GREENFIELD, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College Riding team returned to action on Saturday, posting an outstanding effort at the Smith College Show. The event, which was held at Stoneleigh Burnham, saw the Lyons finish the day with 47 points, just two points shy of a perfect score. MHC now owns a 30 point lead in the Regional standings.
Action began with two sections of open fences. The first section saw strong rides from senior Maddy Skrak and sophomore Franny Eremeeva for first and fourth, respectively. In the second section, senior Mollie Kowalchik put in another outstanding ride to post first.
Intermediate fences entered the ring next in two sections. The first section saw a strong ride from senior Taryn Isenburg for a second place finish. In the second section, first year Sara Hearn and senior Anna Rzchowski both put in nice rounds for first and fourth, respectively.
Open flat headed into the ring next during a brief break from the over fences classes. In the first of two splits, Eremeeva and Skrak returned to the ring to deliver outstanding rides, finishing one-two. The second section saw an equally strong ride from Kowalchik for third.
Rzchowski and Isenburg headed back into the ring next in the first of two intermediate flat classes. Both delivered solid rides to finish in second and third, respectively. The second section saw a beautiful ride from junior Emma Recchi for the win.
Jumping classes resumed with a few sections of novice fences. In the first split, sophomore Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar laid down a solid trip for second place. Senior Sabrina Fox entered the ring next for the final split, where she put in an amazing ride for first.
Fences classes wrapped up with the Alumni Division, in which Mount Holyoke's assistant coach, Tara Mathews, had a brilliant ride for first place. She later went on to capture first in alumni flat.
Novice riders returned to the ring next to continue the flat classes for the day. In the first of four splits, senior Avery Hanlon had a great ride for third place. The second section saw an outstanding ride from first year Ellie Hansen for the blue. In the third section, Hearn returned to the ring with another lovely ride for first. The division wrapped up with an equally amazing ride from first year Libby Sams for another win.
The day's action began to conclude with walk-trot-canter division. In the first advanced section, first year Sinead O'Sullivan had a beautiful ride for first. In the second section, sophomore Maya Brody rode well on a tough draw to unfortunately finish out of the ribbons. Beginner walk-trot-canter entered the ring next in two sections. The first section saw solid riding from first year Sabrina Talir for the blue ribbon. The final section saw another stellar ride from first year Nora Cyra to finish third.
Walk-Trot wrapped up the day in two sections. The first section saw a great ride from sophomore Sesil Lee for a fifth place finish. In the second section, sophomores Hanye Chen and Wenjie Li put in lovely rides to finish first and fourth, respectively.
With her two blue ribbon finishes from the day, Hearn was named overall high point rider. Skrak was called back to the ring for a ride off for the reserve high point rider award, a title that she secured. Additionally, Isenburg was named reserve high point intermediate rider.
Team standings:
Mount Holyoke College- 47
UMass Amherst-33
Smith College- 25
Williams College-24
Bennington College-15
Hampshire College- 15
Westfield State University- 15
Amherst College-5
The Lyons return to action next Saturday, competing at the Amherst College Show, hosted at Biscuit Hill Farm.
Show release courtesy of Taryn Isenburg. Photo courtesy of MHC Riding.
