Hardeeville, S.C. - January 27, 2020 - The Mount Holyoke College riding team picked up competition this semester at the Winter Tournament of Champions, hosted by Savannah College of Art and Design at the Harold W. Waranch Equestrian Center on Saturday. After a long day of impressive rides, the Lyons took fourth overall.
The day started off with the Open Equitation over Fences, where Franny Eremeeva (Northampton, Mass.) delivered a beautiful round, finishing just outside of the ribbons for Mount Holyoke College. Next, standout junior Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.) rode beautifully into first place, securing points on the board for the Lyons.
Junior captain Libby Sams (Atlanta, Ga.) was fantastic in the first section of Intermediate Equitation over Fences, as she finished sixth overall for the Lyons, while Emy McLaughlin (Portland, Maine) followed up with another great ride, taking sixth.
The morning then moved to the first flat portion of the tournament, starting with the first flat phase of the High Medal, where Hearn rode beautifully and waited for the call back announcement that would occur after all three sections finished. In the meantime, Eremeeva entered the ring for the second time and put forth a great ride that resulted in her taking fourth overall in the Open Equitation on the flat. From there, McLaughlin and Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar (Cummington, Mass.) rode in the second section of the High Medal flat phase, and produced impressive rides that resulted in the duo waiting alongside Hearn for a call back.
Sams then returned to the ring for the Lyons and delivered another lovely ride, finishing just outside of the ribbons. Following Sams was Hearn, who returned for the second section of the Open Equitation on the flat and notched a second-place finish to continue her outstanding day for the Lyons. Next up was Sierra Dunn (Northampton, Mass.), who had an impressive ride in the second round of Intermediate Equitation on the flat, placing second for the team. Lastly, Eremeeva finished off the last section of the High Medal on the flat.
After a short break for schooling, first-year Marina McDonald (Northampton, Mass.) started things off with the first section of Limit Equitation over fences. With a gorgeous ride, she received fifth place, while Kristina Honour (Lake Forest, Ill.) followed with a ride in the second section of Limit Equitation over fences, also taking fifth.
First-year Caroline Sullivan (Groton, Mass.) made her tournament debut in the first section of the Low Medal flat phase. With a wonderful ride, Sullivan waited for the other two flat phases to finish before hearing the call back for the jumping round. Next was Sinead O'Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.), who finished second overall in the Novice Equitation on the flat, before senior Sarah Etzel (Northampton, Mass.) delivered another second-place finish for Mount Holyoke College.
Also making her tournament debut was Luhan Wang (Nanjing, China) who competed in the first section of the Intro Equitation on the float. Wang rode fiercely in the ring and finished just outside of the ribbons. Etzel then returned to the ring for the second section of the Low Medal Flat phase, where she put forth an impressive effort that allowed her to join Sullivan in anticipation for the call back results.
After senior Angela Cheng (Shanghai, China) placed second in the Intro Equitation on the flat, McDonald returned to the ring for the last section of the Low Medal on the flat. Following McDonald, Hannah Brown (Portland, Ore.) also competed in her tournament debut in the second section of Limit Equitation on the flat. With a strong ride, Brown placed fifth, before first-year Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.) received third in the Novice Equitation on the flat in her tournament debut.
After the last flat class, Mount Holyoke College's McDonald and Etzel were called back for the fences phase of the low medal. Proceeding the low medal, Hearn, Rapinchuk-Souccar and Eremeeva returned for the fences phase of the High Medal.
All riders had impressive rides and placed the following:
Low Medal
- Sarah Etzel (8th Place)
- Marina McDonald (10th Place)
High Medal
- Sara Hearn (1st Place)
- Franny Eremeeva (7th Place)
- Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar (9th Place)
Top Eight Team Placings
- 1st - SCAD Bee-Power
- 2nd - SCAD Bee-Strong
- 3rd - University of Massachusetts
- 4th - Mount Holyoke College
- 5th - Goucher
- 6th - Otterbein
- 7th - Boston University
- 8th - Bridgewater College
Mount Holyoke College returns to action on Saturday, February 22 as the Lyons will travel to the Smith College Show at the Stoneleigh Burnham School in Greenfield, Mass.
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