Riding Collects Second-Straight High Point Champion Title at UMass Amherst Show

Hadley, Mass. - February 29, 2020 - The Mount Holyoke College varsity hunt seat team collected its second-straight High Point Champion title at the UMass Amherst Show on Saturday, as the Lyons registered 44 points at Hadley Farm.

Next was Springfield College, which totaled 40 points on the day, just ahead of UMass Amherst (29), Worcester State (24) and Smith (23) to round out the top five.

Starting the day off, junior Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.) and senior Franny Eremeeva (Northampton, Mass.) competed in Open Fences, as Hearn emerged victorious, followed by a third-place finish from Eremeeva. Following the ring was two sections of Intermediate Fences, which featured sophomores Kristina Lester (West Suffield, Conn.) and Tori Fletcher (Branford, Conn.). Lester would eventually finish first overall while Fletcher delivered a third-place finish. Next was sophomore Sierra Dunn (Northampton, Mass.), who won the second section, followed by a fourth-place ride from Harriet Thomson (Paddington, Australia).

Up next was Limit Fences with four splits. In the first, Sarah Etzel (Northampton, Mass.) made a beautiful trip en route to a fifth-place finish, before Ana Earle (Baltimore, Md.) took fourth in the next split. In the third, Kristina Honour (Lake Forest, Ill.) posted a third-place finish, followed by Maya Brody (Weatogue, Conn.) who was fourth. First-year Caroline Sullivan (Groton, Mass.) finished things off for the Lyons, recording a third-place finish in the fourth split.

After schooling of flat horses, Hearn and Eremeeva returned to the ring for Open Flat, where they took third and fifth place, respectively, in a large and competitive class. Dunn then competed in Intermediate Flat and earned another blue ribbon for Mount Holyoke College.

Four sections of Limit Flat followed, where sophomore Hannah Brown (Portland, Ore.) produced a second-place finish, before Etzel returned to the ring in the next section to win the class with a stunning ride. Honour won the next section before first-years Georgia Fish (Baltimore, Md.) and Acadia Ferrero-Lampron (Denver, Colo.) rode in the final section with Fish posting a first-place finish, before Ferrero-Lampron took third in her IHSA debut.

Returning from a semester abroad, Sabrina Talir (Kirkwood, Mo.) was next in the ring for the first of four sections of Novice, where she laid down a beautiful ride for a second-place finish. In the next section, senior Honami Tanaka (Fukuoka City, Japan) delivered a runner-up finish. First-year Marlene Healey (Coventry, Conn.) was next, and rode to a first-place finish, before Anya Benson (Amherst, Mass.) wrapped things up with a fourth-place result.

First-year Azuna Sawada (Kawasaki, Japan) also made her IHSA debut on Saturday, and produced a lovely ride in Introductory, finishing fifth, before sophomore Crystal Yuan (Ningbo, China) won the next class to close action for the day.

At day's end, Honour was once again announced as the Reserve Limit High Point Rider after being called back for a quizbowl. Additionally, Dunn earned both Overall and Intermediate High Point Rider titles.

Overall, the team finished with an impressive 44 points, earning the High Point College Title once again.

Up next, the Lyons will return to the MHC Equestrian Center on Saturday, March 7 and will host the final show of the regular season.

Congratulations to the following riders for qualifying for regionals: