They used to ride for these schools. From left to right are Tyler Krahling (Salisbury University), Rachael Lallier (High Point University), Amanda Kloetzli (Washington College), Nicole England-Strickland (Drexel University), Alexis Wirth (Kutztown University), Katie LaDow (University of Delaware) and Megan Mendenhall (Wilson College), each in a jovial mood during an IHSA Zone 3, Region 5 show this past November. Several of these riders have previously competed in the Alumni Tournament of Champions, the only IHSA-related event to take place each year between IHSA Nationals and the first official IHSA shows of the fall. The 2015 Alumni Touranment of Champions will take place on June 14th in Stevenson, Maryland and will include riders from both the english and western disciplines.

JUNE 14 ALUMNI TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS EVENT TO COMBINE HUNTER SEAT AND WESTERN FOR THE FIRST TIME

In July of 2012 the first show exclusive to IHSA Alumni took place at Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. This show was hunter seat only and held in about four hours time (which included a 40 minute break). 18 former IHSA riders took part, with University of Connecticut graduate (and current Trinity College coach) Amy Kriwitsky earning the first Alumni Cup as it is known as the top rider at the show.

The second annual Alumni TOC was held in June of 2013, this time at the Centenary College Equestrian Center in Long Valley, New Jersey. The show was bigger and better, with nearly 40 riders entered. This show took over five hours (including a wonderful demonstration of the product "Horse Quencher" halfway through the event), with Post University graduate Heather Johnson the Alumni Cup champion. For those who may not know much about Post University, the school is located near Waterbury, Connecticut, which meant that both of the Alumni Cup winners to that moment both graduated from schools in the state of Connecticut. Johnson was also the coach of the Post equestrian team at that time, meaning both winners were also IHSA coaches in what was called Zone 2, Region 5 at the time.

On May 18th of last year yet another IHSA coach won the Alumni Cup but this time it was not someone from the Nutmeg state. Sara Palmer, who was Sara McCoy as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware, was the latest to win among hunter seat riders. Palmer does double duty coaching both Villanova University and Valley Forge Military College in Zone 3, Region 5, and her involvement with the latter ensured that she was very much involved with the first Alumni Tourney in 2012. The May 2014 event was again at Centenary and was again made up of about 40 riders.

"Orion," a horse at the Alfred University equestrian center, waits to take Hobart & William Smith Colleges graduate Elizabeth Boghosian to a blue ribbon ride in alumni fences on February 28th. Boghosian won six of eight jumping classes (plus two seconds) over eight Zone 2, Region 1 shows in 2014-15. Her alumni flat record was also very good and thus Boghosian will be recognized as the top IHSA hunter seat alumni rider for the 2014-15 regular season at a pre-show exhibitor's party the evening before.

Turning the clock back to mid-2013, Alumni Tournament creators Lena Andrews Licata (Lehigh '04) and Jamie Mast Windle (Delaware Valley College '02) made the decision to hold two Alumni Tournament of Champions events in 2014. In August of 2014 the first-ever Western Alumni Tournament event took place at Red Wing Farm in Hilltown, Pennsylvania (for those who need a geography lesson, both Hilltown and Wayne are located in the Philadelphia suburbs). Not unlike the first hunter seat meet in '12 there were about 18 participants, with University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduate Kimberly King earning the first-ever Western Alumni Cup as the top rider at the event. To date King is the only rider who is not technically an IHSA coach at the time of her championship to win an Alumni Cup.

During the 2014 Western Alumni Tournament, Andrews Licata mentioned that the idea of holding the english and western classes together at an Alumni Tournament was being considered for as early as next summer, and that idea has become a reality.

The 2015 Alumni Tournament of Champions will take place at St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, Maryland this Sunday (June 14th; Stevenson is a suburb north of Baltimore). It is not yet clear if the English and Western Classes will alternate with each other, or if one discipline will be completed before the other begins. It is a fact that both the English and Western Classes will be held the same day at the same facility, and that the combined turnout of riders should be a new record for an alumni event. In addition to the English and Western alumni cup classes, all of the classes previously offered at ATOC events are back. There will also be a few additions to the itinerary.

While Campus Equestrian has been 'out of the ribbons' for months as far as coverage of IHSA activities goes, both Jamie and Lena (if I may use their first names) have used social media very effectively to promote the June 14 event. A Facebook page, Alumni Tournament Of Champions, has provided all the updates one might need to know as to how to register, details on who some of the top riders are/were around the country this season, and about the show itself. Perhaps the most interesting Facebook entry was on April 8th, showing on a map that alumni from schools in 15 different states were entered at that moment. A day later the Facebook page provided a link to the ATOC instagram page. Also learned from these pages are that Rutgers University graduate Lauren Blaha will be the official photographer, that "The Ride Fit Challenge" will sponser a healthy water station at St. Timothy's to keep everyone hydrated and most importantly there will be a few new classes and awards at this year's show (Note: After this story was posted we heard from University of Scranton graduate Michelle Geise, who photographs many IHSA events including Zone 3 Zones on an annual basis. Geise let us know that both herself and Blaha will be the official photographers at the Alumni TOC. Geise explained one of the reasons two photographers are needed is that two separate rings will be used, one for hunter seat and one for western. Because of this there will likely be classes going on simultaniously, but someone will be ready to take a picture at all times regardless).

Is that a Tex-Tan Saddle you have there, Kaity Arthur? The former Saginaw Valley State University rider is seen here after winning Alumni Western Horsemanship at IHSA Nationals less than two months ago. Arthur will receive the High Score ribbon as the IHSA's top western alumni rider for the 2014-15 regular season. From what we have seen on the Alumni Tournament of Champions Facebook page there will be many memorable prizes to be won on June 14th, so save room in your suitcases!

The most exciting of the new classes is one that the IHSA even put their name on: The IHSA Future Alumni Cup. Each IHSA Region may send two graduating seniors to the ATOC to compete in this division. This will essentially be the alumni debut for these riders, and hopefully these competitors will enjoy it and remain alumni regulars for years to come.

Also for the first time the top English and Western Alumni Riders during the IHSA Regular Season will be acknowledged. Andrews Licata spearheaded a movement to track all the alumni around the IHSA, determining not only who earned the most points but also who earned the most points based on their top seven regular season shows (seven shows were chosen not to penalize alumni who showed in regions where only seven shows were held versus those who competed in eight to ten as the number varies from region to region). With help from Campus Equestrian (and this writer wishes he had been of more help than he was during the 2014-15 season - Editor) it was determined that 2014 Hobart and William Smith graduate Elizabeth Boghosian was the top IHSA hunter seat rider and that 2014 Saginaw Valley State University graduate Caitlin "Kaity" Arthur was the top IHSA western rider. Both will receive a "High Score" ribbon at a separate exhibitors' party held the night before and each will be competing at the tournament for the first time. When she takes the ring Arthur will be only seven weeks removed from a first in alumni western horsemanship at IHSA Nationals on May 1st.

For those who cannot attend, the show will be streamed on the internet by UStream at the following link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/alumni-tournament-of-champions. Because of the record turnout of competitors the show is scheduled to start at 8:00AM. Will a current IHSA Coach win the hunter seat alumni cup for a fourth consecutive season? Will a former cup winner win for a second time?? All the answers will be known by Sunday night as the Alumni Tournament visits a third state in four years.

--Steve Maxwell

The 2015 Alumni Tournament of Champions will be held Sunday, June 14 at St. Timothy's School, 8400 Greenspring Avenue, Stevenson, MD 21153 at 8:00AM. The event will be made up of riders who showed in the IHSA's alumni divisions during the 2014-15 season and some recently graduated seniors who are participating in the new IHSA-sponsored Future Alumni Cup division.