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BOSTON UNIVERSITY IS FRIGHTENINGLY GOOD ON HALLOWEEN Holliston, MA - It was an warm and windy day by October 31st standards at August Farm. Many took off their jackets during the afternoon while some discussed costumes for trick-or-treating and Halloween parties later in the day. The warm weather suited Boston University the best as it turned out. Though the Terriers had finished eighth a week earlier with only 18 points their total came to 41 at today's event. Lily Zarella, a freshman from Rochester, New York (who had a fourth and a fifth at the UMass-Dartmouth show a week earlier) won both of her open classes to qualify for the ride-off while Krystyna Metcalf (senior; Providence, Rhode Island, in open flat), Kelly Purchase (sophomore; Locust Valley, New York, in intermediate fences), Taylor Franchi (sophomore; Tamworth, New Hampshire), Grace Veres (senior; Trumbull, Connecticut, in advanced walk-trot-canter) and Kristen Egbert (junior; Seattle, Washington, in walk-trot) were also blue ribbon winners. Franchi was second in her novice flat class for the Terriers' lone red ribbon of the day. Considering that Boston University had only 12 undergraduate rides seven blues and a red seem that much more impressive.
Host Tufts University tied Endicott College for the Reserve Championship. The Jumbos were led by open rider Katie Christiansen, a junior from Larchmont, New York who won her open fences while placing third in open flat. Also into the blue ribbons for Tufts were freshman Demi Marks and Kennon Ulicny. Marks, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a winner in novice flat while Ulicny, from Cincinnati, Ohio, took home the blue in the first of four sections of novice fences. Kerry Sachs (in intermediate fences) and Cecilia Pontoriero (intermediate flat) won red ribbons for the Jumbos. Tufts scored 36 to finish third at UMass-Dartmouth on the 24th while scoring 30 at their own show. Without having won a show through two meets, Tufts total of 66 was two better than any of the other eleven teams could claim thus far. Endicott managed two blue ribbons in earning their 30 points. The Gulls wins were consecutive, as Kate Selig (senior; Groveland, Massachusetts) and Anna Pavlov (freshman; Pound Ridge, New York) won sections A and B of intermediate flat. Beyond sweeping intermediate flat, the Gulls received red ribbons thanks to Lauren Horth (in both open divisions) and Pavlov (who was second in her intermediate fences). Endicott scored 34 at Hobby Horse Farm on the 24th, so they ended the day only two behind Tufts overall. The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth was next with 27 points. The Corsairs could not manage a ribbon above third place over the first 15 classes of the day. However their final five rides resulted in three firsts and two seconds! Alanna Therrian, who was one of four riders with a third, placed second to Marks in the fourth section of novice flat while Sadie LaPierre was second in her section of walk-trot. The walk-trot-canter classes closed out the show, with Kaitlyn Piela earning the Corsairs their first blue of the day in beginner walk-trot-canter. A junior from Fall River, Massachusetts, it was Piela's first show of any kind. Katherine Donohue, a sophomore from Beverly, Massachusetts won the following beginner WTC section while Shayla Fielder (who is a senior from Longmeadow, Massachusetts) won the final class of the day to point out of advanced walk-trot-canter and into novice.
Bridgewater State College made their IHSA debut in 2006. At the UMass-Dartmouth show at Hobby Horse the Bears captured high point team honors for the first time in program history. With an opening day score of 39 the Bears also occupied first place overall for the first time in program history. Freshman open rider Colleen Reid won both of her classes on October 24th and the ride-off for high point. However at Tufts things crashed back down to earth slightly, as Bridgewater State was one of two schools with 25 points for the day. Four riders had thirds through the divisions novice-and-up (including Reid in open flat) before the Bears' walk-trot riders one-uped them. Courtney Merola was second in the first section of walk-trot while Lindsay Alexander repeated the placing in the following section. Bridgewater State finished the day tied with Endicott for second overall, both with 64 points. Wheaton College earned two blue ribbons while also scoring 25 points. Jess Beckstrom had won her IHSA debut in novice fences a week earlier. The freshman from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts made it two-for-two in the novice jumps on this day. Maris Jahnke, a junior from Dover, New Hampshire won the third and final section of walk-trot. The Lyons earned a pair of red ribbons late in the contest as Andrew Rosenblatt was second in beginner walk-trot-canter while Co-Captain Aimee Shafner was second in advanced walk-trot-canter. Wheaton proved to be consistant over the first two shows, scoring exactly 25 points in each. While all six schools mentioned thus far had a full point card, Brandeis University scored 21 points without the benefit of a walk-trot rider. The Judges were at their best early in the contest. Sophomore Allison Engel was second to Christiansen in open fences while Nicole Stamm was second to Franchi in novice fences. Brandeis and Boston University were the only schools to have a higher score at today's show than at the UMass-Dartmouth show, with the Judges trending upward from a score of 19 seven days earlier.
Boston College was the last school to hit 20 points, scoring that precise amount. The Eagles earned red ribbons via Shannon FitzGerald (in novice fences), Janine Hanrahan (in intermediate flat) and Leslie McDonald (novice flat) before Drew Mershon, a senior from Minneapolis, Minnesota delivered their lone blue ribbon of the day. Though their card was only half full, Curry College scored 17 points. Brittany Cleaves, a freshman from Hanover, Massachusetts nearly made the ride-off, placing first in novice fences and second in novice flat. Amanda Gildea (also in novice fences), Katelyn O'Toole (advanced walk-trot-canter) and Heather Blackwood (same) made it four red ribbons overall for the Colonels. Wellesley College scored 14 points. The Blue had no ribbon above a fourth until the third-to-last class of the afternoon, when Rachel Insoft earned - you guessed it - a blue for the Blue! A freshman from Newton, Massachusetts who had placed fifth in her IHSA debut a week earlier, Insoft earned Wellesley's first blue ribbon of the season. Rounding out the scoring was the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The Riverhawks scored five points, with sophomore Meghan Esposito their only rider to place above fourth, earning a second.
Though they were not allowed to submit a point card due to an issue related to 2009 Zones for which they have been penalized, Stonehill College rode as well as anyone on an individual basis. At one point the Sky Hawks captured three consecutive novice flat classes. Tina Tramontozzi (freshman; Melrose, Massachusetts), Rebecca Rossi (sophomore; Cranston, Rhode Island) and Lexi Keller (sophomore; South Burlington, Vermont) made up the novice flat win streak while Co-Captain Rachel Foster was first in both her intermediate fences and novice flat. A senior from Townsend, Massachusetts, Foster's win in the fifth and final section of novice flat changed the entire ride-off scenario, with several who had earned a first and a second now free to change out of their riding clothes. Quinn Traendly (in open flat), Kelsey Hill (the other Co-Captain; in novice fences) and Kerry McCarthy (in beginner walk-trot-canter) won red ribbons for the Sky Hawks, who would be allowed to submit a point card for the first time in 2009-10 when Boston University hosted the next day. Dunn deal: Katie Dunn, who rode for Tufts University for only one season (2003-04) won her alumni fences for the second weekend in a row. However this time Dunn made it a clean sweep, winning the alumni flat as well. Former Yale University Head Coach Margot Sanger-Katz was second over fences while one-time Penn State Nittany Lion Anneke Bartelsman was second on the alumni flat. Tufts Head Coach Katie Schaaf, who had won the alumni flat at UMass-Dartmouth was third over fences and fourth on the flat. 2009 University of Maryland graduate Veronica Bruce reversed Schaaf's placings. While 2009 Curry College graduate Emily Carr earned a point in alumni flat the only rider out of the ribbons in the division was perhaps one of the more fascinating stories. Peggy McNamara competed for Holliston Junior College during the 1977-78 season, the only season Holliston fielded an IHSA team as far as anyone knows. This may be the only time ever that an IHSA program with such a short history produced someone who later competed in an alumni class. The Ride-off: For over an hour it looked like Zarella might have the high point rider award all to herself, as others kept missing out on two firsts while the chance was theirs for the taking. Then Foster won at the last possible moment, making it a two-way tie among double-blues. The ride-off took place between two of the beginner walk-trot-canter classes, and though Zarella won both riders still received saddlepads donated by SmartPak. "I'm glad we didn't stay all night!": Things moved so quickly that the Coaches and Captains meeting was held after the show (this was also done so that Judge Lisa Foster could get out early and take her little one trick-or-treating. Otherwise the meeting would have made the lunch break longer). All the visiting teams were off the premises by 3:00PM, a far cry from the late dismissal at some of the other halloween IHSA shows. Shows in Zone 1, Region 1 and Zone 3, Region 2 ran past 6:30PM, perhaps disrupting the halloween plans of riders and coaches in those regions. Mascot correction: 2007 Wheaton graduate Orissa Moulton pointed out to us that our Zone 1, Region 4 page recently referred to her schools' mascot as "The Thunder." This writer admits he googled the wrong Wheaton College when checking on a mascot when preparing the page, coming up with the unrelated Wheaton College in Illinois! Thanks to Moulton the Region 4 page has been corrected, with the text written in reference to Maris Jahnke's blue ribbon effort in walk-trot now making her a 'Lyon' and not some cloud in the sky. Included in the team totals at the end of this story are the nicknames of all the schools which scored team points. Stonehill College changed their nickname in the middle of the decade from the "Chieftains" to the "Sky Hawks" for the record.
Stonehill's situation explained: At least two people at the Tufts show asked this writer why he never wrote in any great depth about Stonehill having an ineligible rider at Zones and ultimately the penalty they paid. One individual explained that one of the things that attracted her to the IHSA in the first place was the good sportsmanship and how everyone abided by the rules. This writer could not agree more, as I too was attracted to the level playing field (i.e., the random horse draw), the camaraderie and good sportsmanship on display when I saw an IHSA show for the first time over 18 years ago. But having seen a fair share of scandals over the years (however not many when compared to some other equestrian-related organizations) I feel that each incident should be taken on a case-by-case basis. Regardless of how I feel about this particular case, the following facts regarding Stonehill late last season are clear: One of their riders rode at Zones and was later determined to have competed at a higher level outside the IHSA prior to the start of the season than the level she was competing in; This rider's Zone points were removed, thus sending Brown University and not Stonehill College to IHSA Nationals with a full hunter seat team; In order to be eligible to compete at Zones a rider must compete at least once during the regular season, which this Stonehill rider did on one confirmed occasion; It came to pass that after the Region 4 Standards and Ethics Committee discussed the matter, and after the matter was sent before the IHSA Executive Board, Stonehill was told that they would not be allowed to earn team points at the first two shows of 2009-10 nor could Head Coach Tarah Watson attend those shows; Stonehill did in fact abide by these penalties during the first two shows of the 2009-10 season. In virtually all the previous cases where a rider was caught competing at the lower level the rider was ultimately the one blamed in public. But the consequences affected the Coach and the program most of the time. The bottom line is that the decision to assess a penalty was imposed, Stonehill earned no points for two shows and unless they stage a miraculous comeback will miss out on a possible region title because of it. Watson (who I personally think is a good coach and who competed at St. Lawrence University under the legendary Mary Dreuding earlier this decade) sat out the first two shows as per the ruling and can now return. After what happened it is doubtful anything controversial regarding the placement of riders will occur in Region 4 for some time as no one wants this sort of thing to happen even once. In a nutshell this writer thinks the IHSA is by and large very honest; that riders competing in the wrong division should be grounds for punishment; that Coaches need to research their rider's 'competition history' as best they can; and that once an issue is resolved everyone should move on. Four winners in five fall shows: A day after the Tufts show was the Boston University show, where the hosts scored 37 point but finished reserve high point three in back of Stonehill. A week later Stonehill made it two shows in a row with 40 points, but this time the Sky Hawks were defeated at Endicott as Boston University scored 45. The Terriers November 8th score of 45 is the best of any Region 4 school so far in 2009-10. The final fall show was hosted by Stonehill, and though the Sky Hawks scored 39 high point team honors went to Endicott with 41 on November 15th. Somewhat unusually this means that through five shows not one Region 4 host school has been high point team on the day they hosted. The team points show Boston University with a 175-171 lead on Endicott while Tufts at 153 and Wheaton at 151 still have hope (especially as Region 4 may get in the maximum ten shows allowed). Stonehill actually has the highest 'average points per show' at just under 40 points when their point card has been posted. However BU has been nearly as good if you remove the October 24th opener. No matter how one looks at it, Region 4 has a real team race going. Will it be a nailbiter? With four shows already scheduled for the third month of 2010 the ides of March will tell the tale. --Steve Maxwell Show Incidentals: Mostly sunny skies, with temperatures in the upper '60's. Start time: 9:06AM. Finish: 2:23PM - includes 26 minute Lunch Break. Coaches and Captains meeting held following the show. Point cards posted in this region?: Yes. Alumni Classes held in this region? Yes. Judge: Lisa Foster. Stewards: Bobola/Brandeis University, Cervelli/Boston University and Hare/Wheaton College. Team Totals: Boston University Terriers (High Point Team) 41; Tufts University Jumbos (TIE-Reserve) 30; Endicott College Gulls (or "Power Gulls" TIE-Reserve) 30; University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth Corsairs 27; Wheaton College Lyons 25; Bridgewater State College Bears 25; Brandeis University Judges 21; Boston College Eagles 20; Curry College Colonels 17; Wellesley College Blue 14 and University of Massachusetts at Lowell Riverhawks 5. High Point Rider - Lily Zarella, Boston University
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