Riding Finishes With Share of High Point College Title at Muddy Brook Show

Recap courtesy of senior and manager Sierra Dunn '22

Amherst, Mass. - October 3, 2021 - On Saturday, the Mount Holyoke riding team competed in the first show of the semester at Muddy Brook Farm in Amherst, Mass., hosted by the Smith College riding team. The Lyons won 15 of the show's 20 classes and finished the day strong with 36 points overall, tying with UMass for the High Point College title.

Senior and captain Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.) started the day strong, placing second in Open Fences. Up next were two sections of Intermediate Fences. In the first section, seniors Kristina Lester (West Suffield, Conn.) and Tori Fletcher (Branford, Conn.) had beautiful trips over fences, with Lester placing first and Fletcher unfortunately going off course to be eliminated. Senior and manager Sierra Dunn (Florence, Mass.) and first year Camille Cheng (Goleta, Calif.) followed in the next section, where Cheng made her IHSA debut. Each of them had stunning rounds, finishing in first and second, respectively.

The ring then moved onto Limit Fences with four sections, the first of which saw junior Claire Williams (Zionsville, Ind.), sophomore Madigan Stichter (Easton, Conn.), and first year Lila McDougall (Shirley, Mass.) deliver gorgeous trips over fences. Stichter and McDougall made their IHSA debuts, placing first and sixth, while Williams placed fourth. In the second section, junior Shemica Adenwalla (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), junior and assistant manager Acadia Ferrero-Lampron (Denver, Colo.), and sophomore Brenna Donovan (Andover, Mass.) also had outstanding rides, placing sixth, fourth, and fifth respectively, with Donovan making her IHSA debut. Senior Kristina Honour (Lake Forest, Ill.), junior Johanna Sullivan (Groton, Mass.), and sophomore Emmie Mirarchi (Harvard, Mass.) entered the ring for the third section of Limit Fences, putting in strong rides. Honour placed fourth, Sullivan placed fifth, and Mirarchi made her IHSA debut, placing just out of the ribbons. In the final section, senior Hannah Brown (Portland, Ore.) and sophomore Hayley Halloran (Lewes, Del.) had beautiful rides, placing third and first respectively as Halloran made her IHSA debut.

Next in the ring were Alumni Fences and Flat. Mount Holyoke alums Emma Recchi '19 and Maya Brody '20 showed stunning rides in both classes. Over fences, Recchi placed second and Brody placed third. On the flat, Brody earned third and Recchi earned fourth.

The show then moved into the flat section of the day. Hearn returned to the ring in Open Flat with a stunning ride to win the class. This was followed by two of the five sections of Limit Flat. In the first section, Brown and Donovan returned with beautiful rides to take first and second. In the second section, Lester and Adenwalla entered the ring again with lovely rides, finishing second and fourth. Next in the ring was Intermediate Flat, where seniors Dunn and Honour returned to the ring, placing first and third respectively. Three more sections of Limit Flat followed. Sullivan and Mirarchi returned to the arena in the next class, demonstrating strong rides to finish first and fourth. The next section of Limit Flat saw Fletcher and Ferrero-Lampron return to the ring, placing first and third with stunning rides. In the final section of Limit Flat, Stichter and McDougall had beautiful rides, placing third and first respectively.

Next in the arena was Introductory, where senior Hope Coss (Shoreline, Wash.), junior Shannon Feng (Beijing, China), and junior Azuna Sawada (Kawasaki, Japan) had absolutely stunning rides. Feng and Coss made their IHSA debuts, placing second and third, while Sawada placed fifth. Three sections of Novice Flat followed. In the first section, junior Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.) and first year Madison Hurley (Portland, Maine) had lovely rides. Adolf placed fifth, and Hurley won in her IHSA debut. Sophomore Abby Candela (Maynard, Mass.) and first year Mara Downie (Holyoke, Mass.) made their IHSA debuts in the next section with fantastic rides, earning fourth and first respectively. The final section of Novice Flat saw sophomores Sunita Pearson-Siegel (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Chloe McElveen (Ridgeland, S.C.) make their IHSA debuts with stunning rides, placing first and fourth.

Wrapping up the day were two sections of Pre-Novice Flat. In the first section, junior Daniela Fraser (Vero Beach, Fla.) had a strong ride, finishing in first place. The ring saw another blue ribbon from junior Rachel Banister (San Diego, Calif.) who rode wonderfully in the last class of the day.

At the end of the day, Hearn and Lester were called back for additional testing before Hearn was announced Reserve Overall High Point Rider of the day. Brown and Stichter competed in a quiz bowl on IHSA rules, which determined that Stichter was Reserve Limit High Point Rider of the day. Dunn was awarded Overall High Point Rider of the day as well as Intermediate High Point Rider of the day.

Overall, MHC Lyons finished the day with 36 points, tying for the High Point College title.

The team will return to action in two weeks, on Saturday October 16th, at Bonnie Lea Farm for the Williams College show.

Overall College Results: