SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College equestrian team, along with six other schools, braved the frigid temperatures on Saturday morning as the Lyons hosted their home show at the Equestrian Center. MHC once again bested the competition to win the show at home by a nine-point margin over UMass.
Leading the day in Open Fences, first year Bridget Finnerty and senior Lexie Lohrer won their sections, with seniors Nell Maynard and Ella Pittman and junior Maura Zaldonis placing second, junior Heather Zadra third, senior Felicia Harrsch and first year Emily Allard sixth, and junior Hannah Thornton and senior Flynn Vickowksi seventh.
In Intermediate Fences, juniors Claire Herlin and Jess Murray each placed second and junior Erinn Lew was fourth. The Lyons won three out of four Novice Fences classes, with junior Laura Von der Porten, first year Sarah Felman, and sophomore Suyin Taunton each winning their sections. Senior Ruby Rodell was second, sophomore Colbie Chinowsky and first year Cam Carter were third, and senior Emily Murch sixth in her Hunt Seat IHSA debut.
Moving on to the flat classes, the Lyons again won three of four sections, this time in Open Flat. Finnerty, Harrsch, and Lohrer won their sections, Maynard was second, Zaldonis and Pittman third, Vickowski and Herlin were fourth, while Thornton and junior Abby Raucher 6th.
In a large Walk-Trot-Canter class, senior Robin Barson placed fourth while first year Emma Blades was seventh. In the Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter sections, first-year Liana Ghiron won, while sophomore Jordan Lassonde was second, sophomore Maneh Kotikian and first year Regina Brecha both third, and junior Callie Calder and first year Callie Schultz finished fourth. Brecha and Schultz were riding in their IHSA debuts.
Intermediate Flat followed, with both sections won by the Lyons; Carter and sophomore Genevieve Couldwell claimed top honors while Allard received fifth place. Next came Novice Flat, where Chinowsky and Von der Porten each won their sections, Lew and Rodell placed third, and Murch received fifth overall. In the last division of the day, Walk-Trot, senior Mia Landsbergis placed fourth while junior Ruxin Jia and first year Flora Fei each finished fifth place.
Three Mount Holyoke riders won both their flat and jumping sections resulting in a ride-off, where Finnerty received High Point honors and Lohrer was Reserve High Point Rider. Von der Porten, the third rider in the ride-off, was name Novice High Point Rider. In addition, Ghiron and Kotikian moved into Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter with their rides today.
In the break between flat and jumping Mount Holyoke College honored its senior equestrians, including Robin Barson, Catherine Geeslin, Felicia Harrsch, Mia Landsbergis, Lexie Lohrer, Nell Maynard, Emily Murch, Ella Pittman, Ruby Rodell, and Flynn Vickowski.
The final college placing's are:
High Point College - Mount Holyoke College, 44 points
Reserve High Point College - University of Massachusetts, 35 points
3rd Place - Smith College, 33 points
4th Place - Amherst College, 20 points
5th Place - Westfield State University, 19 points
6th Place - Springfield College, 17 points
7th Place - Williams College, 9 points
The final regular season show of 2013-2014 takes place next Saturday, March 8th, again at UMass.
Show story courtesy of Anne Waldo, Mount Holyoke Equestrian rider. Photos courtesy of the MHC Equestrian team.
