Above: Mount Holyoke's six riders who competed at the Winter Classic Tournament of Champions. At right: ribbon winners Emmie Mirarchi (left) and Charlotte Subak.
HARDEEVILLE, S.C. -- The Mount Holyoke College hunt seat riding team started off the spring season with another top-10 finish out of a highly competitive field on Saturday, with the Lyons placing ninth out of 13 teams at the Winter Classic Tournament of Champions.
The show was hosted, and then won, by the Savannah College of Art and Design at the Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center. It is the third in a series of four competitions in the fall and spring that feature top equestrian teams from around the country.
Mount Holyoke scored 23 team points, good for ninth place between Purdue University (25) and Penn State (21). The SCAD Team Yellow was show champion with 50 points, trailed by the SCAD Team Black in second with 43 points. Mount Holyoke also outscored Goucher (19), Louisiana State (16) and the University of Delaware (16).
Mount Holyoke junior Emmie Mirarchi (Harvard, Mass.) took seventh place in the High Medal category, and first-year Charlotte Subak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned sixth place in Low Medal competition.
To start the day, sophomore Helena Weiss (Clifton, N.J.) entered the ring in Open fences, where she had a beautiful round, finishing just out of the ribbons. Mirarchi was next up in Intermediate Fences, and laid down a great trip to secure second place.
Mirarchi reentered the ring in Flat Section A of the High Medal division. She had a lovely ride, waited to hear for callbacks, and moved onto Intermediate Flat, where Mirarchi put down a wonderful ride to finish in fourth place. Next, Weiss reentered the ring in Open Flat and delivered a beautiful ride to finish in third place.
After a brief schooling break, sophomore Cate Bates (Montclair, N.J.) entered the ring in Limit Fences and put in a beautiful round, securing a sixth-place ribbon. Then Subak delivered a great ride in the Flat Phase of the Low Medal division and waited for callbacks.
Sophomore Maddie Hurley (Portland, Maine) entered the ring in their tournament debut and put in a tremendous ride in the Novice division to secure fifth place. Both Mirarchi and Subak were called back for the fences portion of the Medal divisions.
After the announcement, senior Kelly Li (Kungming, China) entered the ring in the Intro division and put in a tremendous round to secure sixth place. Next, Bates returned to the ring and put down a flawless ride in Limit Flat to secure the win. Subak reentered the ring in the Fences portion of the Low Medal, where she put down a spectacular round. To finish out the show, Mirarchi entered the ring for the Fences portion of the High Medal and put down a terrific round.
The Lyons will resume the spring season by hosting a Mount Holyoke College Show on March 4, beginning at 9am in the MHC Equestrian Center.
Team Standings
Champion: SCAD Team Yellow (50)
Reserve Champion: SCAD Team Black (43)
3. Sacred Heart University (32)
4. Boston University (28)
5. Stanford University (27)
6. University of South Carolina (26)
7. Skidmore College (26)
8. Purdue University (25)
9. Mount Holyoke College (23)
10. Penn State University (21)
11. Goucher College (19)
12. Louisiana State University (16)
13. University of Delaware (16)
-- Reporting by Emmie Mirarchi '24
