Dartmouth's equestrian team competed in back-to-back events this weekend, overcoming both freezing snow conditions and unruly horses to finish second out of seven teams at Saturday's Dartmouth Show and third out of nine teams Sunday at Colby-Sawyer College.
At the Dartmouth show, the Big Green trotted all over most of its competition, nabbing four first-place finishes and three second-place finishes.
Coming up big for Dartmouth was co-captain Cristina Herren '12, who won the intermediate fences. Elizabeth Wilkerson '11 and Katherine Lindzey '13 won the novice fences, while Helena Witte '13 won the advanced walk-trot-canter division.
While Dartmouth welcomed six freshmen to the roster this season, co-captain Sam Parsons '10 said that an individuals's riding experience, rather than his or her age, determines the level at which each rider competes.
"In terms of team dynamic, age does not match to skill," Parsons said. "It's great to have freshmen and new people because they bring enthusiasm and a fresh feel to the team. It doesn't necessarily make us an inexperienced team just because we have younger riders."
After a positive showing at home, the Big Green had little time to rest before traveling to Colby-Sawyer College Sunday morning.
At Colby-Sawyer, Parsons was tops in the open flat, leading Dartmouth to its third-place finish out of nine competitors.
Some of the riders that performed well at home did not manage to nab ribbons in the same events at Colby-Sawyer, Parsons said.
"It's just hard when we have two shows in a row," Parsons said. "The first one was here, and we have to run it ourselves. And so we work all day and compete, and then to compete again the next day was exhausting for everyone."
"Doing two shows in a row was stressful for the team, because you are constantly doing something and have little time to rest in between," Faye Keegan '12 said. "It can be a little overwhelming."
Keegan, however, coped well with the schedule and was named the high-point rider at Colby-Sawyer.
In her first year riding with the team, Keegan amassed the most points out of the 70 riders at the Colby-Sawyer competition by winning the open fences and placing second in the open flat.
Despite posting positive results over the weekend, Keegan said that the unpredictability of the show horses limited the team's ability to thrive at Colby-Sawyer.
"I think the team did really well, but we all had problems with the horses," Keegan said. "There is a big element of randomness when riding a new horse. I'm just getting used to that now, because I'm new to the team."
In equestrian, riders accrue individual points, an amount that is determined in part by how well they cope with the differences among horses.
"A horse can be a little more nervous in the ring, a little faster or slower," Keegan said. "Its stride can be longer or shorter. Especially in the jumps, the unpredictability can make a big difference. A lot of horses can be deceiving in how they feel versus how they actually are."
Parsons said that every horse has a character, and that while horses are trained in the same way, they respond differently to the same kind of cues.
"You have to feel it out as you go," Parsons said. "You realize quickly that some horses are easier to deal with than others. The best judges can separate horse problems from rider problems and usually give riders points for handling horse problems well."
The bitter weather conditions also threatened to bury the Big Green, as the riders were forced to show in the snow.
"It was snowing and sleeting and the weather was just terrible," Parsons said. "It was freezing cold. It did not turn out as well as we wanted it to, but everyone rode pretty well for the conditions."
While most teams have to brave the weather outdoors, Parson said that Dartmouth practices indoors during the winter season.
"We are one of the few teams that have our own facilities, with an indoor and outdoor ring," she said. "Many other teams have to go and find some other place that will allow them to be there to use their horses."
The Big Green riders will look to take advantage of their facilities in preparation and canter past the competition in its upcoming match-up against regional foe, Mount Ida College, on October 25th in Newton, Mass.
