Recap courtesy of Sierra Dunn '22

South Hadley, Mass. - April 9, 2022 - On Saturday, the Mount Holyoke College hunter seat team competed against four other colleges each representing their region at Zone I Championship Finals. The team saw 10 riders compete in eight collegiate classes and seven individual classes. At the end of the day, Mount Holyoke was named the Zone 1 Collegiate Champion with 48 points, and the team will progress on to Nationals.

The day started with Individual Open Fences, in which captain Sara Hearn (Tallahassee, Fla.) had a beautiful round. After being called back for additional testing, Hearn was announced the winner of the class, securing a spot at Nationals. Hearn then returned to the ring for the next class, Collegiate Open Fences, where she delivered another stunning trip. After some additional testing over a shortened course, Hearn was again announced first place, this time earning the first blue ribbon for the MHC team. 

Next in the ring was the Zone I High Point class. In this class, the high point rider from each region in Zone I was invited for a jumping and a flat phase to compete for three spots to participate in the Cacchione Cup at Nationals. Hearn, representing Region III, had a beautiful round in the jumping phase, followed by another strong ride in the flat phase. After additional testing, Hearn was announced the winner of the class, securing a spot in the Cacchione Cup class at Nationals.

Shortly after, Georgia Fish (Baltimore, Md.) and Kristina Lester (West Suffield, Conn.) entered the ring for Individual Intermediate Fences. They both had beautiful rides, with Fish finishing in fourth and Lester finishing in sixth in a competitive class. Next in the ring was Collegiate Intermediate Fences, in which we saw manager Sierra Dunn (Florence, Mass.) deliver a lovely ride, securing another blue ribbon for the MHC team.

Collegiate Limit Fences wrapped up the jumping portion of the day for the team. Emmie Mirarchi (Harvard, Mass.) had a solid trip over fences, winning her class and earning a third win for the MHC team.

After the schooling of flat horses, the flat portion of the show opened with Individual Intermediate Flat. Dunn returned to the ring with a lovely ride. After additional testing she placed second in the class, securing a spot at Nationals. Next in the ring was Collegiate Intermediate Flat. Lester returned to the ring to deliver a stunning ride, finishing in third.

The individual classes continued with Limit Flat, which saw Lester return to the ring again. She had a lovely ride, finishing in seventh place. This class was immediately followed by Collegiate Limit Flat, which saw another gorgeous ride from Mirarchi for a second place finish.

The ring then moved on to Individual Novice Flat, which saw stunning rides from juniors Marlene Healey (Coventry, Conn.) and Kristen Adolf (Moore, S.C.). Adolf finished in seventh, while Healey finished in second place, securing a spot for herself at Nationals. Next up Madison Hurley (Portland, Maine) entered the ring, representing MHC in Collegiate Novice Flat. She delivered a lovely ride to win her class.

Our Introductory riders entered the ring next in two classes. In the individual class, Xike Zhao (Shenyang, China) rode nicely for a first place finish, securing a spot at Nationals. In the team class, Astrid Zhao (Beijing, China) also delivered a stunning ride for a third place finish.

Two classes of Open Flat wrapped up the day. Hearn returned to the ring for Collegiate Open Flat. She had a beautiful ride, and after some additional testing it was announced that she won the class. The last class of the day was Individual Open Flat. Hearn returned to the ring again and had a lovely ride, finishing in first and securing a victory for MHC.

Mount Holyoke finished the day in first place with 48 points, earning a team spot at Nationals. The University of Vermont and Sacred Heart University tied for second with 32 points. The University of Vermont won the tie breaker, so Mount Holyoke and the University of Vermont will proceed to Nationals, representing Zone I, to compete against schools from 7 other zones.

Team Results:

1. Mount Holyoke College, 48 Points

2. University of Vermont, 32 Points

3. Sacred Heart University, 32 Points

4. Boston University, 30 Points

5. University of Rhode Island, 26 Points

Mount Holyoke will resume action at Nationals on May 5-8, 2022 at Harrisburg, PA, where we will send team riders in 8 classes, along with the following individual qualifiers. Congratulations to everyone!

• Xike Zhao - Introductory

• Marlene Healey - Novice 

• Sierra Dunn - Intermediate Flat

• Sara Hearn - Open Flat, Fences, Cacchione Cup