanchez said. “As far as attitude, she’s just incredible, and her record speaks for itself. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Sanchez said Kuehn’s work ethic has always impressed him.

“My philosophy on recruiting her was work ethic,” he said. “I saw a potential there. She definitely had what I’m looking for in a rider; I felt that she had what it took.

“To see her grow through her freshman year and get the hang of the collegiate system, then take it to a whole new level this semester, really was a dream come true for me.”

Kuehn’s teammates also helped her mature as a rider, Sanchez said.

“She’ll be the first one to tell you that we’ve got other girls on this team that are as deserving as she is of these individual honors that she’s got,” Sanchez said. “I’m just happy that she’s able to represent us.”

Kuehn agreed, saying it helped to know she had a strong team behind her.

“Of course I’m biased, but I really do think we have one of the best reining teams in the nation; we’re stacked deep,” Kuehn said. “It’s a really good feeling to know it doesn’t rely all on you, that you’re a collective group.”

That most exciting thing about Kuehn’s season, Sanchez said, is that she, like most of the team, is still young with room to improve further.

“All that, and she’s just a sophomore,” Sanchez said. “We’re very young, but they’re very good. So I’m excited over the next couple of years, we’re going to really be tough.”