Mount Holyoke Riders Compete in Regional Championships

Riding Team at Regionals

HADLEY, Mass. (March 31, 2012) – Eighteen riders represented Mount Holyoke College today at the Zone 1, Region 3 Regional Championships at Hadley Farms. As a result of their performances at the show, a total of six Lyons qualified for next weekend's Zone 1 Championships.

In order to advance to the Zone Championships, competitors must have placed either first or second in the respective classes.

Earning first place finishes for Mount Holyoke were junior Paulina Erni (walk-trot), sophomore Felicia Harrsch (intermediate flat), sophomore Alexa Lohrer (open fences) and sophomore Flynn Vickowski (novice fences).

Sophomore Kristen Engholm (walk-trot-canter) and seniors Rebecca Hicks (novice fences | novice flat) also moved on by way of their second place results.

Senior Margaret Swanson, who had already secured High Point Rider honors for Region 3, cemented her position as High Point Open Flat Rider and Reserve High Point Open Fences Rider. She will compete in the Cacchione Class at the National Championships.

Lohrer also received a number of major awards at the competition. In addition to earning Reserve High Point Rider honors for Region 3, the sophomore was also named High Point Open Fences Rider and Reserve High Point Open Flat Rider.

Mount Holyoke will host the Zone 1 Championships next Saturday at 9:00 a.m. In addition to the Lyons, Brown University (Region 1), the University of New Hampshire (Region 2) and Stonehill College (Region 4) will by vying for a bid to the upcoming National Championships. The top two finishers at the event will advance to the event, which is slated to take place from May 3-6 in Raleigh, N.C. Additionally, the top two riders in each individual class will also move on to the National Championships.

The Lyons captured their eighth High Point title of the season two week ago in their regular season finale at Sycamore Stables. In doing so, they secured their fourth straight Zone 1, Region 3 Championship, finishing 57 points in front of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the final regional standings.