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HUSKIES HOLD LEAD, EDGE BEARS FOR REGION TITLE Oakdale, CT - Through the fences divisions, the University of Connecticut huskies made narrow gains. Through three flat divisions that followed, the Brown bears reversed those gains and got to within striking distance. However UConn's seven point lead entering the day proved too much for Brown, as Elinor Haplau's first in the beginner walk-trot-division clinched UConn's first trip to Zones as a team since 1998. The first of 37 undergraduate classes (plus two for alumni) was bittersweet for Brown. Open rider Jamie Peddy needed three points to clinch her second trip to IHSA Nationals in the Cacchione Cup Competition. Peddy got exactly three points in open fences but felt she had delivered one of her lesser rides of the season at a time when the team needed it most. Wesleyan junior Elizabeth Perry, who was a National Champion in the individual novice fences last season, won section 8A. Section 8B kept Brown in the running, as Regan Duffee of UConn also placed fourth. Huskie teammate Megan Bowers won the section, while 8C went to Lisa "Jumping Bean" Bienia of Johnson & Wales and 8D was won by Stephanie Gollobin of host Connecticut College. Gollobin was pointed and put seven on the board for the camels. Since Region 1 has the policy of not writing in the points on the posted point sheets until a division is completed, spectators did not know these riders were pointed until shortly after the fact. With 6A in the ring, the points were written in and Conn College had (or was tied with) the early lead. Three sections of intermediate fences went to riders from as many schools. Karen Cooper of UConn won section A while Trinity senior Kendall Church won B and Julia Briggs of Connecticut College took C. Brown and UConn had riders in each of the three sections, but neither team bolstered their point totals a great deal. By process of elimination, it could be determined that Grace Peloquin of Brown was pointed, as was Sara Goldstein of UConn. The latter was third while the former was fifth, and excluding drop scores UConn had put seven points on the board and Brown five. Briggs had been pointed, keeping the camels perfect through two divisions. Seven sections of novice fences followed, with several reduced to four or fewer riders due to scratches (None of these sections featured more than six riders though this was also in part due to scratches and moving one or two riders to different sections). UConn, with 31 riders listed in the program (and 47 rides) won three of the seven sections of novice fences, but again did not add seven points to their team total. Corinne Wainer of the huskies won 4A, while Hillary Anderson won 4B and Carey Marston won 4F for UConn. Others to win over novice fences were Kelly Bowman of Wesleyan (in 4C), Lauren Welch of Connecticut College (in 4D), Kirsten Johnson of Roger Williams (in 4E) and Rachel Lubin of Brown, a mid-season transfer from Franklin & Marshall College, who had already qualified for Regionals in advanced walk-trot-canter while still riding in Zone 3, Region 2 last fall. Lubin's first in 4G was her first blue ribbon of any kind in almost two seasons of IHSA competition! Though it was the first blue ribbon of the day for the bears, the Brown point total again gained only two points, as one of three bear riders to place fifth in novice fences was apparently pointed. Again the bears caught a break, as UConn had two riders who placed third, adding four points to their total but still not enough to put Brown away. Connecticut College did not earn seven points but continued to lead for the day. Many former Connecticut College riders helped out at today's show. Emma Sellers, Courtney Lincoln and 2004 Region 1 Cacchione rider Vanessa Stevenson were among many former camels on hand at Laurel Ledge Farm to help with schooling or other horse issues. 1999 graduate Sara Burns dropped by and is still amazed how the Connecticut College program has grown since her intitial involvement. Apparently the team struggled for recognition on campus as a club sport as recently as 1998. Today the camels are capable of filling a point card two or three times over, and have finished as high as third overall for a season. It goes to show that if you have enough support you can take just about anything to the next level.
The UConn alumni certainly support their alma matter, as evidenced by their many alumni riders who compete in Region 1 shows and elsewhere. Today's Alumni divisions fell on either side of the Lunch Break/Coaches & Captains Meeting. Allison Wooton needed a first over alumni fences to go to Regionals and got a first. Lora Abbott needed two points to advance and received five. Crystal King and Liz Lopez needed firsts but were fourth and sixth instead. Dana Stark, the only non-UConn alumni riding at the Region 1 shows, was fifth. Stark, a University of Massachusetts at Amherst graduate, did not go to Regionals over fences but was already qualifed in alumni flat. After the lunch break, Lopez needed three points on the flat and received seven; King was out of the running on the flat but placed second nonetheless; Wooten needed a point and got four; Jen Corti, already qualified over fences, was fifth on the flat while Abbott needed a point and got a point to give her two rides at Regionals April 2nd. Shay Meisinger, like King and Abbott a 2004 graduate, was tops in alumni points overall, with 42 on the flat and 33 over fences. Meisinger placed in both of today's classes, earning a third over fences and a fourth on the flat. UConn alumni riders riding in other regions have also made a splash this season, as Chrissy Seelaus has qualified in both alumni divisions while riding in Zone 3, Region 4 and Stefanie Kealey was busy winning her alumni fences class to advance to Zone 2, Region 1 Regionals over the jumps at a show in Readington, New Jersey while Region 1 was gathered at Laurel Ledge. Following the alumni it was time for the open riders to have another go. The first of five open flat classes was one of the more interesting sections of the day. Both Peddy and UConn's Meghann Jones were in the class. Jones and Duffee entered the day as the only riders with a remote chance to catch Peddy in the open rider standings. Peddy had already clinched the top spot with a fourth earlier, but certainly wanted to help Brown try to catch the huskies if possible with a first here. Section 7A started without incident, but at the first canter one rider fell off due to a saddle slipping (which frightened some when the horse started running around the ring full tilt. Eventually Brown Head Coach Michaela Scanlon grabbed the reins as the horse raced by, leaving many to wonder if she had any roping experience!). UConn's Heather Callahan (the daughter of Head Coach Janice Callahan) was also part of the class, and her horse decided to buck several times. Through it all, judge Cornelia Lacy-Rock seemed to spend most of her time watching Peddy and Jones, and when the placings were announced, Peddy had won with Jones second. Duffee won section 7B, while Gollobin took 7C. Roger Williams senior Eliza Davis won her final open flat class in 7D, while Maura Kenney of UConn won 7E. When the numbers went up on the board it was obvious: Peddy had added seven for the bears while Jones had added five for UConn. Now Brown was nine down for the season, not counting a drop score. As was the case with intermediate fences, there were three sections of intermediate flat. Brown did not win any of these three sections. However Peloquin and Heidi Abrecht were both reserve ribbon winners, and the bears earned five points for the division. Jennifer Desmond of Roger Williams took section A while Meghan Graves of Johnson & Wales took section C. The huskies saw another two point swing but this time to their advantage, as Jenn Palmadessa had won section B outright.
Normally when Connecticut College hosts at Laurel Ledge, the fences division are held from Open through Novice and Alumni, followed by the flat classes in descending order from Open through Walk-Trot. However with the team race so close coming into today's final Regular Season Show, both Coach Callahan and Scanlon had asked if the final division could be something other than Walk-Trot, as the Regional Title could come down to that division. The hosts agreed and instead put Walk-Trot in after Intermediate Flat, followed by beginner Walk-Trot-Canter, Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter and finally seven sections of novice flat. This way if the entire season comes down to the last division it would be the novice riders and not the walk-trotters who would feel the heat. Three sections of Walk-Trot worked to the benefit of the bears, as Kelly Qu won the third section. UConn received only three points, which gave both teams exactly 26 on the scoreboard without a drop score. Brown had the lower drop at this moment, with a pair of twos. UConn's lowest score was a pair of threes. With the drops, UConn would have 23, Brown 24 and six points still to make up. Almost unoticed amongst the UConn/Brown race was that Roger Williams and Johnson & Wales were both having good days. Cheryl Tripp won section 1A for the former while Ashley Fiorillo won 1B for the latter. In order for the Bears to still have a shot, it became imperative that UConn underperform in the final two divisions. Even if Brown won both of them, bringing their final total to 38, UConn would have to score no more than 30, meaning their final two point riders would have to combine for only seven points, and the drop would still have to bring the total to no more than 30, which is not as easy as it might seem. There were two sections of Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter and three sections of Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter. Each school could point a rider in one of the walk-trot-canter levels but not both. The huskies were assured of at least one point in this division, as none of the walk-trot-canter classes had more than six riders. The first beginner section went to the huskies, as senior Elinor Haplau won outright. If Haplau was pointed, then with the three in open fences dropped UConn would be at 30 points at that moment. Maggie Reaske won the second section of beginner Walk-trot-canter, giving the University of Rhode Island their only blue ribbon of the day. Jennifer John of Brown then won the first section of advanced walk-trot-canter, followed by blue ribbons for Danielle McIver of Rhode Island College and Emily Winslow of Connecticut College. When the division was written on the board, both Brown (via John) and UConn (via Haplau) had earned their respective teams' seven points. The question was if there was any way Brown was still mathematically alive? Without a drop, both Brown and UConn had 33 points. With the current drops, Brown would fall to 31 and UConn to 30. However when one plugs in all the possible drops for UConn at this juncture of the show, the worst UConn could do would be to drop a zero should their novice flat rider place seventh. Then UConn's final score for the day would be 33, which would and did gaurantee at least a two point lead overall over Brown. Though UConn did not yet know it, they were headed to Zone 1 Zones and a showdown versus Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke and, if they can score roughly eight points on April 2nd, Stonehill. For the moment, Coach Callahan and most of her huskie riders watched from one end of the arena, still nervous about the outcome. Catherine Lefebvre won 3A for the huskies. Then Amanda Morris did likewise in 3B. The blue ribbons kept on coming, as Cat Finch won 3C. Then Stefanie Sharkey won 3D. Around the time of Sharkey's flat class, Scanlon and the Brown Captains came over to congratulate Callahan. Still in disbelief, under the impression there was still some way for Brown to come back, Callahan and her team finally let out a cheer! The University of Connecticut was really going to Zones, regardless of the outcome of the Novice Flat Division. The show was not over, and in fact, the UConn point rider in the division would place second in 3E. Amanda Avella of Rhode Island College finished one placing ahead of UConn's Amber Garland, whose red ribbon gave the huskies 35 for the day. Galyn Burke of Brown, who rode earlier in novice fences, was pointed in the final class of the day but was quite rightly pulled by Scanlon, for Burke would have had the unusual distinction of pointing up twice in one season had Scanlon let her ride. Burke qualified for Regionals in advanced walk-trot-canter at either the first or second show of the season, then did so well in novice flat that she was pointed at today's show even though her points would have sent her to Regionals in the more difficult division. Now Burke will instead point out of novice flat her first time in the ring (knock wood) in Fall of 2005. Still more classes: When Katlyn Petyo of Johnson & Wales won section 3F it meant Gollobin was assured high point rider for the day. However Petyo had joined seven others with a first and a second in the ride-off for reserve. Following a first for Katrina Brewer of the camels (the fourth pointed Conn College rider on this day to win a class), six of the eight riders who qualifed for the ride-off returned to draw for horses. Anderson, Avella, Graves, Petyo, Sharkey and Welch followed the commands of Judge Lacy-Rock (who had judged the Molloy/C.W. Post Show in Zone 3, Region 1 six days earlier), who went to each rider following the class to tell them what she liked about their ride. Sharkey, a senior from Fairfield, Connecticut, won the reserve ribbon at 4:52PM, at which time the Regular Season for Zone 1, Region 1 had truly come to an end. For some (make than many, as Zone 1, Region 1 has more Regional Qualifiers than any other bar none) the next step will be to survive Region 1 Regionals on Saturday, April 2nd at UConn's Horsebarn Hill Arena. And for up to eight lucky husky riders, the next step will be to compete in the Zone 1 Zones team competition. It will be the University of Connecticut's sixth post-season appearance, having won the Region four years in a row from 1988-92, then again in 1998 and now 2005. In the very early days of the IHSA, before there was a post-season, the huskies were high point team in the only region that existed at the time, which stretched from Western New England to the Philadelphia suburbs and inbetween, making them the 1971-72 National Champions! If they should survive Zones, and take a full team to 2005 Nationals at Eden Park Equestrian Complex in Sunbury, Ohio, the Connecticut College Camels will be able to say, Yea, we beat those huskies by a 40 to 35 score on March 26th! Roger Williams, which finished the season third overall with 298 points, also scored 35 on this day. Brown ended up with 371 and UConn with 380. If a close race is good preparation for the post-season then the Huskies could go far. ---Steve Maxwell Show Incidentals: Mostly Sunny with High Temperatures in the upper 40's. Show held indoors. Start time: 9:08AM. Finish: 4:52PM - includes 38 minute lunch break/Coaches and Captains meeting and separate 17 minute schooling break. Point cards posted in this region? Yes, but with no rider names (class names listed only). Alumni Classes held in this region? Yes. Judge: Cornelia Lacy-Rock. Stewards: Callahan/University of Connecticut, Fogg/Johnson & Wales University and Guinta/Post University. Team Totals: Connecticut College (High Point Team) 40; Roger Williams University (TIE-Reserve) 35; University of Connecticut (TIE-Reserve) 35; Brown University 33; Johnson & Wales University 27; Wesleyan University 20; Rhode Island College 19; University of Rhode Island 19; Post University 17; Trinity College 10 and Salve Regina University 8. High Point Rider - Stephanie Gollobin, Connecticut College
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