For Immediate Release
May 15, 2000

SOUTH HADLEY, MASS.—Mount Holyoke College's equestrian team bested fourteen top riding teams last weekend to win the Miller's Collegiate Cup, the country's most prestigious championship for college equestrian teams at the annual Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) national show in Conyers, Georgia. In a race that was neck-and-neck until the finish, the Mount Holyoke team defeated closely trailing Hollins University, winning the coveted Miller's Cup with a score of twenty-nine points and receiving two top places.

This year's national show was held at the Georgia International Horse Park, the site of the Atlanta Olympics. The hosting team was Wesleyan College of Macon, Georgia, and over 100 teams travelled to Conyers for the event, which involves team and individual competitions.

"In vying for the Miller's Cup, it's crucial that each rider consistently put points on the board, and that's what we did in Georgia," notes Mount Holyoke College riding coach C.J. Law as she looks back at the big win for her team.

During the series of eight events that comprise the Miller's Cup team championship, three schools battled for the prize until the very end. On Friday, May 12, the Mount Holyoke College team began with two strong rides when junior Jesse Quillian took second place in the Intermediate Fences event and first-year Lauren Morlock took third place in the Open Fences event. Then, the competition heated up among Mount Holyoke, Virginia Intermount College and Hollins–with the threesome jockeying for first and second place throughout the day. The turning point on Friday came when sophomore Jessica "Jess" Webb won the Novice Flat event, giving the women's college an edge.

The next day, however, the Mount Holyoke team started off with a bump, when its first rider was initially eliminated because of a difficult mount. Noting that a Skidmore rider had obtained a reride, Coach Law pushed for the same, winning a reride for the Mount Holyoke rider that resulted in two crucial points. When first-year Elisa Panetta Villareal drew another difficult mount for the Walk-Trot event, Coach Law was worried. Nonplussed by her horse, however, Panetta Villareal rode to first place in the event, giving the ride of her life in what proved to be a second turning point for Mount Holyoke.

After an excellent riding season at the regional level, select members of the Mount Holyoke team went on to the New England zone competition, a qualifying event for the national show. Based on performances at the "zones," top collegiate teams from each of the country's eight geographic zones were selected to compete at the national show. Coach Law notes that this year's victory was a team win for Mount Holyoke. "All thirty-seven riders made this championship possible. Winning the Miller's Cup means first competing well at the regional level and our team did just that this spring."

Seven Mount Holyoke riders rode in the Miller's Cup eight events, which range from the most basic of horse riding, walking and trotting, to the most difficult: jumping fences. Each event has one student rider per school. Each rider is evaluated by two judges, who assign points for the ride. Unique to IHSA competition, riders draw random mounts, adding to the difficulty and drama.

Sporting an unusually high number of first-year riders, the Mount Holyoke team's Miller's Cup members were: Elisa Panetta Villareal (first-year, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) who rode in the Walk-Trot class; Julie MacKay (first-year, Scituate, MA) who rode in Walk-Trot-Canter; Jessica "Jess" Webb (sophomore, East Longmeadow, MA) who rode Novice Flat; Jesse Quillian (junior, South Hadley, MA) who rode Intermediate Flat and Intermediate Fences; Rachel "Kasin" Anton (first-year, Orinda, CA) who rode Open Flat; Kathryn "Katy" Matteson (first-year, Avon, CT) who rode Novice Fences; and Lauren Morlock (first-year, Ross, CA) who rode Open Fences. Webb and Panetta Villareal placed first in their events, winning individual Miller's championships as well.

Noted for its outstanding equestrian facilities and riding teams, Mount Holyoke College last won the Miller's Cup in 1986. The team frequently places second, third or fourth in the cup competition and hosted the IHSA national show at its equestrian center in 1997. The equestrian team's coaches are C.J. Law of

Belchertown, MA, and Joy Collins of East Longmeadow, MA, a 1991 graduate of the elite women's college who won a competition within the IHSA's national show's Alumni Equitation division in 1995. Collins, the assistant riding coach, filled in for Law this fall while the coach was on leave.

Web images available online at: www.ihsa.com/mhc_pic_champions2000.htm