Seen here with Head Coach Michael Dowling, Marissa Cohen was one of six Centenary College riders to win a team class at Zone 2 Zones on April 4th. Cohen beat out three others for the blue ribbon in team intermediate fences. The Cyclones were ahead from start to finish (though they were briefly tied for the top spot) and would field a full hunter seat team at IHSA Nationals for the 18th time in the past 20 seasons.

CENTENARY COLLEGE DOMINATES '09 ZONE 2 ZONES

Long Valley, NJ - Centenary College hosted Zone 2 Zones on Saturday, April 4, 2009. The horse show consisted of 28 teams compiled from the surrounding four regions. Centenary’s coaches, Michael Dowling and Heather Clark set the prestigious course, while Kerry O’Connell, an adjunct professor at the college and a former coach at Centenary, added her ‘special’ touch with the shrubs and flowers that decorated the arena. The morning started with Dr. Lynn Taylor, a Professor and Acting CAO of Centenary College giving the welcome and good luck speech to the competitors. IHSA Founder and Executive Director Bob Cacchione followed by giving a talk to everyone on what a competitive Zone we have and wishing the exhibitors good luck. At the end of the speeches, Courtney Conrad of Drew University gave an amazing performance by singing the National Anthem.

The morning started with the Individual Open Fences class. Judge Patricia Harnois selected Fairfield's Elysse Ruschmeyer, who was aboard Carter, to be the winner of the class. The second place rider was New York University's Hanna Gelfand, who will also be representing Zone 2 at Nationals in Tennessee. The Team Open Fences was won by Lindsay Clark from Centenary College aboard Pilot. Following Clark was Suzanne Snyder from St. Lawrence, Emily Bruschi from Skidmore College and Gelfand.

Next was Individual Intermediate Fences, where riders from Region 1 took the top placings. Jackie Smith of Pace University rode Carter to victory while reserve champion Amanda Bender of S.U.N.Y. - New Paltz also qualified for Nationals. The Team Intermediate Fences class was won by Marissa Cohen of Centenary, who rode Skye. Kelly Campbell of Skidmore followed, with Juliana Goldlust from New York University third and Hadley Deming of St. Lawrence fourth.

Hadley Deming of St. Lawrence University rode four times at 2009 Zone 2 Zones, receiving a blue ribbon in individual novice over fences. Deming also earned red ribbons in Team Intermediate and Individual Novice flat.

The Individual Novice Fences class was won by Deming while Sami Davis of Centenary College followed to secure her spot at Nationals. The Team Novice Fences class was won by Centenarys' Julia Connors, riding Ace. Following Connors was Chelsea Jones from Skidmore, Nicole Basile from NYU and Tricia Yandow from St. Lawrence. Through all of the team over fences divisions Centenary had 21 points, Skidmore 14 points and both NYU and St. Lawrence 11 each.

The fences classes ended with Dr. Emily Weis riding Zanga to victory in the Alumni Fences. She was followed by Amamda Gerdts from Salve Regina University, who also coaches the Yale Equestrian Team.

After the jumps were removed from the arena, and the coaches and captains meeting was over, it was on to the flat classes. First up was Individual Open Flat, which was won by Devon Degan from Fairfield aboard Cola. Following her was Barbie Lanigan from Cazenovia College. The Team Open Flat class was held immediately after, and Harnois selected Jennifer Wilkins from Skidmore as the winner, followed by Snyder, Hanna Gelfand and Molly Brown from Centenary. This would mark the first of only two times Centenary would come up short of a blue ribbon in a team class.

The Cacchione Cup Division was a combination of a jumping round and a flat round. Harnois put Lindsay Clark in first place after her exceptional performance at both the jumping phase and the flat phase. Katharine Hankin from St. Lawrence was awarded second place, followed by Jennifer Wilkins from Skidmore and Tara Devlin from Stony Brook University. All four of these riders are on their way to Nationals, representing their respective regions in the Cacchione Cup competition.

The next flat division was Intermediate. The Individual Intermediate was won by Holly Davis from St. Lawrence, and Jordan Calabro from Skidmore also qualified for Nationals in the second place position (Calabro was also the first Region 3 individual rider to advance, giving all four regions at least one rider aside from the Cacchione qualifier to cheer for in Murfreesboro - Editor). The Team Intermediate class was won by Grier Filly from Skidmore aboard Rock On, followed by Deming, Kelly Arvidson of Centenary and Amanda Fischer from New York University. At this point the score was Centenary 28, Skidmore 28, St. Lawrence 21 and NYU 18.

From Millbrook, New York, Greer Filley of Skidmore College followed up a win in team intermediate flat with a win in individual novice flat. Filley was one of four Skidmore riders to advance to IHSA Nationals on an individual basis.

Grier Filly also rode to victory in the Individual Novice Flat class which followed. The ever-busy Hadley Deming also qualified individually for Nationals with second place honors. The Team Novice Flat Class was won by Centenary freshman Brittany Cunanne. Hanae Kumura from Skidmore came in second place, with Kristin Putnam from St. Lawrence third and Alexandra Goldman from New York University fourth.

Dr. Emily Weis had an outstanding day, not only winning the Alumni Fences class but also securing another win in Alumni flat aboard Cola. A 1999 graduate of Stonehill College, Weiss was competing at Zones for the first time under her married name, having ridden as Emily Unger at several prior Zone 2 Zones shows. 2006 Drew University graduate Kristine Kennedy will be joining Weis at Naitonals, as the 2007 IHSA National Champiom in the division was second at today's show.

The Individual Walk-Trot-Canter class was won by Kumura while Ashlynne Jones from Centenary was awarded second place honors. Centenary senior Mary Bogatko, aboard Hanover, won the Team Walk-Trot-Canter class. Bogatko was followed by Kathryn Buccelli from St. Lawrence, Alexandra McGuire from Skidmore and Arina Chesnokova from New York University. Unless a rider in the walk-trot division were to be disqualified, the results of Team Walk-Trot-Canter assured Centenary, Skidmore and St. Lawrence of fielding a full hunter seat team at Nationals in Murfreesboro later in the month.

Seen here with 'Hanover,' Mary Bogatko had the distinction of winning consecutive classes. The senior from Westfield, New Jersey won Team Walk-Trot-Canter, then got right back on another horse, and won Individual Walk-Trot. Bogatko was the fifth of six Centenary College riders to win a team class as the Cyclones scored 49 to defeat Skidmore by seven for the blue ribbon (Photo by Sara Tirch).

The last divisions of the day were the Walk-Trot classes. Bogatko rode to victory in the Individual Walk-Trot class. Emily Hottenson from Skidmore will also be making a trip to Nationals with her second place award. The Team Walk-Trot class top honor was awarded to Victoria Rosenthal from Centenary College while Rebecca Rawling from Skidmore followed for second place. Third went to Amber Latza from St. Lawrence and Bakmoo Lee from New York University was fourth. The day was competed with Centenary the new Zone Champion (49 points). Skidmore, Coached by Cindy Ford, was second (with 42) while St. Lawrence, Coached by Mary Dreuding was third (with 34). Because Zone 2 has over 1,000 registered hunter seat riders the top three teams at Zones advance. For the second season in a row, New York University, coached by Ashton Phillips, was fourth (scoring 27). Phillips himself will still be going to Nationals, as the 1989 Virginia Intermont College graduate qualified in the alumni flat division out of Zone 3 one day after Zone 2 Zones were completed.

--Sara Tirch

Class-By-Class Results from Zone 2 Zones, held April 4th, 2009 in Long Valley, New Jersey, with the top two riders in each individual class advancing to IHSA Nationals April 23rd through 25th in Murfreesboro, Tennessee:

Individual Open Equitation Over Fences: 1. Elyse Ruschmeyer, Fairfield University. 2. Hanna Gelfand, New York University. 3. Elizabeth Kigin, Skidmore College. 4. Sarah Fincke, St. Lawrence University. 5. Haley Flagg, Drew University. 6. Tara Devlin, Stony Brook University. 7. Katharine Hankin, St. Lawrence University. 8. Emily Bruschi, Skidmore College.

Team Open Equitation Over Fences: 1. Lindsay Clark, Centenary College. 2. Suzanne Snyder, St. Lawrence University. 3. Emily Bruschi, Skidmore College. 4. Hanna Gelfand, New York University.

Individual Intermediate Equitation Over Fences: 1. Jackie Smith, Pace University. 2. Amanda Bender, State University of New York at New Paltz. 3. Alie Wolfel, New York University. 4. Amy Crysler, Cazenovia College. 5. Charlie Levin, Hobart and William Smith Colleges. 6. Jessica Anselmo, Centenary College. 7. Jen Mondazzi, Cazenovia College. 8. Diana Greenwald, Columbia University.

Team Intermediate Equitation Over Fences: 1. Marissa Cohen, Centenary College. 2. Kelly Campbell, Skidmore College. 3. Juliana Goldlust, New York University. 4. Hadley Deming, St. Lawrence University.

Individual Novice Equitation Over Fences: 1. Hadley Deming, St. Lawrence University. 2. Sami Davis, Centenary College. 2. Barb Koziol, Alfred University. 4. Alex Walker, Nazareth College. 5. Randi Cashman, Centenary College. 6. Alexandra Cooper, Skidmore College. 7. Natalie Zobel, Stony Brook University. 8. Ann Michelle Palecki, State University of New York at Albany.

Team Novice Equitation Over Fences: 1. Julia Connors, Centenary College. 2. Chelsea Jones, Skidmore College. 3. Nicole Basile, New York University. 4. Tricia Yandow, St. Lawrence University.

Alumni Equitation Over Fences: 1. Dr. Emily Weiss, Stonehill College. 2. Amanda Gerdts, Salve Regina University. 3. Angela Netoskie, Pace University. 4. Diana Patterson, Columbia University. 5. Sonia Knutsen, Fairfield University. 6. Amanda Taylor, Ottawa University. 7. Audra Ravo, Ithaca College. 8. Michelle Green, Dickinson College.

Individual Open Equitation On The Flat: 1. Devon Degan, Fairfield University. 2. Barbie Lanigan, Cazenovia College. 3. Lindsay Clark, Centenary College. 4. Emily Bruschi, Skidmore College. 5. Katharine Hankin, St. Lawrence University. 6. Liz Stitzel, Sarah Lawrence College. 7. Marie Cosgrove, Alfred University. 8. Hanna Gelfand, New York University.

Team Open Equitation On The Flat: 1. Jennifer Wilkins, Skidmore College. 2. Suzanne Snyder, St. Lawrence University. 3. Hanna Gelfand, New York University. 4. Molly Brown, Centenary College.

Cacchione Cup Class: 1. Lindsay Clark, Centenary College. 2. Katharine Hankin, St. Lawrence University. 3. Jennifer Wilkins, Skidmore College. 4. Tara Devlin, Stony Brook University (All four of these riders are automatically qualified for IHSA Nationals as Region Champion High Point Open Riders - Editor).

Individual Intermediate Equitation On The Flat: 1. Holly Davis, St. Lawrence University. 2. Jordan Calabro, Skidmore College. 3. Molly Brown, Centenary College. 4. Amanda Bender, State University of New York at New Paltz. 5. Alexandra Stevenson, Skidmore College. 6. Niki Paris, Nazareth College. 7. Georgina Melbye, Cornell University. 8. Casey Marino, Sacred Heart University.

Team Intermediate Equitation On The Flat: 1. Grier Filly, Skidmore College. 2. Hadley Deming, St. Lawrence University. 3. Kelly Arvidson, Centenary College. 4. Amanda Fischer, New York University.

Individual Novice Equitation On The Flat: 1. Grier Filly, Skidmore College. 2. Hadley Deming, St. Lawrence University. 3. Kelly Arvidson, Centenary College. 4. Marissa Cohen, Centenary College. 5. Katie Fink, Hobart and William Smith Colleges. 6. Laura Brown, St. Lawrence University. 7. Rachel Klion, Cornell University. 8. Catherine McIntyre, Fairfield University.

Team Novice Equitation On The Flat: 1. Brittany Cunanne, Centenary College. 2. Hanae Kimura, Skidmore College. 3. Kristin Putnam, St. Lawrence University. 4. Alexandra Goldman, New York University.

Alumni Equitation On The Flat: 1. Dr. Emily Weiss, Stonehill College. 2. Kristine Kennedy, Drew University. 3. Amanda Bon-Keen, Wesleyan University. 4. Michelle Green, Dickinson College. 5. Sonia Knutsen, Fairfield University. 6. Alexandra Schauble, Stony Brook University. 7. Kristine Brackenridge, Sacred Heart University. 8. Audra Ravo, Ithaca College.

Individual Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation On The Flat: 1. Hanae Kimura, Skidmore College. 2. Ashlynne Jones, Centenary College. 3. Robyn Murray, Alfred University. 4. Sydnie Thurber, Cazenovia College. 5. Alena Ferrigno, Binghamton University. 6. Brittany White, Stony Brook University. 7. Lauren Lavo, Cornell University. 8. Katelyn Flemming, Centenary College.

Team Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation On The Flat: 1. Mary Bogatko, Centenary College. 2. Kathryn Buccelli, St. Lawrence University. 3. Alexandra McGuire, Skidmore College. 4. Arina Chesnokova, New York University.

Individual Walk-Trot Equitation On The Flat: 1. Mary Bogatko, Centenary College. 2. Emily Hottenson, Skidmore College. 3. Lauren Bender, Centenary College. 4. Jena Valletta, Cazenovia College. 5. Julie Kominsky, New York University. 6. Alicia Kosiba, Binghamton University. 7. Sean Flynn, United States Military Academy. 8. Sarah Aquila, Sacred Heart University.

Team Walk-Trot Equitation On The Flat: 1. Victoria Rosenthal, Centenary College. 2. Rebecca Rawling, Skidmore College. 3. Amber Latza, St. Lawrence University. 4. Bakmoo Lee, New York University.

Final Hunter Seat Team Totals, with the top three teams advancing to IHSA Nationals: Centenary College (2009 Zone 2 Zones Champion) 49; Skidmore College (Reserve) 42; St. Lawrence University 34 and New York University 27.