HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 2, 2013) - Led by a first-place ride from sophomore Abby Raucher, the Mount Holyoke College equestrian team had an outstanding first day of action at the 2013 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships, hosted at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. After day one, the Lyons find themselves in a tie for third overall.
St. Lawrence University, the 2012 IHSA Champion, leads the field after the first day of action with 14 points. Skidmore College is second with 10 points, while Mount Holyoke and Goucher College are third with seven points.
Raucher (Easthampton, Mass./Easthampton) won her first individual National title with an outstanding ride in Individual Novice Fences. She outpaced nine other riders in her class for the victory.
Other outstanding efforts came in Novice Flat as the Lyons had two riders in the class. Seniors Morgan Cooley (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth South) and Clara Tate (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) both performed solid on the day as Tate took home fourth and Cooley was fifth.
Cooley also competed in the Collegiate Cup Intermediate Flat class, taking home third overall. In the Intermediate Open Fences, junior Felicia Harrsch (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) was fifth in her class, while sophomore Jessica Murray (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) was sixth in Collegiate Cup Novice Fences.
Rounding out the performances on day one was sophomore Madeline Shortt (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene), who was fifth in the Collegiate Cup Novice Flat.
Action at this year's Nationals continues on Friday and runs through Sunday.
