WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College riding team was back in action on Saturday, posting victory in their second regular season show of the year at the Williams College Show. The Lyons compiled 38 points to take High Point Collegiate honors amidst wet and chilly weather.
The first class of the day was Open Fences as seniors Rachael Fulop and Emma Recchi both had stunning rides to earn second and third, respectively. Next in the ring was sophomore Sara Hearn and seniors Daisy Sears and Lily DeBenedictis in Intermediate Fences, who rode beautifully despite the rain to take first, fifth, and reserve, respectively.
Next up was four sections of Novice over Fences. The first section saw first years Faith Wang and Sierra Dunn have strong rides to finish in second and third, respectively. In the second section, first year Ana Earle and sophomore Libby Sams had lovely rides to earn second and fourth, respectively. Next were first year Piper Lacy and senior Jordan Green, who posted first and fifth, respectively. Finally, in the last section, junior Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar had a stunning trip for first place.
Following the ring was Alumni Fences, where Tara Mathews, a UConn grad and Lyons assistant coach, won the class. She also finished Alumni Flat in first place.
Moving on to flat classes, sophomore Charcy Fan had a beautiful ride in the first section of Walk-Trot to earn a blue. In the second section of Walk-Trot, sophomore Christine Xiao made her IHSA debut and finished second.
Intermediate Flat moved into the ring next as Rapinchuk-Souccar and DeBenedictis returned to the ring and delivered stunning rides to finish one-two.
In the second half of the Walk-Trot sections, senior Jessica Feng placed first, while the final section saw junior Honami Tanaka made a lovely ride for another blue.
Next was half of a large Novice Flat division. In the first section, first year Kristina Lester and Green rode beautifully to finish first and third, respectively. Lacy and Hearn returned to the ring for the second section of Novice Flat and had strong rides to end in second and third places, respectively.
Before the second half of Novice Flat division, riders in Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter competed in the ring. Junior Sesil Lee was in the first section, posting third in a solid ride. First year Hannah Brown was next, and she had a lovely ride to finish fourth. This show also marked Hannah's IHSA debut.
The ring then returned to the second half of Novice Flat as Fulop delivered a strong ride for third. In the last section, Sams returned to the ring to give another strong ride for second.
First year Anya Benson continued the day's action by opening the first of three Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter classes with her IHSA debut. She put in a lovely ride for first place. The second section saw junior Abby Watkins deliver a solid ride to finish second, while sophomore Lu Jefwa wrapped up the Walk-Trot-Canter sections with another lovely ride to end in fifth.
The last class in the ring was Open Flat as Recchi and Sears put in stunning rides for third and fourth.
At the end of the day, Rapinchuk-Souccar was called back to the ring for additional testing for the High Point Rider award. She had an amazing ride to end up earning the overall High Point Rider title, while also taking Reserve Intermediate Rider. Additionally, Lacy was named Reserve Novice High Point Rider.
Mount Holyoke finished the day with 38 points to win the High Point College award. UMass Amherst followed with 30 points.
The following riders qualified for regionals in the spring:
Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar - Novice Fences
Honami Tanaka - Walk-Trot
Overall Team Results:
Mount Holyoke - 38 points
UMass Amherst - 30 points
Williams - 26 points
Worcester State - 21 points
Westfield - 15 points
Smith - 12 points
Hampshire - 10 points
Amherst - 10 points
Bennington - 5 points
Mount Holyoke is back in action on Saturday, October 27 when it hosts the first of its two regular season fall home shows at the MHC Equestrian Center at 9am.
