South Hadley, Mass. - October 27, 2019 - The Mount Holyoke College hunt seat team competed for the first time at home on Saturday, and the Lyons claimed the High Point College Title among eight teams competing at the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center.
The Lyons produced a perfect score of 49 points on the day en route to their High Point College Title, as UMass Amherst was second with 29 points. Amherst College was third with 24, while Worcester State (22) and Springfield College (13) and Westfield State (13) rounded out the top five.
The day started with Open Fences, where junior Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.) and senior Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar (Cummington, Mass.) had fantastic rides to take first and second place overall, respectively. Next up were three sections of Intermediate Fences, Here, junior Libby Sams (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior Emy McLaughlin (Portland, Maine) made beautiful trips over the fences as Sams was able to finish first overall, followed by McLaughlin's third-place performance.
In the second section, first-year Georgia Fish (Baltimore, Md.) took first overall following a great ride, while Tori Fletcher (Branford, Conn.) finished fifth. In the final section, Harriet Thomson (Carlisle, Mass.) and Katerina Alvarez (Miami, Fla.) finished first and third, respectively, with very strong rides.
The ring then moved on to Limit Over Fences with three sections. The first section saw four impressive rides from first-year Johanna Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.), senior Sarah Etzel (Northampton, Mass.), first-year Marina McDonald (Northampton, Mass.) and first-year Sydney Cropper (Provincetown, Mass.). In the large class, Sullivan took second overall in her first collegiate competition, followed by Etzel, who finished third. McDonald took fifth, and Cropper placed just outside of the ribbons in her IHSA debut.
In the next section, first-year Sarah Luiz (Santa Fe, N.M.) was first in her collegiate debut, and sophomore Kristina Lester (West Suffield, Conn.) was fourth. Isabelle Dow (Yarmouth, Maine) would finish reserve. In the last section, sophomores Kristina Honour (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Sierra Dunn (Northampton, Mass.) were second and sixth, respectively, while Maya Brody (Weatogue, Conn.) was just outside of the ribbons.
After a short break for the Lyons, the ring moved on to the flat portion of the day. In the first of two intermediate flat sections, Sams and McLaughlin returned to the ring for outstanding rides, placing first and second overall, respectively. In the second section, Thomson and Alvarez also had stunning rides, as Thomson took fifth, and Alvarez just outside of the ribbons.
Next up was four sections of Limit Flat. In the first section, Etzel and Sullivan came back with two strong rides, taking first and second, respectively. In the second section, McDonald was first overall while Fish took fifth. Honour and Luiz competed in the next section and both put forth stunning rides, with Honour securing a first-place ribbon, followed by Luiz who took third. The last section saw Dow and Cropper take fifth and sixth overall.
Next in the ring was Open Flat, where Hearn came back and claimed a first-place finish following a strong ride. Rapinchuk-Souccar then took second in the same seciton. First-year Daniela Fraser (Vero Beach, Fla.) competed in Pre-Novice shortly after and had a beautiful ride but finished just outside of the ribbons.
The show then moved on to the Introductory with three sections. Junior Tzujung Hung (Qingdao, China) entered the ring first, earning a blue ribbon with a lovely ride. The second section saw sophomore Dorothy Wang (Jinan, China) deliver a stunning ride to post a fifth-place result in her first-ever collegiate show. In the final section, junior Luhan Wang (Nanjing, China) and sophomore Xike Zhao (Shenyang, China) put forth strong efforts, earning first and second overall, respectively.
Wrapping up the day was three sections of novice. In the first section, senior Honami Tanaka (Fukuoka City, Japan) had a lovely ride for a second-place finish, followed by Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.) and Aihua Boothroyd (Maynard, Mass.), who delivered beautiful rides, as Adolf was first and Boothroyd was fifth. In the final section, first-year Marlene Healey (Coventry, Conn.) and sophomore Anya Benson (Amherst, Mass.) wrapped up the second, as Healey was fourth, followed by Benson, who took sixth.
At the end of the day, Sams and Hearn were called back for additional testing for the High Point Rider title. After going through the test on the flat, Sams was announced as the overall High Point Rider, while Hearn won the Reserve High Point Rider title. Sams also secured the Intermediate High Point Rider Title, while McLaughlin was the Reserve Intermediate High Point. Additionally, Honour was announced Reserve High Point Limit Rider of the Day.
Up next, Mount Holyoke College will head to the UMass/Hampshire Show on Saturday, November 2.
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