From left to right are Brown University's Lindsay Wong, Jacqueline Lubrano, Allison Dungy and Johnson & Wales's Katie Strandberg. Dungey had just won intermediate fences while Lubrano had been second in open fences when this photo was taken at 2012 Region 1 Regionals on March 24th.

RHODE ISLAND, BROWN AND BECKER CLEAN UP AT REGIONALS

Gales Ferry, CT - Compared to weather further south along the East Coast, riders and spectators alike were treated to a high temperature of 60 degrees around lunch time and mostly sunny skies on March 24th. Though the classes themselves were held indoors at Mystic Valley Hunt Club the sun shone brighest on 13 undergraduate riders and two alumni.

At 2011 Zone 1, Region 1 Regionals nearly a year earlier the University of Rhode Island did not see any of their riders advance to Zone 1 Zones. This time the Rams were the most successful of all Region 1 programs, as three URI riders rode their way to Zone 1 Zones April 7th in five classes.

Kayla Prefontaine, a senior from Newport, Rhode Island, won the open fences class which started the day and later placed second in open flat. Samantha Epright (junior, Westport, Connecticut) was second in intermediate fences following Prefontaine's win. Jennifer Beglane, a freshman from East Quoge, New York rode "Rocky" to victory in the novice fences class (made up of 12 riders; "Rocky" belongs to teammate Epright) and placed second in novice flat (which involved 17 riders and three heats).

University of Rhode Island senior Kayla Prefontaine (with blue ribbon) won the open fences class which started the day. One year earlier URI did not have any riders in the top two at Regionals. This time the Rams saw three riders make the top two, including Prefontaine in both open divisions.

Last season Brown University advanced six riders to Zones and as the day rolled on it seemed as though history could repeat. Early in the day the Bears matched the Rams. Jaqueline Lubrano, a sophomore from Glenmoore, Pennsylvania (whose older sister Elizabeth was a Cacchione Cup qualifier for Penn State University) was second to Prefontaine in her IHSA Regionals debut and later swapped ribbons with the URI senior in open flat. In between Allison Dungey (junior, North Kingston, Rhode Island) won the blue ribbon in intermediate fences. However over the final five undergraduate divisions only Marissa Fuerst would make the top two for Brown. The senior from Atlanta, Georgia missed some IHSA time when she broke her back during her sophomore year so it was especially satisfying when Fuerst not only survived two heats but won the advanced walk-trot-canter outright. Though URI can claim one more ride than Brown at Zones the region champion Bears won three blue ribbons which was the most for any team entered at today's show.

Becker College head coach Trina Baker was pleased with the Hawks' performance. Becker riders survived in three classes, with Bridget Atkins finishing one place ahead of Beglane in the largest division of the day, novice flat. A freshman from Holden, Massachusetts Atkins was one of six riders called back after three heats by Judge Barbara Filippelli. Following what appeared to be a work-off Filippelli had Beglane and Taylor Studley of URI switch horses and continue riding. As it turned out this was a test for second and Atkins had won the division. Earlier Laurel Venoit (senior, Easthampton, Connecticut) had survived two intermediate flat heats to place second. Later Catherine Merrill (freshman, Newport, New Hampshire) survived two advanced walk-trot-canter heats to place second to Fuerst.

Johnson & Wales University also will have multiple riders at Zones. After all 12 riders in novice fences had jumped the course two riders were invited back to test. One was Amber Strouse of URI while the other was Ashley Hardin of the Wildcats. A sophomore from Attleboro, Massachusetts, Hardin was apparently better than Strouse though Beglane was ultimately first. Still Hardin qualified for Zones for the first time as did teammate Simon Inn. A sophomore from Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey Inn was second in the final class of the day, walk-trot.

"Nikki's been helping me all week," said Becker College freshman Bridget Atkins (on right), so when it was time to photograph Atkins after she won novice flat it was only fitting that assistant coach Nikki Layne be photographed with her. Layne, a former Johnson & Wales rider, won both alumni classes to also advance to Zone 1 Zones on April 7th.

Roger Williams University had the most riders at Regionals (14) and the most rides (17). However the Hawks from the state of Rhode Island (Becker, from Massachusetts, has the same nickname) managed only one top-two placing. Chelsea Francis, a sophomore from Bristol, Rhode Island was one of five riders called back from two intermediate flat heats of five each. Without further testing Francis was the individual flat champion in her first IHSA Regionals appearance.

In total contrast the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth was one of three schools with only three rides at today's show. The Corsairs' third and final entry of the day, walk-trot rider Hunter O'Brien won the class which concluded the festivities. With O'Brien and Inn claiming the final two Zone 1 Zones undergraduate entries six of the ten Region 1 schools had at least one ride to look forward to on April 7th.

The College of the Holy Cross had three riders entered, each in novice flat. Of the three junior Jennie Williams was the only Crusader called back from the three heats. Williams placed sixth for the only Holy Cross ribbon of the day.

A pair of seniors showed for Rhode Island College. Chloe Grenga competed in both novice divisions while Jessica Fernandes competed in advanced walk-trot-canter. Neither placed inside the top eight.

Assumption College had only one rider entered. Sophomore Bryanne Mara survived the heats and placed sixth in advanced walk-trot-canter.

Clark University also had but one rider entered. Sophomore Ananya Sikand was one of seven walk-trot riders. Sikand placed sixth in the division.

University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth freshman Hunter O'Brien (holding blue ribbon) won the walk-trot class that ended 2012 Region 1 Regionals. Everything that could go wrong at about 6AM did for O'Brien (her Father had to go to the emergency room among other things) yet all was well at 3:30 in the afternoon (and her Father - directly behind her - made it to Mystic Valley in time for her winning ride).

The same two alumni riders made up the alumni divisions. Nikki Layne, a Johnson & Wales graduate who now serves as assistant coach at Becker College won both alumni divisions while Meghan Blaikie, a graduate of the University of Vermont, was second each time. Both will ride at Zones in each of the two divisions.

Well-Oiled Machine: Perhaps it was the pace of Judge Filippelli. Perhaps it was the gate crew. Perhaps it was the efficient jump crew. Maybe it was a combination of things. No matter what brought it about, Region 1 Regionals was over and done in a considerably shorter period of time than in 2011. One year earlier the show started 32 minutes earlier, ended 39 minutes later and yet had 30 fewer minutes of schooling time. Kudos to the individuals involved with moving the show along today.

Bears set a new Region 1 record: For the sixth season in a row Brown University captured high point team honors within Zone 1, Region 1. This marked the first time in Region 1 history that a team captured more than five consecutive region titles. When Region 1 was created in mid-1988 by removing all of Connecticut, Rhode Island and a few Eastern Massachusetts schools from Western Massachusetts, the University of Connecticut won the first four Region Titles. Then Stonehill College captured five straight Titles from 1993 through 1997. Then UConn won it in '98 followed by Stonehill in '99. Stonehill, Wheaton College and UMass-Dartmouth were removed from the region prior to the 1999-2000 season to create what was then the new Zone 1, Region 4. Brown then ran off four straight Region Titles (the 2001-02 Bears were Reserve Champions at IHSA Nationals) before Roger Williams won what to date is their only Region Title. UConn won back-to-back titles in '05 and '06 before the current Brown streak of titles started in '07. Though the race for high point team has often been up for grabs going into the eighth or ninth show of the regular season Brown deserves credit for always finding a way to 'get it done' these past six seasons.

---Steve Maxwell

Show Incidentals: Sunny skies, with a high of 60 but actually cooler late in the day. Start time: 10:27AM. Finish: 3:33PM - Includes several schooling breaks totaling 90 minutes (also includes the removal of jumps). Judge: Barbara Filippelli, Pawling, New York. Stewards: Layne/Becker College, Greim/Roger Williams University, Stark/Rhode Island College and Richard Luckhardt/coach of Connecticut College in Zone 2, Region 5.

Class-by-Class results, in the order in which they were held, with the top two in each class advancing to Zone 1 Zones on April 9th in South Hadley, Massachusetts:

Open Equitation Over Fences: 1. Kayla Prefontaine, University of Rhode Island. 2. Jacqueline Lubrano, Brown University. 3. Lindsay Wong, Brown University. 4. Katie Strandberg, Johnson & Wales University. 5. Lindsey Burns, Roger Williams University. 6. Rebecca McGoldrick, Brown University.

Intermediate Equitation Over Fences: 1. Allison Dungey, Brown University. 2. Samantha Epright, University of Rhode Island. 3. Rebecca Faust, Johnson & Wales University.

Alumni Equitation Over Fences: 1. Nikki Layne, Johnson & Wales University. 2. Meaghan Blaikie, University of Vermont.

Open Equitation On The Flat: 1. Jacqueline Lubrano, Brown University. 2. Kayla Prefontaine, University of Rhode Island. 3. Lindsey Burns, Roger Williams University. 4. Heather Chmura, University of Rhode Island. 5. Katie Strandberg, Johnson & Wales University. 6. Rebecca McGoldrick, Brown University. 7. Austin Krelis, Johnson & Wales University. 8. Emily McGuirk, Becker College.

Five schools produced at least one blue ribbon winner on March 24th. Assistant Coach Michelle Greim (on left) and Head Coach Ted Torrey (on right) pose with Chelsea Francis of Roger Williams University after her win in intermediate flat.

Intermediate Equitation On The Flat: 1. Chelsea Francis, Roger Williams University. 2. Laurel Venoit, Becker College 3. Jaquie Allred, Roger Williams University. 4. Samantha Epright, University of Rhode Island. 5. Allie Leonard, Johnson & Wales University. 6. Maddie Stein, Roger Williams University. 7. Alexandra Pastor, Roger Williams University. 8. Emily Stoukides, University of Rhode Island.

Alumni Equitation On The Flat: 1. Nikki Layne, Johnson & Wales University. 2. Meaghan Blaikie, University of Vermont.

Novice Equitation Over Fences: 1. Jennifer Beglane, University of Rhode Island. 2. Ashley Hardin, Johnson & Wales University. 3. Amber Strouse, University of Rhode Island. 4. Cara Rosenbaum, Brown University. 5. Rebecca Underwood, Johnson & Wales University. 6. Kristen Agostanucci, University of Rhode Island. 7. Kelsey Hanrahan, Becker College. 8. Rachel Asadorian, Roger Williams University.

Novice Equitation On The Flat: 1. Bridget Atkins, Becker College. 2. Jennifer Beglane, University of Rhode Island. 3. Taylor Studley, University of Rhode Island. 4. Gabrielle Perlmutter, University of Rhode Island. 5. Erin DeMarco, Roger Williams University. 6. Jennie Williams, College of the Holy Cross. 7. Allison Dungey, Brown University. 8. Kelsey Hanrahan, Becker College.

Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter: 1. Marissa Fuerst, Brown University. 2. Catherine Merrill, Becker College. 3. Terise Cole, Becker College. 4. Samantha Chamberland, University of Rhode Island. 5. Indrek Walker, Johnson & Wales University. 6. Bryanne Mara, Assumption College. 7. Kasey Johnson, Johnson & Wales University. 8. Charnelle Bourque, Roger Williams University.

Walk-Trot Equitation: 1. Hunter O'Brien, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. 2. Simon Inn, Johnson & Wales University. 3. Fiona McKecknie, University of Rhode Island. 4. Lenny Carlucci, Roger Williams University. 5. Joseph Denson, Becker College. 6. Ananya Sikand, Clark University. 7. Caroline Jette, University of Rhode Island.