College of Charleston
IHSA Nationals
CofC's Hannah Mayer Captures National Reserve Equestrian Title; CofC Finishes Sixth
5/11/2008 4:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Los Angeles, Calif. -- The College of Charleston's Hannah Mayer captured the National Reserve Title for the Cacchione Cup High Point Rider competition at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Nationals held at the Los Angeles (Calif.) Equestrian Center. This award designates Mayer as the second highest point rider in the country. Overall, the College of Charleston finished sixth with 11 points, while Kentucky claimed the top spot with 21 points.
Mayer was tied for first after Thursday's Flat Phase competition where riders performed movements called out by the judges. Mayer was in third after Friday's competition where she jumped a predetermined course of fences at the height of 2-feet, 9-inches and was judged on posture and overall unity with her horse.
On Saturday, the top 10 riders, including Mayer, were called back for additional testing. Mayer endured three stages of testing over fences that included a number of variations of a course. After finishing in second place, Mayer was called back into the ring to compete against James Faircloth of Drew University in two additional testing stages that also consisted of changing horses twice. After an exceptional performance in these three days of performing Mayer clinched the 2008 National Reserve Cacchione High Point Rider title.
Mayer qualified for Nationals after competing head-to-head with other high point riders in Zone 5 Region 3. Each of the 31 regions throughout the United States sends their high point rider to Nationals to compete for the highly prized Cacchione Cup.
Freshman Caitlin Smith won first place in the Novice Equitation Flat class on Sunday. Smith's first place finish combined with her sixth place finish in the Intermediate Over Fences on Thursday produced eight of the team's 11 overall points. Freshman Crystal Threlfall earned fourth place in the Novice Over Fences Division for the team's remaining three points.
The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association was established in 1967 and encompasses 31 Regions in 9 Zones with over 7,000 riders.
1. Kentucky (21)
2. Skidmore College; St. Lawrence; Findlay (18)
3. Centenary (NJ) (16)
4. UMass (15)
5. Brown (14)
6. College of Charleston; Berry (11)
7. Mary Washington (8)
8. Virginia Intermont (7)
9. West Virginia (6)
10. Stanford (4)
Charleston's IHSA National appearances
Year - National Competition Host (CofC finish)
1984 - Bucks County Community College (9th)
1985 - Midway College (3rd)
1986 - University of Virginia (5th)
1987 - Miami University & Purdue (4th)
1988 - St. Andrews Presbyterian (4th)
1989 - Mt. Holyoke (3rd)
1990 - St. Lawrence University (5th)
1991 - Hollins College (2nd)*
1992 - Morehead State University (6th)
1993 - Lake Erie College (5th)
1994 - Texas A&M (7th)
1996 - California State & Fresno State (7th)
1997 - Mt. Holyoke (7th)
1999 - Cazenovia College (6th)
2000 - Wesleyan College (4th)
2001 - Conyers, Ga. (3rd)
2004 - Murfreesboro, Tenn. (7th)
2005 - Findlay, Ohio (7th)
2006 - Harrisburg, Penn. (11th)
2007 - Springfield, Mass. (12th)
2008 - Los Angeles, Calif. (6th)
* - Reserve Champions
Players Mentioned
