HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 26, 2011) – Led by Elizabeth Tripp, the Mount Holyoke College riding team kicked off the spring portion of its schedule with a Reserve Championship today at the University of Massachusetts Horse Show. The senior took home High Point Rider honors after claiming first place in her sections of open flat and open fences.

UMass finished as High Point Champions with 38 points. The hosts were closely followed by Mount Holyoke (35) and Westfield State University (24). Springfield College (19), Smith College (18), Amherst College (15), Hampshire College (14) and Williams College (7) made up the remainder of the field.

A total of seven Lyons earned blue ribbons. In addition to Tripp, first year Alexa Lohrer (open flat), senior Belinda Wenke (beginner walk-trot-canter), sophomore Clara Tate (novice fences), senior Katharine Henderson (novice flat), senior Lindsay Sceats (open fences) and sophomore Morgan Cooley (novice flat) also came up with wins in their respective divisions.

With their performances today, Tripp (open flat), Sceats (open fences), Tate (novice fences), senior JoJo Gutfarb (open flat), junior Hadley King (walk-trot) and sophomore Allison Walters (novice flat) each qualified for the Zone 1, Region 3 Regional Championships.

Mount Holyoke is slated to host its third show of the season next Saturday. With two shows remaining, the Lyons are 27 points in front of UMass in the regional standings. In addition, Gutfarb (1^st), Sceats (2^nd) and Tripp (3^rd) hold the top three spots in the regional Cacchione Cup standings.