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ANCIENT HISTORY LESSON: DEL VAL WINS OVER UDEL 33-28 ON NOVEMBER 4TH Readington, NJ - Way back in the good old days when Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards still had a chance there was a horse show at Briarwood Farm. It was not just any horse show. It was the November 4th Drexel/Rider show! And it was the fifth Zone 3, Region 2 hunter seat show of the year! And Delaware Valley College won by five over the University of Delaware. The Fighting Hens should be commended for keeping it close, considering the Aggies had 100 blue ribbons. Well maybe not that many. How about a 15-8 advantage? The rest of the region had about three-and-a-half! OK, that's not true either. Nine blues were spread out among nine other schools. When it was time to read first place the announcers had Del Val and UDel on the brain no doubt. So who were these Delaware Valley riders who won 15 classes? They were Megan Courson (beginner walk-trot-canter), Kristen Lawrence (advanced walk-trot-canter), Chelsea Killinger (same), Tiffany Mansy (same), Megan Barilla (same), Maria Metz (novice flat), Chantal Plank (novice fences), Justin Rowe (same), Jennifer Rowe (intermediate flat), Nick Bleiler (novice flat and fences), Nicki Booth (novice flat and fences) and Kaitlyn Yakscoe (intermediate flat and fences). The last three riders mentioned made up the ride-off. A sophomore from Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Bleiler won the ride-off while Booth, from nearby Flemmington, New Jersey, was reserve.
The University of Delaware started the afternoon on a strong note, as they have seemingly done so at every show. This is because the shows usually start with open fences, an area where the Hens have dominated. Current Region 2 USEF/Cacchione leader Kristina Christiansen won the first section of open fences while teammate Alex Kirik won the second. Another UDel open rider, in this case Jennifer Windish, was a winner in open flat. Also in the winner's circle for the Hens were Carling Vantine (novice flat), Erika Brodie (beginner walk-trot-canter), Devinne Bennett (same), Krysten Bowersox (same) and Christina Sanders (advanced walk-trot-canter). Through five shows the University of Delaware has claimed the top four positions in the Region 2 open rider standings and usually has six or seven riders in the top ten. West Chester and Villanova tied for third with 23 points each. Villanova managed three firsts, the most of any school without the word "Delaware" in their name. Sarah Smith (open flat), Angela Cavaliere (novice flat) and Theresa Maloney (walk-trot) were the Wildcat blue ribbon winners. The Golden Rams were blue ribbon winners only once, as Victoria Asplen won the first of three sections of walk-trot. Four other West Chester riders earned red, second place ribbons. As there had been a tie for third there was also a tie for fourth. Both Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania managed to hit 21 without busting. The Owls were led by sophomore Samantha Cronce, who won the fifth of five sections of novice fences. Temple riders also accounted for three red ribbons. Like Temple the Penn Quakers earned one blue ribbon, as Cristina Fitzpatrick won the second section of intermediate flat. The Quakers were also recipients of two red ribbons. The University of Pennsylvania earned their 21 points with a full card while Temple did so without anyone showing in either open division.
Drexel University was next with 20 points, this despite the Dragon's lack of an open rider at the time. The fifth-to-last class of the day saw Drexel win their lone blue ribbon, a first for Lindsey Wrazien in walk-trot. The co-host Dragons also earned a pair of red ribbons. While at least three members of co-host Rider University managed third-place ribbons, only sophomore Alyssa Flocco faired better. From nearby Montgomery, New Jersey, Flocco was second in the third of five novice flat classes. Rider, which fell in with the majority by not having an open rider, finished with 16 points. However at the previous show Rider's total of 24 was good enough for third place, apparently the first time in Bronc program history that Rider had placed that high at a Zone 3, Region 2 show. Arcadia University was without riders in three divisions but still managed 15 points. The Beavers were led by Sarah Bellomo, who placed second in the section of walk-trot which Wrazien won. Three other Arcadia riders placed third, including Susie Daily in intermediate fences, the only member of the team to compete above the novice level. Bucks County Community College scored eight points without a rider in the open divisions or walk-trot-canter. The highlight of the day for Bucks came early on, when Kira Mundhenk finished second in the third section of intermediate fences.
Washington College started the day very well, as Amanda Trumble and Bernadette Loomis won two of the three sections of intermediate fences. The Shoremen still looked good after Kristie Heitmann placed second in intermediate flat. However from that point on Washington College would not earn a ribbon above fourth the rest of the day. Through the slings and arrows of misfortune the Shoremen earned only three points on this day though a week earlier they choose their point riders better and scored 15. There were two sections of alumni flat and one large section of alumni fences, the latter made up of 11 riders. The alumni who left Briarwood with the most points earned on this day was Bucks County graduate Christy Aussiker. Aussiker was second to the University of Pennsylvania's Jess Schatz over fences while winning the first section of alumni flat outright. The second section of alumni flat went to Delaware Valley grad Jamie Mast, who historically is a much better over fences rider but has earned twice as many flat points versus her fences efforts so far this season. Second to Mast in section 9B was West Chester alumni Kim Rice while Oklahoma State graduate Paige Hortman was second to Aussiker in section 9A. Hortman could become part of a trivia question if she makes it all the way to IHSA Nationals in one of the alumni divisions. Hortman could become the first IHSA Alumni rider ever to have ridden initially as an IHSA undergraduate rider, qualified for Nationals, then compete for an NCAA-only school, and then ride alumni at IHSA Nationals. There are other riders who have ridded at Nationals on both sides of a stint in the NCAA but not as an alumni just yet! Hidden Message? At the top of every page of the program on the pages where the classes were listed was this curious message: 8A,8B,6A,6B,6C,7A,7B,5A,5B,5C,4A,4B,4C,4D,4E,10,9A,2bA,9B,2bB,3A,2aA,3B,2aB,3C,2bC,3D,1A,3E,2bD,1B,2bE,2aC,1C,2aD. This information was written in very small lettering and without spaces in between, making it all the more suspicious. E-mail us if you think you know what it means.
Though Delaware Valley won by five, University of Delaware Head Coach Bryan Bradley was not as upset as some others in his position might be. Bradley felt that because the University of Delaware won only one of the first five shows but yet trailed Del Val (which had won three shows) by less than ten points that he liked his team's chances. Much later in the 21st Century: Region two staged one more show before the winter break, which saw Delaware Valley again win by a narrow margin. The Aggies thus had won four of the six fall shows but led the Fightin' Hens by only 11 at 197-186. The first show of 2008 was supposed to be at Briarwood on February 23rd but a snowstorm the day before forced that show to be either canceled or postponed, perhaps to Friday, March 21st. On March 2nd the alumni hosted their yearly show, with the University of Delaware making up the margin of deficit in one day. UDel won 37-31 over West Chester, with Del Val scoring 25 for third. The Hens thus led the Ags for a week, 223-222 before again earning the blue ribbon. On March 9th Delaware Valley hosted, and despite home ring advantage the Fightin' Hens prevailed. The University of Delaware scored 41 points to edge Del Val by three. The overall points show the Fightin' Hens with 264, the Aggies with 260 and West Chester in command of third place with 207. Christiansen is in the diver's seat as far the Region 2 USEF/Cacchione race is concerned, leading teammate Megan Spilatro 76-59 and could only be caught for Region 2 high point open rider if the postponed show is made up. Going into the March 16th University of Delaware show the top four riders in the open rider race are all from UDel. The big question that remains is IF the March 16th show is the regular season finale or does the region stage one more on the 21st? If the February 23rd show is made up then Del Val has two chances to catch UDel. If not, then the March 16th show at C-Line stables will once again decide a very close race. --Steve Maxwell Show Incidentals: Partly cloudy skies, with temperatures in the low '50's. Start time: 8:57AM. Finish: 4:13PM - includes a 15 minute schooling break. Coaches & Captains meeting held prior to start of show. Point cards posted in this region? No. Alumni classes held in this Region? Yes. Judge: Steve Rivetts. Stewards: Orem/West Chester University, McCoy/Villanova University, Morrone/University of Pennsylvania (AM only) and Bradley/University of Delaware (PM only). Team Totals: Delaware Valley College (High Point Team) 33; University of Delaware (Reserve High Point Team) 28; West Chester University 23; Villanova University 23; University of Pennsylvania 21; Temple University 21; Drexel University 20; Rider University 16; Arcadia University 15; Bucks County Community College 8 and Washington College 3. High Point Rider - Nick Bleiler, Delaware Valley College
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