AMHERST, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College equestrian team came within two points of a perfect score for the second time in three regular-season shows this fall on Sunday, at the second UMass-Amherst Show of the weekend at Muddy Brook Farm. Mount Holyoke's 47 points well outpaced runner-up UMass (35) for first place among 10 teams, the Lyons' third first-place finish in as many shows this fall.

Four Lyons riders took awards on Sunday, led by senior Emmie Mirarchi (Harvard, Mass.) as the High Point Rider and junior Cate Bates (Montclair, N.J.) as Reserve High Point Rider and Champion High Point Intermediate Rider of the day. Junior Elliott Candela (Maynard, Mass.) won the Reserve Novice High Point Rider title, and first-year Catherine Kazel (Madison, N.J.) took High Point Introductory honors.

Starting the day off were two sections of Open Fences classes. In the first section, we saw our junior Helena Weiss (Clifton, N.J.) score second place. In the second section, Mirarchi and junior Camille Cheng (Goleta, Calif.) placed first and third in the class. On to two Intermediate Fences classes, sophomore Hallie Phillips (Santa Rosa, Calif.) placed third and Bates scoring first in the class with a wonderful ride. The show then moved on to four sections of Limit Fences. In the first section, first-year Carly Bitler (Seymour, Ill.) and junior Madison Hurley (Portland, Maine) placed second and fifth respectively. In the second section, first-year Quinn Gilman (Honolulu, Hawaii) placed third. In the third section, first-year Eliza Mutz (Stanford, Calif.) and senior Chloe McElveen (Ridgeland, S.C.) had gorgeous rides, with Mutz placing third and McElveen placing just out of class. Wrapping up the jumping sections of the day, seniors Sunita Pearson-Siegel (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Hayley Halloran (Lewes, Del.) put down their fabulous rides, scoring first and third respectively.

The flat classes resumed after schooling. Coming back to the show ring, Mirarchi in the first section and Weiss in the second section of the Open Flat class both presented great rides, bringing home the first places of their classes.

In the Pre-Novice Flat classes, first-years Christine Niu (East Windsor, N.J.) and Lainey Nibbio (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) made their IHSA debuts, riding beautifully in the ring and both placing second in their classes.

In the Intermediate Flat class, Bates and Halloran delivered amazing rides, placing first and sixth respectively. After that were two classes of Limit Flat. In the first, Phillips took second place in a strong class. In the second section, Cheng came back with an incredible ride, placing fourth in the class.

The show then moved on to two sections of Introductory Flat classes. In the first were junior Artemis Chen (Suzhou, China) and Zhuohan Shen, who presented her IHSA debut gorgeously. They both had a great ride, bringing home second and fourth place, respectively. In the second class were Kazel and junior Amy Fujioka (Tokyo, Japan), who scored first and second in the class.

Following up next we had two more Limit Flat classes. In the third Limit Flat class, Gilman and McElveen placed second and third in a strong class. In the last Limit Flat class, Bitler came back to the ring with a gorgeous ride placing just out of class.

Finishing up the day were three classes of Novice Flat. In the first were Candela and sophomore Kate Smith (Wells, Vt.). Both had great rides, scoring first and second place. In the second class was sophomore Josie Nicholas (Cohasset, Mass.) and sophomore Nora Tripp (Westford, Mass.), who placed second and fourth in a strong class. In the last showing class of the day, first-year Grace Neumuth (Marlborough, Conn.) brought home second place.

After finishing all the classes of the day, Mirarchi and Bates returned to the ring for additional testing for the High Point Rider title.

The Lyons will host their first Mount Holyoke College Show of the year on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the MHC Equestrian Center.