College of Charleston
IHSA National Championships
CofC Equestrian Claims Reserve National Championship
5/5/2014 8:56:00 PM | Equestrian
HARRISBURG, Pa. – The College of Charleston equestrian team finished in second place at the 2014 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships held May 1-4 at the Farm Show Complex, earning the Cougars their third reserve championship in program history and first since 1991.
There is no bigger stage in intercollegiate equestrian than the IHSA's National Championship Horse Show held at the beginning of May each year. The IHSA has 457 member colleges and over 10,000 student-athletes participating in regional and zonal competitions throughout the year in order to qualify for the National Championship Horse Show.
Horses are brought in from across the country for the competitors to ride in their respective classes during the show. The riders select their mounts before each class through a blind draw with no allotment for schooling or warm-ups allowed on the horses. The riders are simply allowed to adjust their stirrups.
The show started for CofC riders on Thursday with sophomore Victoria Bauer riding in team Novice Fences. Bauer was 15th to go in the order out of 16 riders with the posted score to beat set at 82 before she entered the ring. The judges rewarded her flawless trip with a score of 85, which held up after the last rider jumped.
“Victoria's Novice Fences ride was probably one of the best rides I have seen at Nationals,” said head coach Bob Story. “There was no doubt after her last fence that she was going to be the class winner.”
The team was in first place after the first class, followed by Delaware Valley, SCAD, Dartmouth, Goucher, and Mt. Holyoke.
Bauer was up again for team Novice Flat and posted a great ride on a tough draw, finishing just out of the ribbons. Delaware Valley and SCAD were then tied for first place with eight points, followed by CofC and Centenary with seven.
Junior Malka Fox-Epstein was the last Cougar rider on Thursday in team Intermediate Flat. It was again another great ride on an extremely tough draw.
“Even though the competition was really tough, we had no trouble riding our best under an immense amount of pressure," said Fox-Epstein as she dismounted after her class.
The Cougars finished just out of the ribbons for the second class in a row, but still maintained a high place in the team standings. Centenary led with 14 points followed by SCAD with 12 points. Delaware Valley had 11 points followed by Charleston with seven.
Team Intermediate Fences with senior Trudy Noll representing the College started the show on Friday. A great draw and a great ride resulted in a fifth place finish for the veteran rider.
“I had an amazing time riding and bonding with my teammates and couldn't think of a better way to end my senior year!” said Noll. “The whole experience was one that I will remember forever.”
Halfway to the conclusion of the Championship Show, the points reflected Centenary out front with 21, followed by SCAD (12), Delaware Valley (11), Skidmore (11), Charleston (9), and St. Lawrence (9).
Sophomore Victoria Gonzalez saddled next for team Walk-Trot where a perfect draw and flawless ride resulted in Gonzalez championing the class.
“Victoria had a great draw and a great ride,” said Story on the win. “Victoria, on a huge stage, just went in and rode. She treated the Championship Show just like any other show. I couldn't be more proud of her!”
The blue ribbon catapulted the Cougars into a tie for second place where they were trailing Centenary and tied with SCAD.
Friday ended with freshman Julie Barton in the ring for team Walk-Trot-Canter.
“Julie had a great ride and she looked great,” said Story. “She just got trapped by other riders and really didn't get seen by the judges, which was unfortunate because she really was the one to best in that class.”
The standings at the end of Day two showed Centenary remaining out front with 23 points, followed by SCAD (21), Charleston (16), Skidmore (15), and Delaware Valley (14).
Saturday, which was set to be a dramatic day with five of the 16 teams present in contention for the National Championship, opened with junior Eliza Hay competing in team Open Fences. Previously in the competition, Hay competed individually for the Cacchione Cup, collegiate riding's highest honor, and owned a stellar ride over fences. The score, unfortunately, didn't reflect the quality of the ride.
“Eliza and I walked the course and put together a good plan for her ride on Saturday morning,” said Story. “After she drew for her horse, we talked about how she was going to ride the horse a little more aggressively and have a bit more tempo during the ride.”
The strategy paid off for Hay who went third in the order and scored an 82. The first rider in the class scored 84, followed by an 83 later in the class, resulting in a third place ribbon for Hay and four points for the Cougars in the standings.
With one class to go, the standings saw Centenary stretch its lead with four teams within a point of each other for second place.
The Cougars' fate would again rest with Hay who would ride amongst a star-studded field in the team Open Flat, the final class of the weekend.
“Eliza went in and does what Eliza does best: she managed the ring, made good passes in front of the judges and she made each pass count,” said Story. “She was mistake free; it was remarkable watching her ride the hair off of that horse!”
The ride earned Hay another third place ribbon, sufficient to leap frog CofC past SCAD and Delaware Valley where they finished second behind Centenary.
"We all had an amazing experience in Harrisburg and we did so well because we were having fun doing what we love to do,” said Barton at the conclusion of the show. “Every single girl on our team worked incredibly hard for this title and we truly earned it. Our teammates who were in back in Charleston sent us overwhelming support throughout the week and it made all the difference in the world. We were riding for each other and I could not have asked for a better way to end my first year at The College."
“It takes everyone on the team throughout the year to get us to the IHSA National Championship Horse Show,” concluded Story. “The six riders in Harrisburg were riding for their teammates back in Charleston with the goal of making them proud. I think they succeeded! The 2013-14 College of Charleston's women's equestrian team was almost bigger than the stage!”
| 2014 IHSA Nationals Standings | Points | ||
| 1. | Centenary | 31 | |
| 2. | College of Charleston | 24 | |
| 3. | Skidmore | 23 | |
| 4. | Delaware Valley | 21 | |
| SCAD | 21 | ||
| 6. | St. Lawrence | 11 | |
| 7. | Goucher | 9 | |
| 8. | Mount Holyoke | 8 | |
| St. Andrews | 8 | ||
| 10. | Purdue | 6 | |
| 11. | Miami of Ohio | 5 | |
| 12. | Dartmouth | 4 | |
| 13. | Stanford | 3 | |
| 14. | University of Wisoncon-Madison | 2 | |
| 15. | Oregon State | 0 | |
| University of Findlay | 0 |
Video Links (YouTube):
Eliza Hay in the Cacchione Cup
Eliza Hay in team Open Fences
Victoria Bauer in team Novice Fences
Trudy Noll in team Intermediate Fences
Players Mentioned
