WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Junior Emmie Mirarchi was named Overall High Point Rider of the day as the Mount Holyoke College riding team edged UMass-Amherst for the High Point College title by one point at the Williams College Show on Saturday at Bonnie Lea Farm.
The Lyons saw a lot of exciting IHSA debuts on the day, and finished with 39 points, winning the High Point College title by one over UMass-Amherst (38), with Amherst College placing third (33).
The day started with Open Fences, with sophomore Helena Weiss (Clifton, N.J.) and first-year Olivia Simon (Sacramento, Calif.) making their IHSA debuts, and senior Georgia Fish (Baltimore, Md.) delivering stunning rides over fences. After additional testing, Weiss placed first with Simon and Fish placing third and fourth, respectively.
In the next class, first-year Hallie Phillips (Santa Rosa, Calif.), in their IHSA debut, and senior Caroline Sullivan (Groton, Mass.) rode beautifully over fences to place second and fifth respectively in Intermediate Fences.
Up next were three sections of Limit Fences, the first of which saw senior Rachel Banister (San Diego, Calif.), sophomore Cate Bates (Montclair, N.J.), and senior and manager Acadia Ferrero-Lampron (Denver, Colo.) deliver gorgeous trips over fences. Bates made her IHSA debut, placing second, and Banister debuted over fences, placing fourth, with Ferrero-Lampron finishing outside the ribbons. In the second section, seniors Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.), Johanna Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.), and Marlene Healey (Coventry, Conn.) had outstanding rides, with Adolf and Sullivan placing third and fifth, and Healey made her debut over fences, placing just out of the ribbons. In the final section, Mirarchi (Harvard, Mass.) and senior Daniela Fraser (Vero Beach, Fla.) put in strong rides with Mirarchi placing fifth and Fraser, making her own debut over fences, placing just outside the ribbons.
The show then moved into the flat section of the day. Weiss and Simon returned to the ring in Open Flat with stunning rides taking third and fourth place after additional testing. This was followed by a section of Intermediate Flat, where seniors Georgia Fish and Johanna Sullivan returned with beautiful rides to take third and fourth. Next in the ring were two sections of Limit Flat. The first saw seniors Caroline Sullivan and Ferrero-Lampron enter the ring again, finishing fifth and sixth. In the second section, Mirarchi and Bates returned with gorgeous rides to place first and fourth.
Two sections of Introductory followed, where junior Astrid Zhao (Beijing, China) delivered a stunning ride to place second in the first section and junior Kerina Li (Guangzhou, China) had a lovely ride to place first in the second section. Next in the arena, first-year Kate Smith (Wells, Vt.) made their IHSA debut with a fantastic ride to earn second place in Pre-Novice Flat.
Wrapping up the day were two sections of Novice Flat. In the first, first-year Emma Cantalupo (Candia, N.H.) and sophomore Maddie Hurley (Portland, Maine) both rode wonderfully, with Cantalupo finishing second in her IHSA debut and Hurley finishing third. Finally, junior Chloe McElveen (Ridgeland, S.C.) put down a strong ride to finish first place in the last class of the day.
At the end of the day, Mirarchi was called back for additional testing before being announced Overall High Point Rider of the day. Mirarchi competed in a quiz bowl on IHSA rules to earn Limit High Point Rider as well. She also qualified for Regionals in Limit Flat in the spring.
Overall College Results:
Mount Holyoke - 39 points
UMass Amherst - 38 points
Amherst College- 33 points
Worcester Polytechnic Institute - 14 points
Williams College- 10 points
Smith College - 8 points
Mount Holyoke will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 22 at Muddy Brook Farm for the UMass College show.
-- Reporting by Acadia Ferrero-Lampron '23
