Mount Holyoke wins narrowly

Shelburne, MA - Mount Holyoke increased their lead over region 3 rival UMass today, the lyons edging the minutemen by a 36 - 34 margin. Alicyn Roy, an open rider from Clairmont, CA won the ride-off for high point as a bonus. Roy (pictured) had placed first in open fences and second in open flat. Other Mount Holyoke riders to place first in a class were Whitney Rockwell (walk-trot), Darcy Broughton (same), Catherine Tausher (novice flat), Elizabeth Morinelli (same), Lauren Morlock (open flat) and Kyla Makhloghi, a freshman who won the last open flat class of the day and reached the three-way ride-off with Roy and Catherine Rehm of Holy Cross in the process.

For the longest time one would have wondered if the lyons were having a very good day at all. Following Roys' victory in the first open fences class of the day, Williams College riders proceeded to win six of the next eight classes, with Holy Cross taking the other two during that time span. Fortunatly for Mount Holyoke, no UMass or Smith riders (the lyons' closest rivals) won any classes outright during that stretch. Most of these classes were over fences, with Anna Renier (open fences), Susan Reid (intermediate fences, of which there was only one section), Kyle Acebo (novice fences), Ashley Brock, Elspeth Mitchell and Kristen Shapiro (all advanced walk-trot-canter) all winning classes for Williams during their hot streak. The Holy Cross blue ribbons went to Kerry Haberlin and Rehm (both in novice fences), and the latter would later place second in novice flat to reach the ride-off.

Shannon Defazio of UMass finally delivered a first by winning her beginner walk-trot-canter class, keeping the freshman from Milton, MA undefeated through two IHSA shows. Following a first for Rebecca Silveria of Elms (also in beginner walk-trot-canter) the lyons began their climb to the top. Rockwell won her class, then Broughton won the third of three walk-trot classes shortly thereafter (Smith won for the first time in between, with the second of three walk-trot sections going to Jen Giasone). UMass and Mount Holyoke then split four novice flat classes, with sections A and C going to minutemen riders Andrea Boreham and Alexandra Wassick, while sections B and D went to Tauscher and Morinelli. UMass then made it interesting as Melissa Lanning and Jennifer Lober both emerged victorious for the minutemen in the only sections of intermediate flat.

Zone 1, region 3 is one of a small number of regions where the point cards are not posted, so no one knows which team is leading throughout the day. By the time the open flat came around, it would seem that Mount Holyoke, UMass and Williams had the best shot at being high point team based on the placings thus far. Lauren Morlock, a junior from Ross, CA who had taken a year off from school last season, was the winner in section 7A of the open flat, and also of importance was the reserve ribbon, which went to teammate Margaret Bolter. The second section, known as 7B, went to Makhloghi, a freshman from Putney, VT, while reserve went to Roy. Mount Holyoke had a total of four open riders in the two open flat classes, and none of them placed below second. This meant the lyons had at least picked up a red ribbon within the division, and that no one on UMass, Williams or Smith earned more than a third. This was textbook point-blocking, and it later turned out to be one reason the lyons prevailed.

Makhologhi and Roy also made the ride-off easy to figure out. Headed into the final class before the ride-off, only Rehm had a first and a second (no one won twice) while reserve would have been a messy tie amongst many with less than 12 points. Makhloghi winning the class with Roy second gave both a first and a second, eliminating anyone with less than 12 points on the day.

When the point cards were removed from the envelope, Mount Holyoke had won with 36 while the University of Massachusetts was second with 34. Sue Paynes' Smith team was third, benefiting from many red ribbons (Eva Fertmen in advanced walk-trot-canter, Janice Morrison in walk-trot, Elyse Lasser in novice flat and Jessica Willis in intermediate flat). Smith ended up with 30 while Williams was not as fortunate late in the day as they were earlier, scoring a total of 28. Highlights for some of the other teams included Meghan Bourque of Westfield State placing second in both of her novice classes in her IHSA debut while teammate Tammy Curtis was also second in her section of novice flat; Amanda Zito and Robyn McLeish of Elms were both second, as the former earned the red ribbon in the advanced walk-trot-canter while the latter was second to teammate Silveria in her beginner walk-trot-canter class; Kristen Boyd (beginner walk-trot-canter) and Elise Chad (walk-trot) placed second in their classes for host Amherst College; Michele Couto placing second in her walk-trot class for Becker College; and the open fences class for Clark freshman Alexis Klein. "I have not jumped a course in four years," Klein was heard to say before placing third in a very competitive class. Klein was not sure she would belong in the open division, but after her trip, the likelyhood of being moved back to intermediate is doubtful.

UMass riders fairing well outside the IHSA: Open rider Amy Lowery of the University of Massachusetts was reserve champion in the BET Talent Search at the USET headquarters in Gladstone, NJ a few weeks ago. The Armonk, NY resident was second in a field of 53. It is not certain if BET taped the proceedings for future broadcast on their network. Serena Chaves, who has not yet ridden for UMass this season, was the world champion in classic pleasure for junior exhibitors at the Morgan World Championships in Oklahoma. From Londonderry, VT, Chaves also came close to another top prize, finishing as reserve champion in the AMHA dressage medal class. When Chaves makes her IHSA debut, she will be open flat and novice fences, similar to the situation of Liz Austin of Vermont in zone 1, region 2 who is also a top dressage rider.

Summers' time: Amber Summers, who graduated from Mount Holoyke in 2000, won the first alumni fences class of the season (there had only been alumni flat at Fox Meadow Farm two weeks earlier). Angeline Burrell of Smith (class of '01) won the alumni flat. Though two shows Burrell leads the flat division, having placed second to Andrea Bill of Mount Holyoke at Smith, while Bill placed fourth in the flat today. Bill is second to Summers over fences, while Tami Morgan, who rode for American International College while an undergraduate, is third in both the flat and fences through two shows.

Very talented: The zone 1, region 3 open division from team-to-team may be the most talented group in the nation. Besides the Mount Holyoke foursome who rode today, the UMass roster includes Lowery, Chaves, Elizabeth Asci (not showing today), Jessica Normand (also not entered today) and the two returnees from the '90's, Stacie Yellin and former Anchorage, Alaska resident Jordan Olive. Both Yellin (from Dover, MA) and Olive rode as freshman, then did not compete again until this season. Olive took a year off from school at one point, yet has returned to hold third place in the open rider standings through two shows, five points behind Roy for the moment. West coast riders have made a huge impact in the region, with Smith getting in on the act. Freshman Loren Robeck, who trains with Karen Healey back in Los Angeles, is sixth overall. Christy Mackenzie of Smith (from Trumansburg, NY) also had a good day, placing third in open fences behind Makhloghi and Anna Renier. Renier of Williams, while not from the west coast, is from Hamel, MN and is also a contender for the high point open rider honor. Teammate Meredith Sanger-Katz (whose older sister Margot rides alumni in zone 3, region 1 while coaching her alma mater, Yale) could also play a big part in the open rider standings as the season progresses. Besides Klein, several Clark riders could move high up in the points (Clark did not participate at the Smith show), including Justine Powers and Sara Gladstone. A very competitive group, with perhaps the open riders at Mount Holyoke, UMass and Smith likely to play the biggest part in where each team finishes the season if history repeats.

Show Incidentals: High Temperature in the upper 50's. Overcast in the morning, then sunny in the afternoon. Entire show held indoors. Start time: 9:07AM. Finish: 1:57PM - includes 22 minute schooling break. Point Cards posted in this region? No. Alumni Classes held in this region? Yes. Judge: Mr. Fred Hunt, Plympton, MA. Stewards: Morgan/American International College, Hulick/Becker College and Law/Mount Holyoke College.

Team Totals: Mount Holyoke College (High Point Team) 36; University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Reserve) 34; Smith College 30; Williams College 28; Clark University 15; Amherst College 13; Westfield State College 13; Elms College 11; College of the Holy Cross 10; Becker College 9 and Springfield College 4.

High Point Rider - Alicyn Roy, Mount Holyoke College
Reserve High Point Rider - Catherine Rehm, College of the Holy Cross