Berlin, Mass. - October 6, 2019 - Opening the 2019-20 regular season, the Mount Holyoke College riding team secured the High Point College title at the Worcester State Show at Maplewood Farm on Saturday.
The Lyons totaled 41 points on the day en route to the High Point College title, and were followed by UMass Amherst (24), Smith (26), Amherst College (25), Williams College (20), Worcester State (18), Westfield State, Hampshire College (8) and Bennington College (4).
Junior Sara Hearn (Gainesville, Fla.) earned the first blue ribbon of the day for the Lyons with a strong ride in the Open Flat, and was followed by two sections of the Intermediate Flat, in which Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar (Cummington, Mass.) took on the first section and delivered a third-place finish. In the second section, Libby Sams (Atlanta, Ga.) had a solid ride and secured another blue ribbon for Mount Holyoke College
Three sections of Limit followed the Intermediate Flat. In the first section, Marina McDonald (Northampton, Mass.) made her collegiate debut with a beautiful ride, finishing sixth overall. Up next was Katerina Alvarez (Miami, Fla.) and Sarah Etzel (Northampton, Mass.), as Alvarez finished second in her section, while Etzel took sixth. The last section saw Emy McLaughlin (Portland, Maine) take first overall.
Next was the jumping section of the day. The first class over the fences was Open, where Hearn returned to the ring to make a beautiful trip around for another first-place finish. Rapinchuk-Souccar returned as well with Tori Fletcher (Branford, Conn.) for the Intermediate Fences, where they took fourth and fifth place, respectively, in a large class.
Next was the Limit Fences section, where Sams took second overall with a standout performance in the first section, and was followed by McLaughlin and McDonald, who took first and second in the next section. Wrapping up the group was Alvarez, who secured another blue ribbon for the Lyons.
Following the ring were splits of the Novice division. In the first split, Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.) took first overall in her first collegiate competition. Next, Sinead O'Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) won her class with a stunning ride.
After a short break, Mount Holyoke College returned with the Introductory division. Senior Angela Cheng (Shanghai, China) rode in the first section and finished second overall, while Tzujung Hung (Qingdoa, China) posted a first-place finish for the Lyons.
Wrapping up the day, McLaughlin and Hearn were called back for additional testing for the overall High Point Champion Title. After a series of testing on the flat, McLaughlin was announced as the Overall High Point Rider of the day, and Hearn earned the Reserve High Point Rider title. McLaughlin and Alvarez earned the High Point and Reserve High Point Limit Rider titles. Additionally, Rapinchuk-Souccar was announced as the Reserve High Point Intermediate Rider of the day.
Overall, Mount Holyoke College finished the day with 41 points, securing the High Point College Title.
