Hunt seat riding competes in chilly Tournament of Champions at Savannah

Mount Holyoke placed 11th at an unusually chilly Winter Classic Tournament of Champions at Savannah College of Art & Design on Jan. 25, 2025.
Mount Holyoke placed 11th at an unusually chilly Winter Classic Tournament of Champions at Savannah College of Art & Design on Jan. 25, 2025.

HARDEEVILLE, S.C. -- The Winter Classic Tournament of Champions hosted by the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) lived up to its name this year with unusually wintry conditions, making the Mount Holyoke hunt seat riding team's annual trip there particularly memorable.

The show got off to a late start Saturday morning as the region contended with snow and ice, in contrast to 80-degree temperatures there just a year earlier.

The Lyons' eight-rider contingent was led off by senior Cate Bates (Montclair, N.J.) in the first class of the day, Open Fences. She rode a horse named Al to finish in fourth place. Sophomore Eliza Mutz (Stanford, Calif.) was next, riding Bayard in Intermediate Fences to seventh place. Then Bates returned to the ring for Open Flat on Camaro V and took home another fourth-place ribbon.

Senior Camille Cheng (Goleta, Calif.) then rode Smile in Section A of the High Medal, and Bates rode Bettina in Section C. The Medal classes are a special format not found in regular season IHSA competition. Riders compete in heats of flat classes, with a group of riders then called back to compete in an over fences phase.

After the High Medal flats, Mutz returned to the ring for Intermediate flat. She rode Camaro V, finishing in sixth place.

Callbacks for the High Medal were then announced, and Bates rode Kolder in the over fences portion. The results would be announced at the end of the day.

After a schooling & drag break, first-year Emi Graf (Belmont, Mass.) entered the ring in Limit Fences. Graf rode Calvin and earned a fifth-place ribbon. Next, junior Megan Bliamptis (Lexington, Mass.) rode Lance to a third-place finish in Intro flat.

First-year Alyssa Martinsen (Arlington Heights, Ill.) was in the ring next. She rode Camiro in Section C of the Low Medal flat phase. Finally, junior Kate Smith (Wells, Vt.) rode Jojo in Limit flat to finish third.

First-year Bessie Huggins (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) rode KK in Novice flat and won 5th place!

The results of the High Medal were announced, and Bates finished seventh out of 18.

SCAD's two teams placed as champion and reserve champion in the full team results, with 50 points each, with Purdue University third with 36 points. Mount Holyoke College finished as a team with 19 points, which was good for 11th place.

Mount Holyoke's next show will be hosted by Worcester State on Feb. 22.

-- Reporting by Cate Bates