The equestrian team competed in regional championships on Saturday, qualifying four members for the ISHA Zone I New England Championships at Mount Holyoke College this weekend. At a competition at the University of New Hampshire on March 8, the team had already secured the regional title, entering it as a team in the upcoming New England competition.
The regional title, awarded to the team that has accumulated the most points throughout the year, allows the Big Green to bring eight team riders to the championship this weekend, in addition to the athletes who qualified in individual events. The team will compete in 13 rides at Mount Holyoke.
In Saturday’s regional competition at the Dartmouth Riding Center in Etna, the Big Green competed against riders from schools in its region, including Bates College, Bowdoin College, Castleton State College, Colby-Sawyer College, Endicott College, Middlebury College, the University of Maine, the University of New England, the University of Vermont and UNH.
Riders needed first or second place titles to qualify for the New England Championships. Co-captain Janna Wandzilak ’14, Lauren Kwan ’14, Emma Waugh ’16 and Morgan Curtis ’14 secured qualifications in their respective events.
“When me and Emma got first and second place on Saturday, everyone piled into a giant group hug and was crying,” Curtis said. “It just shows how everyone is totally invested in everyone else’s performance.”
Kwan took gold in Walk-Trot, and Wandzilak performed impressively in Open Fences and Open Flat, claiming the Reserve Champion title, which is awarded for second place, in both events. She also won the Cacchione Challenge Cup, against the top 10 riders in the region, ahead of Alexa Dixon ’15, who took third place in the event. In the Regional High Point Rider standings, Wandzilak secured Reserve Champion, and Dixon placed third.
“It’s really exciting as a senior to get to go to [New England Championships] in both events,” Wandzilak said. “I’ve had a really good season, but qualifying in Flat was more unexpected. It’s really exciting to get to represent Dartmouth in my final year at [New England Championships].”
Waugh came in first in Novice Flat, while Curtis followed in second, good enough to qualify both riders for the New England Championships. Curtis called the event her “strongest performance ever.”
Competing at home provided both advantages and disadvantages, athletes said.
“Sometimes when you know your horse, one of the big errors you can make is second guessing yourself,” Wandzilak said. “If you’re on a horse you don’t know you just ride rather than getting into your head too much.”
Wandzilak, Dixon and Curtis attributed the team’s strong performance to its spring training trip in Florida.
This Saturday, the team will travel to South Hadley, Mass., to compete in the Zone I New England Championships in the hopes of qualifying for the 2014 ISHA National Championships in May. In addition to individual events, the Big Green will battle Mount Holyoke, University of Rhode Island and Tufts University for one of two team spots at the national competition.
The team, Dixon said, has a good chance of qualifying for the national competition.
“We have a really strong team with a lot of depth,” she said, “and our coach has been preparing us well.”
Though not all athletes will be competing this weekend, the entire team will travel to Mount Holyoke.
