Kansas State sophomore Morgan Campbell will show at the prestigious Collegiate Reining Invitational at the 2008 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby, Saturday at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Okla.

 "Morgan has worked hard and ridden a lot the past few weeks to prepare for the Derby competition," western head coach Casie Williamson said. "I hope she will take everything she worked for and learned all year and apply it to this ride. We are looking forward to having nice horses to ride and really just getting to show and have a good time." 

Campbell, who compiled a record of 13-4-2 this past season in Reining, was named to a list of the top four Varsity Equestrian reining riders selected to compete on the weekend.

"I am honored to be one of four riders selected to the Varsity Equestrian program," Campbell said. "I plan to go to the Derby and lay it all out as I have worked hard all year to get here."

 The NRHA Collegiate Reining Invitational selects 12 collegiate riders each year to compete on borrowed horses. Each participant only has five minutes allotted for warm-up before heading into the show pen.

Riders selected are based on three criteria: the top four reining riders from the IHSA National Horse Show automatically qualify, the top four reining riders as selected by the Varsity Equestrian Selection Committee, and four riders are chosen based on individual NRHA accomplishments from the past two years.

The varsity equestrian selection committee, which selected Campbell as one of four participants, chooses its top four riders based on their season record, competition schedule, and number of MVP's earned along with recommendations from the judges from the Varsity Championships.

K-State's Alecia Zimbelman will also travel to the event and will serve as an alternate.