On Saturday, the Big Green traveled to Middlebury College and accumulated 36 points, edging out second-place University of Vermont by only one point. Points are awarded to the top performing point riders; first place takes seven points, second place five points, third place four points and so on, with sixth place taking one point.
The competition was limited entry, allowing only 12 riders to participate. The entire 20-person team traveled together to provide support.
"We are very loud and enthusiastic, so at the horse show each and every person whether they're competing or not is there at the side of the arena cheering on their teammates," coach Sally Batton said. "Even if there is a problem, they always applaud for their teammates and congratulate them when they come out."
The team took six first-place finishes and one second-place finish, spread across the eight different divisions: walk trot; walk trot canter; novice, intermediate and open flat; and novice, intermediate and open fences. Events are performed in order of descending difficulty, often leaving the critical closing points to the traditionally easier events.
"Both Saturday and Sunday, our win rested on Lauren Kwan '14," Meg Rauner '17 said. "We were a point or two away from winning or losing, and she really got it for us."
Rauner, a veteran horse rider who competes in the novice group, took first place in the walk trot canter division on Saturday. Divisions are structured such that each first place counts equally toward the total team score. The lowest score from the eight divisions is dropped, creating a maximum possible yield of 49 for a straight set of perfect firsts.
The Big Green came close to perfection at their competition on Sunday at the University of Vermont. The team amassed a stunning 46 points, besting their long-time fierce competitors the University of New Hampshire by five points.
"When we lift, our chant is Beat UNH!'," co-captain Alexa Dixon '15 said. "They've really been hard to beat in the past, but this time they were at both competitions, and we still won. UVM is another good team we've wanted to beat, and they even had home show advantage on Sunday."
Lindsay Seewald '16 crushed her intermediate fence and intermediate flat divisions, earning the Big Green 14 points. She competed in a ride-off for high point rider, which is a separate challenge ranging from completing a difficult riding task to answering a question about riding and horse maintenance. Ultimately, she was awarded reserve high point rider, equating to a second-best score overall among all the riders of the 11 attending schools.
Dartmouth's weekend dominance was a feat achieved only by a well-oiled and cohesive team. As a unit, the Big Green took home 11 top finishes of first or second place, a critical aspect of not only collecting points but also blocking other teams from gaining points that would make the competition closer.
"We have great people in every division," Dixon said. "We really have so much depth, which is great for point blocking. In competitions like we had yesterday where the event is open and a lot of people can compete, we really do well."
Dixon had to step up for the team when seasoned rider Emily Tregidgo '16 was bucked off her horse and injured her leg.
"When Emily fell off and hurt her leg, the whole scene was pretty dramatic for us," Dixon said. "She was the point rider for our class, and they let me swap in. We were actually lucky to be able to change that."
The horses' variable behavior in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association factors heavily into competition.
"When you arrive, you have to watch the horses warm up to have an idea of what they look like because you have to just get on a horse," co-captain Janna Wandzilak '14 said. "It helps to see how the horse is feeling that day to try to give you a better idea of how to ride."
Riders are assigned horses at random and are not given the opportunity to acclimate to their particular horse's styles, creating tough situations like the one the team faced at UVM.
Despite this upsetting setback, the team maintained composure and finished off the competition with one of the highest scores Batton has recorded in over 20 years at Dartmouth. The team is on track to finish first in the region and, hopefully, continue on to higher levels of competition like zone and All-Ivy, a break in the solid but not astounding results of last season.
"We probably haven't won two in a row since around 2007, which is the last time we won our whole region," Batton said. "Last year we called ourselves the bridesmaids because we came in second in five out of eight competitions."
The team looks to maintain their position on Saturday at Colby-Sawyer College before coming home to host their own show on Oct. 26.
