SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College hunt seat riding team enjoyed a near-perfect first home show of the fall season on Saturday, finishing only two points shy of a perfect score to take first place among 10 teams.
The day started with Open Flat. Seniors Hallie Phillips (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and Lili Evans (Groton, Mass.) both rode beautifully, placing first and third. Then in Intermediate Flat, sophomore Alyssa Martinsen (Arlington Heights, Ill.) rode in the first section, earning a first place ribbon. In Section B, sophomore Emi Graf (Belmont, Mass.) earned a second place ribbon in her Intermediate debut.
Back to the regular schedule, Phillips rode in Open Fences and earned another first place. In the first section of Intermediate Fences, junior Carly Bitler (Seymour, Ill.) placed fourth, and Graf placed second. In Section B, junior Eliza Mutz (Stanford, Calif.) placed fourth, and senior captain Charlie May (Stockton, N.J.) placed fifth.
Next in the ring was Limit Fences, with junior manager Grace Neumuth (Marlborough, Cobnn.) placing second in the first section. In Section B, sophomore Bessie Huggins (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) earned a third in her Limit debut, and senior Kate Smith (Wells, Vt.) placed sixth. In Section C, first year Sophia Bull (Lumberton, N.J.) placed first, and in Section D, Martinsen placed fourth.
After flat schooling, Intro was the first division back into the ring. In the first section, junior Kenny Yang (Jiangsu, China) won first place. Junior Milly Chen (Nanjing, China) placed fourth and senior Lia Liang (Beijing, China) placed first in their respective sections.
Bitler went back into the ring to start the Limit Flat division, placing second. After that Neumuth placed first, and first-year Haoshun Sparks (Philadelphia, Pa.) placed sixth in her Limit Flat debut. Bull placed second, Smith first, and May first.
Two more divisions remained. First in the ring for the Novice division was junior Lainey Nibbio (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) placing sixth and qualifying for Regionals. Then, in Section B, first-year Maddie Bradley-Burns (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) rode in her IHSA debut and earned second place. Junior Sabella Riccio (Jersey City, N.J.) placed fourth, and junior Christine Niu (East Windsor, N.J.) placed second.
Finishing the day for classes was Pre-Novice. In Section A, sophomore Cloe Hinck (Norwich, Vt.) placed first, and in Section B, junior Maria Ma (Jinan, China) placed third.
After classes went, Phillips returned to the ring for a ride-off for High Point Rider.
Mount Holyoke next competes at the Trinity College Show on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Folly Farm in Simsbury, Conn.
Final Team Results
1) Mount Holyoke College - 47 points
2) University of Massachusetts - 37 points
3) Bentley University - 27 points
4) Amherst College - 21 points
5) Trinity College - 14 points
6) Worcester State University - 13 points
7) Springfield College - 10 points
8) Smith College & Worcester Polytechnic Institute tie - 7 points
10) Williams College - 6 points
-- Reporting by Grace Neumuth
