The Dartmouth Riding Team capped off a stellar season with some impressive performances on Saturday at the Regional Championships at the Morton Farm Riding Center. Of the Big Green's seven qualifiers at Regionals, three riders did well enough to advance to Zones next weekend.
"I'm so proud of our team," Co-Captain Megan Phillips '99 said. "We had a very successful regular season and then we ended amazingly well at the Regionals."
The Big Green were led by junior Samantha Caldwell, Abbie Roberts '98 and Cathy Emery '99 -- all three of whom will have a shot at Nationals next weekend.
Caldwell was a double Reserve Champion in the Intermediate Fences and the Intermediate Flat competition. Roberts and Emery, meanwhile, combined for a Big Green sweep in the Novice Division.
Roberts took top honors in Novice Fences while Emery won the Novice Flat and was named Reserve Champion for Novice Fences.
The competition involves a unique scoring scenario. There are five divisions to ride in, from beginner to advanced. The three upper divisions (Open, Intermediate and Novice) compete on the flat and over fences, while the two lower divisions only compete on the flat.
If a competitor wins her class at Regionals, she is declared Regional Champion of the division. The second place finisher is named the Reserve Champion.
In other Big Green riding action, junior Kate Rice took third place in the Challenge Cup class while Phillips finished in seventh place. Rice entered the competition as last year's defending champion.
Senior Grace Kim finished a great season with a fourth place finish in the Walk-Trot division. Her teammate Annette Gaynes '99 faced some tough competition and ended the afternoon in sixth place in the Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter division.
"There's a lot of individual talent on our team and we all work well together," Phillips said. "Next year promises to be exciting and full of wins."
Zones will be held at Stoneleigh-Burnham n school Massachusettes on Saturday. In order to advance to Nationals, Caldwell, Roberts and Emery will need to place either first or second at Zones.
Even though the regular season is over, the Big Green still have one more at-home appearance on April 26 when they host the annual All-Ivy Horse Show at The Morton Farm Riding Center.
