HADLEY, Mass. – It was an outstanding end to the regular season on Saturday for the Mount Holyoke College riding team as the Lyons bested the other seven teams in its region to take top honors. MHC was led by a number of outstanding performances, including several regional qualifying rides.
In open fences, first year Grace Tice and junior captain Bridget Finnerty went 1-2 to start the day.
Junior Allee Platanitis and senior Suyin Taunton followed suit and also went 1-2 in the first intermediate fences section. In the second section, first year Rachael Fulop won the class and sophomore Maddy Skrak was third.
Rookie Lily DeBenedictis had a beautiful blue ribbon ride in the first section of novice fences, while junior Sarah Felman took second in the second section with sophomore Haley Lamoureaux placing fourth in the final section.
After the alumni classes, open flat led us into the second half of the show. Finnerty and Tice were first and second, respectively. This win clinched the Cacchione title for Finnerty who will head to Nationals as the Zone 1, Region 3 High Point Rider.
In the second section of open flat, Skrak won, while junior Cam Carter finished third. Sophomore Emily Holowczak won her intermediate flat class, while senior Genevieve Couldwell and Felman placed first and fifth, respectively, in the following class.
Senior Callie Schultz and Taunton then placed third and first in their respective sections of novice flat as Taunton's performance qualified her for regionals.
In beginner walk-trot-canter, first year Tess Ahlers took home the blue ribbon, while in the advanced section, sophomore Morgan Brachfeld was sixth and junior Liana Ghiron was reserve.
The walk-trot ended the day as sophomores Wendy Ho and Regina Ye placed first and third, respectively. Junior Katia Kiefaber and first year Nina Luo were first and fourth in the final class.
Finnerty and Taunton rode off against each other for the high point rider title, which Finnerty claimed. Taunton was named the Reserve High Point Rider.
MHC once again led the field of teams, besting UMass by a 17-point margin.
Overall Team Results:
Mount Holyoke 44
UMass Amherst 27
Smith 24
Westfield State 21
Amherst 14
Springfield 13
Hampshire 5
Bennington 3
The Lyons return to action next weekend when they compete at Regionals Join us next weekend for Regionals at Biscuit Hill Farm in Shelburne Falls on Saturday. All of the individual qualifiers are competing for a spot at the Zone 1 Championships on April 9 at the MHC Equestrian Center.
Release and photo courtesy of the Mount Holyoke Riding Team.
