Recap Courtesy of Sierra Dunn '22
Berlin, Mass. - March 6, 2022 - The Mount Holyoke College Hunt Seat team had their second show of the regular spring season at Maplewood Farm, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The team had a great show, securing the High Point College title.
Seniors Kristina Lester (West Suffield, Conn.) and captain Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.) started off the day in Open Fences with strong rides, earning first and third place respectively.
Senior Tori Fletcher (Branford, Conn.) and first-year Camille Cheng (Goleta, Calif.) were next up in Intermediate Fences, where they both had standout performances, finishing in fourth and sixth places respectively, in a large class.
Three sections of Limit Fences followed, the first of which saw junior Shemica Adenwalla (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), sophomore Brenna Donovan (Andover, Mass.), and first-year and assistant manager Acadia Ferrero-Lampron (Denver, Colo.) put in stunning trips over fences to finish in third, fifth, and sixth respectively. In the second section, junior Caroline Sullivan (Groton, Mass.) and first-year Lila McDougall (Shirley, Mass.) had strong rides to take second and third for Mount Holyoke. In the final section of the division, sophomore Claire Williams (Zionsville, Ind.), first-year Olivia Lindo, and junior Johanna Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) had beautiful rides in a large class. Williams took the blue ribbon for the Lyons, Lindo placed third in her IHSA debut, and Sullivan finished in sixth. This concluded the jumping phase of the show.
After a short schooling break, the ring moved on to the flat section of the day. First up was Open, which saw Hearn return to the ring for a first place finish.
Next up was Intermediate Flat with two sections. The first section saw Lester return to the ring along with senior Kristina Honour (Lake Forest, Ill.), to deliver stunning rides for a one-two finish. In the second section, junior Georgia Fish (Baltimore, Md.) had a solid ride, securing another blue ribbon for Mount Holyoke.
Shortly after, four sections of Limit Flat followed. In the first section, junior Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.) had a beautiful ride, finishing in third place. Up next Johanna Sullivan returned to the ring, demonstrating a strong ride to earn third place. After a short schooling break, the show returned with the final two sections of Limit Flat. Next up, Fletcher returned to the ring with sophomore Hayley Halloran (Lewes, Del.), to finish in second and fourth respectively. The last section of the division saw Lindo return to the ring with a beautiful ride for a second-place finish.
Two classes of the Introductory division followed. Juniors Xike Zhao and Kelly Li rode in the first section. They had lovely rides, with Zhao finishing second and Li placing third in her IHSA debut. In the second section, sophomore Blair Yuk (Northvale, N.J.) and senior Heidy Duan had stunning rides for a one-two finish.
Following the ring we saw a few splits of the Novice division. In the first split, first-year Madison Hurley (Portland, Maine) and Yixuan He (Nanjing, China) delivered wonderful rides to finish in first and fourth respectively. The next section saw sophomore Elliott Candela (Maynard, Mass.) place second in their class with a stunning ride. In the final section of Novice, junior Rachel Banister (San Diego, Calif.) had a gorgeous ride to win her class.
The day wrapped up with two sections of the Pre-Novice division. In the first section, first-year Dekyi Deji (Beijing, China) had a beautiful ride to finish in second place. In the final section, sophomore Anno Kostava (Tbilisi, Georgia) had a lovely ride to take the blue ribbon for Mount Holyoke.
At the end of the day, Lester was called back for additional testing for the overall High Point Champion title. After a series of testing on the flat, Lester was announced Reserve High Point Rider of the day. Overall, Mount Holyoke College ended the day with 41 points, securing the High Point College title.
Final Team Results:
1st: Mount Holyoke College - 41 points
2nd: UMass Amherst - 39 points
3rd: Worcester State University - 28 points
4th: Worcester Polytechnic Institute - 22 points
5th: Smith College - 17 points
6th: Amherst College - 14 points
Congratulations to the following riders for qualifying for regionals today:
Xike Zhao - Introductory
Johanna Sullivan - Limit Flat
Tori Fletcher - Intermediate Fences
The Mount Holyoke hunt seat team will continue their regular season on Sunday, March 20 at the Hadley Farm hosted by University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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