Recap courtesy of Sierra Dunn '22
South Hadley, Mass. - November 14, 2021 - On Saturday, the Mount Holyoke hunt seat team hosted the last regular show of the semester. The team finished the day with 43 points, to earn the High Point College title.
After an early start for MHC in the morning, the show opened with the national anthem sung by our team chorus, while our EMT Bill Boyer and the lacrosse team coach Miriam Esber held the flag on horseback. Classes started with Open Fences, where the ring saw a beautiful ride from captain Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.), who placed second.
Two sections of Intermediate Fences followed. In the first section, Kristina Lester (West Suffield, Conn.) and Camille Cheng (Goleta, Calif.) had lovely rides over fences. Lester finished in fourth, and unfortunately Cheng finished just out of the ribbons. In the next section, Georgia Fish (Baltimore, Md.) and Chloe Truett (Owensboro, Ky.) both had strong rides, finishing in first and fifth, respectively.
Up next was Limit over Fences with four splits, first of which saw strong rides from assistant manager Acadia Ferrero-Lampron (Denver, Colo.) and Lila McDougall (Shirley, Mass.), who finished in second and fourth, respectively. Next up, Emmie Mirarchi (Harvard, Mass.) and Caroline Sullivan (Groton, Mass.) had stunning trips over fences to finish second and fifth respectively in their class. In the third section, the ring saw lovely rides from Kristina Honour (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Johanna Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.), where they finished in fifth and sixth, respectively. The final section saw two more beautiful trips over fences from Brenna Donovan (Andover, Mass.) and Shemica Adenwalla (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), who earned third and fourth places respectively.
After a short pause for schooling of flat horses, Hearn returned to the ring with a stunning ride in Open Flat, earning a blue ribbon in her class.
Next up was Intermediate Flat with two sections, where MHC saw two seniors return to the ring. The first section saw manager Sierra Dunn (Florence, Mass.) put in a beautiful ride, to finish second in her class. Lester returned to the ring in the next section, where she earned another blue ribbon for MHC with a lovely ride.
The ring then moved on to the first two of five sections of Limit Flat. In the first split, Mirarchi returned to the ring with a strong ride, earning a blue ribbon. The second section saw Georgia Fish return to the ring to earn another first place for MHC.
Pre-Novice was up next, splitting up the Limit Classes. Anno Kostava (Tbiliai, Georgia) entered the ring for MHC, putting in a beautiful ride to finish second in her IHSA debut.
Next in the ring were the final three sections of Limit Flat. First in the ring was Tori Fletcher (Branford, Conn.), who put in a stunning ride to finish in fifth place. Next up, Hannah Brown (Portland, Ore.) had a lovely ride to win her class. In the final section of the division, Hayley Halloran (Lewes, Del.) and Shemica Adenwalla had gorgeous rides, placing first and fourth, respectively.
Three sections of Introductory Equitation were next in the ring. Shannon Feng (Beijing, China) demonstrated a strong ride in the first class, finishing in second place. Next up, Azuna Sawada (Kawasaki, Japan) had a beautiful ride to win her class. In the final section, Francis Perkins Scholar Hope Coss (Shoreline, Wash.) and Blair Yuk (Northvale, N.J.) had lovely rides. Yuk placed second, and Coss placed first in her final show with the team.
Wrapping up the day were three sections of the Novice division. In the first section, Daniela Fraser (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Madison Hurley (Portland, Maine) had strong rides, to finish second and sixth, respectively. Sunita Pearson-Siegel (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Anna Kuffler (Glenside, Pa.) had solid rides in the next section, for a one-two finish. In the final class of the day, Rachel Banister (San Diego, Calif.) and Yixuan He (Nanjing, China) rode beautifully, to place first and fifth, respectively.
At the end of the day, Georgia Fish was called back to the ring for additional testing for the High Point Rider tie-breaker. After demonstrating the test, she was named Reserve High Point Rider of the day. Lester also competed in a quiz bowl, which she won to earn the High Point Intermediate title. Additionally, Mirarchi was named High Point Limit Rider of the day.
Mount Holyoke finished the day with 43 points, earning the High Point College title.
Congratulations to the following riders for qualifying for regionals:
- Georgia Fish: Limit Flat
- Georgia Fish: Intermediate Fences
- Kristina Lester: Intermediate Fences
- Sara Hearn: Open Fences
Final Team Results:
- MHC - 43 points
- Smith College - 31 points / Amherst College - 31 points
- UMass Amherst College - 30 points
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute - 27 points / Worcester State University - 27 points
- Springfield College - 22 points
- Bennington College - 2 points
This was second-semester senior Hope Coss's final show with the team, and we are all going to miss her. She won her class today, completing a streak of four consecutive wins to finish off her time in the IHSA.
At the end of the fall season, MHC leads Region 3 with a total of 201 points. UMass Amherst follows in second with 164 points, followed by Smith College with 119 points, Amherst College with 112 points, and Springfield College with 92 points.
MHC has the following 4 riders qualified for regionals in 7 divisions so far:
- Kristen Adolf: Novice
- Georgia Fish: Intermediate Fences, Limit Flat
- Kristina Lester: Intermediate Fences, Limit Flat
- Sara Hearn: Open Fences, Open Flat
Thank you so much to all for supporting the MHC Riding Team this semester. We will be sending a team of riders to the Tournament of Champions at Otterbein University, OH on December 4th, 2021. We will also be sending a team of riders to the Tournament of Champions at Savannah College of Art and Design, GA on January 29th, 2022.
We look forward to continuing the regular season in the spring. The Lyons will resume action on March 5, 2022 with a home show at Mount Holyoke.
Additional shows for the regular spring semester will be held on March 6th at Maplewood Farm hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute, on March 26th at Muddy Brook Farm hosted by Smith College, and on March 27th at the Hadley Farm hosted by UMass Amherst.
We hope to see you again in the spring!
