GREENFIELD, Mass. - It was another outstanding effort for the Mount Holyoke College riding team, who took reserve champion honors at the Smith College Show. The Lyons compiled 41 total points behind victories in 11 different classes.
The day started with two sections of Open over Fences. Junior Franny Eremeeva who just returned from a semester abroad and senior Rachael Fulop opened action for MHC of the day, finishing second and fifth, respectively. In the second section, sophomore Sara Hearn and senior Emma Recchi had beautiful rounds for first and fourth, respectively.
Next in the ring was Intermediate over Fences split into two sections. In the first split, junior Harriet Thomson and senior Daisy Sears both made lovely trips to finish in second and fifth places, respectively. First year Tori Fletcher made her IHSA debut in the next section where she delivered a stunning round for a third place finish.
Eremeeva and Recchi returned to the ring for Open Flat. In the first section, the ring saw Eremeeva make a lovely trip for third. Recchi in the second section had a stunning ride, securing a blue ribbon.
Intermediate Flat followed in the ring, also with two sections. In the first section, Hearn returned to the ring, demonstrating a strong ride to secure another blue ribbon. The second section saw sophomore Libby Sams ride beautifully for a fifth place finish.
After a short break for schooling of novice horses, the ring moved on to four sections of Novice over Fences. In the first section, Sams returned to the ring with senior Jordan Green. They both had nice rides, Green finishing second and Sams finishing sixth. In the second section, first year Ana Earle had a great trip for a fourth-place finish. The third section saw first year Sierra Dunn deliver a stunning round securing a blue ribbon. Junior Lexi Lobdell, back from abroad, had a beautiful ride in the last section for another first place finish.
The final jumping class of the day was Alumni Over Fences, which saw MHC assistant coach and UConn graduate, Tara Mathews win her class with a strong ride.
The ring returned to a large novice division with four sections. Lobdell returned to the ring with first year Isabelle Dow, and they both had great rides, finishing in first and third places, respectively. In the second section, the ring saw Thomson return with first year Kristina Lester to post for first and third, respectively. First years Fletcher and Earle returned to the ring for the third section of Novice Flat. They both had beautiful rides and finished first and third, respectively. The final section of the division had junior Abby Watkins and Green who delivered stunning rides for first and third, respectively.
Mathews returned to the ring for Alumni Flat where she won another victory.
The ring moved on to several classes of Walk-Trot-Canter. First years Genevieve Franck and Anya Benson kicked off the Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter division with strong rides, finishing second and fourth, respectively. In the next section, junior Sarah Etzel, also back from a semester abroad, delivered a beautiful ride to secure another blue ribbon. The ring then saw junor Honami Tanaka in Beginning Walk-Trot-Canter, having a nice ride for fourth place.
The last division of the day was Walk-Trot. Sophomore Tzujung Hung made her IHSA debut with a beautiful ride, finishing in third place. In the next section, first year Crystal Yuan had a lovely ride to win the class. In the last section of the Walk-Trot division, junior Angela Cheng rode beautifully for a third place finish.
At the end of the day, Hearn and Lobdell were called back for additional testing for overall High Point Rider. After demonstrating a series of testing, Hearn was earned the overall High Point Rider title, and Lobdell was named Reserve High Point Rider of the day. Additionally, Lobdell earned the High Point Novice title.
Additionally, the following riders who qualified for regionals today:
Sarah Etzel - Walk-Trot-Canter
Harriet Thomson - Novice Flat
Emma Recchi - Open Flat
