by Teresa Campbell - May 7, 2009

It was a beautiful, warm March day for our final regular season show of the year at Smith College. Our team was leading the region with 36 points going into the show. This, combined with the weather, made for high spirits throughout the day. We also had a beautiful spread of food graciously supplied by our wonderfully-supportive parents.

We took home many firsts and seconds, and everyone rode well. In open fences, Tracey Mack took first, Kirsten Kasper finished second, and Cassie Herman grabbed third. Intermediate fences saw a first from Liz Tripp, second from Shannon Peavey and third from Courtney O’Connell. In novice fences, Brenna Cogswell brought home the blue. Belinda Wenke also grabbed first place in walk-trot, and Leelawan Kaesawang was third. In open flat, Amanda Pettengill earned first place honors. Emme Johnston stole first in walk-trot-canter, and Amy Plunk grabbed third in her first IHSA show. Lora Ciborowski was third in intermediate flat. Mount Holyoke shined in novice flat - Jordan McMullen, Caroline Daly and Maudie Braswell all won first place ribbons, and Stephanie Tagliatela finished third.

Many of our riders qualified for the Regional Championship Show on March 28 at the University of Massachusetts. They were Amanda Pettengill (open flat), Emme Johnston (walk-trot-canter), Katie Henderson (walk-trot-canter) and Maudie Braswell (novice flat).

At the end of the day, we came in second place with 35 points. UMass took first (42 points). However, this left us at 29 points ahead in the region, so we were going to the Zone Championship!