"Being high point is a nice honor but more importantly I think it was good for the team's spirits for me to win that over a UVM rider since they really cleaned up and won overall as a team," said Freund. "We couldn't let them take home both big trophies."
Freund qualified for the ride-off by winning both her Open Fences and Open Flat classes. Also taking home a blue ribbon was new rider Samantha Parsons '10 in the second section of Open Flat.
"It was super exciting to win! I wasn't expecting that and it made me feel really good about my own capabilities," Parsons said.
Other top ribbons on the day included second places for co-captain Tim Malone '07 in Open Fences, Ashley Hannebrink '07 in Novice Flat and Jeanie Lau '08 in Walk-Trot-Canter. Placing third were Malone in Open Flat, Hannebrink in Intermediate Fences and Kaity Wallace '07 in Walk-Trot.
"I actually think our position overall didn't reflect how well we were riding yesterday. Watching classes I thought Dartmouth riders stood out as some of the strongest and most put together riders out there," said Freund. "It was our first show back and we have a lot of new riders."
For several riders, Middlebury marked their first time in intercollegiate competition.
"I was a little nervous but I think I'll do better next time now that I know what to expect," Wallace said. "There were a lot of little surprises because I didn't really know how these things work."
"I really like how riding has become a team sport, before I always felt a lot more isolated even when showing with friends," added Parsons. "I like how everyone helps each other out, giving tips on horses they've ridden before and what not."
Nearly half of Dartmouth's 20-member squad is new to the team this year; four freshmen as well as two sophomores and two seniors were accepted after two days of tryouts the first week of the term.
"I joined the team because I took two riding P.E. classes and loved it," said Wallace, one of the new seniors. "I thought it would be awesome to be on the team senior year to get more experience and meet a new group of people."
"I've really never had the opportunity to be on any kind of team before," said Erica Anhalt '09, also a new team member. "I love that I now have the opportunity to get to know 19 other people who all love the same sport I do."
Malone and Freund's transitions into the roles of captain have also proven to be smooth.
"I think the transition to Daisy and Tim's leadership went incredibly well," said Hannebrink. "Both have invested a lot of time and effort into the team since their freshman years and have always helped so much at shows, so the leap to captains did not seem very difficult."
The new captains have also remained dedicated to Dartmouth's particular brand of team spirit.
"Daisy and Tim have been amazing captains so far, they're really done a great job keeping up the energy and the ridiculousness," said Lily Macartney '08.
"The best part of being captain yesterday was handing out the flair," said Freund.
