Through the first five classes of the day riders from the Metropolitan IEA teams had four of the five blue ribbons. Olivia Moriarty (second on left) won future intermediate on the flat, Nathalie Fargo (on far right) won varsity intermediate on the flat and Samantha Swan (second on right) won both her varsity open flat and open fences classes. Head Coach Jane DaCosta (on far left) saw the upper school Metropolitan team win 38-24 over host Good Shepherd while their middle school team was fourth with 13 points on September 18th.

METROPOLITANS, COUNTRY FARMS AND HOST GOOD SHEPHERD FAIR BEST IN IEA ZONE 2, REGION 4 SEASON OPENER

Yaphank, NY - It is hard for some to believe that only one year earlier there had never been an IEA show held on Long Island or an IEA team from Long Island for that matter. On September 18th Good Shepherd Farm in Yaphank, New York hosted the IEA Zone 2, Region 4 2011-12 season opener. While St. Joseph's College of Patchogue, New York has hosted many IHSA shows at Good Shepherd, this would be the first time an IEA show (using many of the same concepts and rules of the IHSA) would take place there.

Though there may have been some pre-show tension in the air with the IEA being so new to the area, the show in fact ran more smoothly than some IHSA shows. Riders in flat classes often mounted in the ring, riders and horses entered and exited between classes in a routine fashion and even the point sheets were updated within a reasonable time following most classes.

After seven and a half hours of horse showing the point sheets revealed the Metropolitans to have easily won the upper school team competition while Country Farms was the middle school champion. In each case host Good Shepherd was reserve, finishing behind Country Farms 24-20 for middle school and 38-24 behind the Metros in upper.

Leah Uliano (on left) poses beside the Good Shepherd Farm banner along with Sheila Rodgers, who not only owns the farm but is also the Director of the St. Joseph's College riding program. Uliano was the first member of the Good Shepherd team to win on September 18th, earning a blue ribbon in varsity intermediate over fences.

The Metropolitans faired best early on, leaving the rest of the field to catch up. High School freshman Samantha Swan won both varsity open on the flat and varsity open over fences (Swan was one of a small number of riders to receive a re-ride, getting a second chance over fences). In between Swan's wins in the first and fifth classes teammates Nathalie Fargo (a freshman who won varsity intermediate on the flat) and Olivia Moriarty (a seventh grader whose win in future intermediate on the flat was the Metropolitans' only middle school blue ribbon of the day) also were first in their classes. Jack Walker, yet another high school freshman on the Metropolitans, won his first-ever over fences blue ribbon. A last-minute horse change meant Walker rode "Gus" instead of "Raja." Walker was a winner in junior novice over fences. The Metropolitans also received three red ribbons for the day. The middle school team was fourth with 13 points while the margin of victory for the upper school - 14 points - was more than four of the eight upper school teams scored overall.

Country Farms, which along with the Metropolitans was one of the first teams in the area to join the IEA last season. It was not until the seventh class of the day that Country Farms took blue ribbon honors. Lauren Garrett, a high school freshman making her IEA debut, won the second section of varsity intermediate over fences. Sophomore and teammate Monique Whitehurst was second. Earlier senior Samantha Mulhaul was second to Swan in open fences to earn Country Farms' first red ribbon of the day. Country Farms dominated the second place ribbons with six for the day, including two for freshman Olivia Anderson (Anderson was second in both of her junior varsity classes). Country Farms added four more blue ribbons, including a win for senior Kiersten Berwick in junior varsity on the flat. While the Country Farms middle school team was champion with 24 points their high school group was fourth with 18 for the day.

Laura Reimer (on far left), who runs Victory Farms, co-coaches the Country Farms team with Debbie Kowalski (not pictured). Victory Farms and Country Farms operate as one IEA team under the Country Farms name. On September 18th the Country Farms team had the top two riders in section 2B varsity intermediate over fences. Lauren Garrett (who was making her IEA debut that day) won the class while Monique Whitehurst (on right) was reserve champion.

Good Shepherd may not have had a full card for upper school (no junior varsity beginner walk-trot-canter rider) but was still strong the day they hosted for the first time. After red ribbons went to Heather Ercolano (a junior, in varsity open on the flat) and Robby Eysler (a sophomore, in varsity intermediate on the flat), Leah Uliano earned the first of four blue ribbons for Good Shepherd. A junior, Uliano won varsity intermediate over fences while Eysler gave GSF the top two placings in the class with a second. Seventh grader Emma Wasson won their first middle school blue ribbon. Wasson won the lone section of furture intermediate over fences. High school freshman Sabrina Cohn had the best day of any Good Shepherd rider, placing first in junior novice over fences and second in JV on the flat. Coached by Pamela Marsden, GSF was the only program to finish in the 20's or higher in both the upper and middle school team competitions.

The TSH Half Hollow Hills team was third in both competitions (TSH stands for 'Thomas School of Horsemanship,' which is not only where the team trains but also the home of the Molloy College IHSA team). Freshman Emily Cornell was the only non-Metropolitan rider to win one of the first five classes of the day. Cornell won the second section of varsity intermediate on the flat for TSH HHH (could they be called TSH triple H?). After Cornell's win in the third class of the day TSH HHH would not place another rider in the top two until the eleventh class, when eighth graders Laura Solar and Brent Scheinman would place first and second, respectively, in future novice over fences. Solar would later earn a red ribbon in future novice on the flat. Without a future beginner walk-trot-canter rider TSH Half Hollow Hills was still able to score 16 points in the middle school competition. Blessed with a full card the upper school was in the twenties with 21 points.

Brent Scheinman and his mother (on left) joined Laura Solar and her mother (on right) for a photo with their coach, Yvonne Ceparano (center). Ceparano's TSH Half Hollow Hills teams finished third at Good Shepherd Farm. Solar won while Scheinman was second in future novice over fences shortly before this photo was taken.

The Knox School had only two riders present, both entered in the upper school competition. However by having four divisions covered Knox managed 12 points and fifth place overall. Freshman Emma Garvey accounted for all of the Knox School points, winning her JV novice over fences while placing second in JV novice on the flat. It was the not only the first-ever Knox School IEA appearance it was Garvey's first horse show of any kind!

In contrast Islandia Farms had nine riders listed in the program. Though the majority rode for the upper school there were a few Islandia middle schoolers, and combined they earned a total of 14 points. Islandia was without a rider in any of the varsity divisions, and as a result did not see a rider place in the top two until the 13th class of the day. Amanda Ferrone, a freshman who was making her IEA debut, won the second section of JV on the flat to get Islandia into blue ribbon territory for the first time. Riders from Islandia Farms ran off a five-class win streak towards the end of the show. However part of this streak must be taken with a grain of salt. Three of the classes were walk-trot classes, not official when compared to the JV beginner walk-trot-canter classes held around the same time. This writer was initially confused to see freshman Juliana Kalinsky win JV beginner on the flat walk-trot and then win JV beginner on the flat walk-trot-canter less than ten minutes later (the points only count for the latter according to Country Farms coach Debbie Kowalski). Islandia's upper school team scored 10 points (seventh place) while their middle school group earned four points (and sixth place).

The Hudson Valley Equestrian Team was the only group at today's show not from either Long Island or the five boroughs of New York City. The Hudson Valley team trains at Horses and Hounds Stable in Gardiner, New York, slightly closer to New York City than Albany but not anywhere near another New York State-based IEA team. Freshman Rachael White was one of two Hudson Valley riders to place second in a class. White was second to Kalinsky in JV beginner walk-trot-canter. The Hudson Valley team, which may have been making their IEA debut, did not have riders in multiple divisions. However Hudson Valley was still sixth in the upper school competition with eleven points and seventh in middle school with three points.

Amanda Ferrone of Islandia Farms (center) is seen with Coach Mary Ballen (on left) and Dowling College rider Lauren Filiberto after winning the second section of JV on the flat. Sue Purcil, who coaches the Dowling College IHSA team, co-coaches the Islandia Farm IEA team with Ballen but was not present at today's event due to a conflict with another show.

Coached by Elaine Wagoner and Trained by Dianne Soja, the Patchogue-Medford Varsity team was, in fact, upper school only on this day (hence the 'Varsity' moniker). Four riders took part for Patchogue-Medford, with Alexis Daily earning the top ribbon with a second in varsity intermediate on the flat. Being an actual school Patchogue-Medford is nicknamed "The Raiders." Both Wagoner and Soja had on Raiders sweatshirts which helped make it easy to find their team. Patchogue-Medford scored eight points overall.

While Patchogue-Medford was varsity-only, Silver Fox Stables had two riders entered in the middle school competition only. Coached by Lisa Cunningham (who as Lisa Biena competed for the Johnson & Wales IHSA team a few seasons back), Silver Fox scored seven points in their IEA debut to place fifth in the middle school competition with seven points.

When 38 equals seven and four equals one: The way the IEA scoring system works the first place team may be listed as having 38 points but this total is converted into seven points for the day. The high point team in each of the two competitions receives exactly seven points toward their year-end total (this has no effect on points for individual riders). Therefore the Metropolitans really scored seven points for the day in the upper school competition while Good Shepherd, though they were second twice, earned five points in both upper and middle school. Ironically Islandia scored ten points in the upper school competition but received no overall year-end points for finishing seventh out of eight entries while scoring only four points in middle school and earning one point as the sixth place team!

Pure coincidence: The poles used for the jumps at today's show were painted a combination of aqua, black and white. These poles were painted perhaps years ago but by pure coincidence they matched the colors of the official IEA logo. Someone at Good Shepherd farm should take a picture of these poles and forward it to the IEA offices in Ohio. Perhaps teams in other parts of the country might like to paint their jumps to match.

---Steve Maxwell

Show Incidentals: Sunny skies, with temperatures reaching the mid '70's. Start Time: 9:09AM. Finish: 4:34PM - includes a 28 minute schooling break. Judge: Kathy Perri (who substituted for Jane McDermott). Stewards: DaCosta/Metropolitans, Ceparano/TSH Half Hollow Hills and Moore/Knox School. Course Designer: Pamela Marsden, Yaphank, New York.

Team Totals - Upper School: Metropolitan Equestrian Team (High Point Team) 38 (7); Good Shepherd Farm Equestrian Team (Reserve) 24 (5); TSH Half Hollow Hills 21 (4); Country Farms Equestrian Team 18 (3); Knox School 12 (2); Hudson Valley Equestrian Team 11 (1); Islandia Farms Interscholastic Team 10 and Patchogue - Medford Varsity Team 8.

Team Totals - Middle School: Country Farms Equestrian Team (High Point Team) 24 (7); Good Shepherd Farm Equestrian Team (Reserve) 20 (5); TSH Half Hollow Hills 16 (4); Metropolitan Equestrian Team 13 (3); Silver Fox Equestrian Team 7 (2); Islandia Farms Interscholatic Team 4 (1) Hudson Valley Equestrian Team 3.