Coming off of second place finishes at its past three competitions, the Dartmouth equestrian team is preparing for back-to-back competitions this weekend despite practice setbacks due to the stormy weather caused by Hurricane Sandy. On Saturday, the team will compete at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., before heading to Boxford, Mass., for a competition at Endicott College on Sunday.
In the wake of the storm, which brought rain and strong winds to the Upper Valley, practices were canceled on Monday and Tuesday. Today's practice will take place as planned, pending barn conditions. The last time the team had a similar predicament was when Hurricane Irene brought heavy rain to Hanover in August 2011, head coach Sally Batton said.
"Last time when Hurricane Irene hit, the farm manager had to literally chainsaw his way up to the barn because there were so many trees down," Batton said. "I'm hoping that we can get back up here on Wednesday, but if we have the same kind of damage as we did last time, I won't even see them until Thursday. We'll see and hope for the best."
The two competitions this weekend are important, Batton said, because they are the last two of the fall season. The team is trying to gain total points on UNH, which has defeated the Big Green at the last three competitions and has been the regional champions for the past several years. Batton credited UNH's depth as one of the reasons for the team's success. However, the team is optimistic that it can make up ground on the Wildcats this weekend.
"I really want them to do well this weekend because then our fall season is over," Batton said. "It's nice to go into the winter, where we have a break, on top. It'll be nice if we can give a one-two punch this weekend."
At the Dartmouth Invitational last weekend, three riders from the Big Green gained enough points to "level up," allowing all three to qualify for Regionals in the spring. Rochele Brown '13 and Tasha Bock '15 both moved up a level from the Walk Trot Canter to Novice. Courtnie Crutchfield '13 moved from Walk Trot to Walk Trot Canter.
Alexa Dixon '15 was also a winner this weekend, placing first in Intermediate Flat riding and second in Intermediate Fence, which put her among the top four overall point winners of the weekend. Dixon has been riding seriously since she was 12 years old and completed high school online to dedicate more time to riding and competitions.
Her goal for the year is to level out of Intermediate and move into the most advanced level, Open, thus qualifying her for Regionals. After the weekend, Dixon had 21 of the 35 points needed to advance.
"I think we do need to continue developing our newer riders because many of our experienced riders are starting to move up to higher divisions," Dixon said. "We need to make sure that our riders are strong in each division. That is sometimes where we lose our points to UNH they are good in every division."
At riding shows, horses at the facilities are assigned to riders randomly. Co-captain Helena Witte '13 said that this gives UNH an advantage for Saturday's competition.
"They know all of the horses and have practiced the courses," Witte said. "It will be a challenge to beat them on their own turf, but I'm confident that the team will do it."
Witte, who worked as a wrangler in Montana before coming to Dartmouth as a rider, injured her back and neck and could not compete in the Dartmouth Invitational. In the previous competition held on Oct. 14 at the University of Vermont, however, Witte won Reserve High Point Rider, taking second place out of all 120 riders.
The last time the entire Dartmouth equestrian team made it to the Zone 1 Championships was in 2007. A team has to place first or second at Regionals to make it to Zones. Witte said that the weather during the winter inhibits consistent practice, which poses a problem since Regionals occurs the weekend before spring classes begin.
"It is so hard to get to the barn in the winter," Witte said. "I think the team just needs to stay excited and work just as hard even when we're not riding. It's hard to keep up that motivation in the winter when we're trying to stay fit. It's hard to keep your eye on the prize when you're not able to get on a horse for weeks at a time."
Regarding weather conditions, Witte said that most of the other teams in Dartmouth's region are in the same boat, including UNH, so there should be an even playing field.
"If we perform well, we hopefully would be able to push [UNH] out of the top spot," Witte said. "My main goal is to keep the enthusiasm and positive team dynamic rolling for the year. I think that contributes well to team performance."
