Equestrians Qualify For IHSA National Championship

Saturday, April 1

Kimberden Farms - Ocala, Fla.

All Day

College of Charleston

IHSA Zone 5 Finals

4/2/2017 4:00:00 PM | Equestrian

OCALA, Fla. – The College of Charleston equestrian team qualified for its 26th all-time appearance at the IHSA National Championship Horse Show by way of its reserve championship finish at the IHSA Zone 5 Finals held at Kimberden Farm.

The Savannah College of Art and Design won the day with 51 points followed by The College with 37 points. LSU placed third, Berry College fourth and Vanderbilt fifth.

Both CofC and SCAD were the Top 2 finishers at the horse show and advanced to IHSA Nationals to be held on May 4-7 at The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. 9619

Junior Hannah Showell (Ocean City, Md.) started the day of competition with a fifth-place finish in Open Fences for the Cougars, while sophomore Shannon Rice (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) followed with a win in Intermediate Fences.

Freshman Molly Coyle (Davidsonville, Md.) rode to a second-place finish in Novice Fences, sophomore Sophie Meserve (Portsmouth, N.H.) third in Intermediate Flat and sophomore Mia Vawter (Goshen, Ky.) third in Novice Flat.

Freshman Elif Caynak (Fort Mill, S.C.) rode to a second-place finish in Walk/Trot followed by a winning ride by freshman Samantha Bledsoe (St. Charles, Ill.) in Walk/Trot/Canter. Sophomore Avery Jackson (Mechanicsbury, Pa.) closed out the day with a fourth-place finish in Open Flat.

Individually, none of CofC's three riders qualified for the national finals. Junior Annie Kuniansky (Atlanta, Ga.) finished fifth in Individual Intermediate Flat, Vawter fifth in Individual Novice Fences and Showell third in Individual Open Flat.

"This is the IHSA's 50th Anniversary and we are honored to be one of the 16 teams competing for the national championship," CofC Head Coach Bob Story said. "We have more work ahead of us to prepare for the elite level of competition we will see in Kentucky in May. I am really proud of our ladies and the focus they showed throughout the horse show."