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KNIGHT SHINES IN THE DAYTIME, BILL REPEATS, PHILLIPS RESERVE AGAIN AS ALUMNI RIDE AT 2004 IHSA NATIONALS Murfreesboro, TN - On a national basis, Alumni numbers were up substantially in 2003-04. Save for Zone 1 lacking any stock seat riders (none of the regions in Zone 1 have ever had official Stock Seat classes of any kind) and Zone 9 without a rider in the alumni over fences, every other Zone sent at least one rider in each of the four alumni divisions to Nationals. In some cases it was a dog fight (Zone 3 had the most crowded field of hunter seat riders for the season) while in others it was a matter of getting to 28 points and then waiting for May 6th to come around. For those who feel nostalgic, here is a brief recap of the alumni by Zone in 2003-04: Zone 1: Region 2 did not have any alumni classes as usual. Region 3 had alumni at only one single show, which was an anomaly. Regions 1 and 4 had significant turnout, but in the case of Region 1 there were well over three riders for some shows and not enough to hold the alumni divisions at others. University of Connecticut alumni dominated Region 1 and made a dent in Region 4. Jen Corti, a former huskie, was the only rider from Region 1 to qualify for Regionals in both alumni flat and fences, and the only UConn grad to reach Nationals (in alumni fences). Sue Simon, a former teammate of Corti's, made it to Zone 1 Zones in alumni fences out of Region 4, but was ousted by Corti and Tufts gradute Katie Schaaf. Schaaf and Ohio University graduate Holly Helbig both finished ahead of Corti at Zones on the flat, and both would fair well at Nationals. Zone 2: Zone 2, Region 1 could claim that 21 different 'human beings' competed in at least one hunter seat alumni class, tops in the nation by a hare over their neighbors in Zone 3, Region 1 (one rider, Jane DaCosta, showed in Zone 3, Region 1 in the fall, then voided those points to show in Zone 2, Region 1 in the spring, this after becoming the Columbia University Head Coach). By contrast Zone 2, Region 1 had no stock seat alumni, nor did Region 3. Region 2 had both, with Cazenovia graduate Allyson Thibodeau qualified in both hunter seat divisions and Alicia Fereday getting to Regionals in alumni fences and both stock seat divisions. Fereday, who coaches her alma matter, S.U.N.Y. - Oswego, made it through Zones to Nationals in each alumni western division only. Thibodeau won alumni fences at Zone 2 Zones, also moving on to Murfreesboro. Shannon Whitney, an ex-teammate of Fereday at Oswego, and Paige Flaherty, who holds a degree from S.U.N.Y. - Cortland (which currently has no team) were the other western Nationals qualifiers from Region 2. However Flaherty was unable to attend Nationals, which allowed Fereday to take her place in the alumni reining. Whitney won both alumni western classes at Zones. Region 3 only had one alumni rider who consistantly made it to all the shows. Cornell graduate Christie Schneckner qualified in both hunter seat divisions, went straight to Zones and then placed no higher than fourth. Getting back to Region 1, alumni legend Sandra Sayre managed to finish the season atop both the flat and fences (50 points in the former and 52 in the latter). Tara Gerber of Sacred Heart was second in the flat and went on to reach Nationals in that division. Sayre, who has won more alumni classes at IHSA Nationals than anyone in the history of the organization (four), made it back to the championship in both divisions. Honorable mention goes to Jennifer Leveille of Pace and Dominique Vonsiatsky of New York University for reaching Regionals in both hunter seat divisions in such a crowded field (though Vonsiatsky did not reach Zones, she did go to Nationals as the NYU Head Coach. She even got into the photo at the top of this article; Vonsiatsky is on the far left-ed.). Zone 3: Thanks in part to a huge turnout in Region 1, Zone 3 had the highest number of alumni for any Zone in 2003-04, though again, due in part to where the Zone is located, the stock seat numbers were far behind the hunter seat. Region 1 had close to 20 riders pay the fee at least once, all showing hunter seat. Yale graduate and Head Coach Margot Sanger-Katz and St. Joseph's College alum Stephanie Rigert qualified for Regionals in both divisions, with Sanger-Katz (whose combined flat & fences points were tops in the region) advancing to Zones over fences and Rigert advancing in both divisions. Sacred Heart graduate Kristine Brackenridge, who is a friend of Gerber's, hoped to ride against her ex-teammate in Murfreesboro but placed fourth at Zones in alumni flat (only riders who place first or second in an individual class at Zones advance to IHSA Nationals). Delaware Valley College graduates Jamie Mast and Joanne Coniglio led the Region 2 open flat division with 45 points apiece, while Mast tied Bucks County and Arcadia graduate Amber Jewel atop the Region 2 fences division with 42. Coniglio and Courtney Beidelman (also a DVC graduate) were one-two in alumni western horsemanship, while Beidelman finished three points ahead of Dawn Kaufman (who also holds a degree from Del Val) in alumni reining. Kaufman may have qualified with precisely the 28 needed, yet she did go on to reach Nationals. Beidelman made it to Nationals in both western divisions, and Coniglio made it through Zones in alumni fences. University of Pittsburgh graduate Melaina McSweeney and Edinboro University alum Laura Hetz were the only Region 3 riders to qualify for Regionals in both hunter seat alumni divisions. Both advanced to Zones, but neither placed above third at that time (McSweeney third over fences). Region 4 is the only region in the IHSA which absorbs three teams from another region for their stock seat classes (Indiana of Pennsylvania, West Virginia University and Wilson College from Region 3 hear the crys of walk-jog-lope in Region 4 as the numbers are not large enough for Region 3 to go it alone in stock seat at this time). Three alumni rode stock seat throughout 2003-04 within the region, and as a result, Rutgers gradaute Celeste Sisto and Kutztown graduate Katie Hibbs reached Regionals in both reining and rail. Sisto's former teammate Kelly O'Neil led the reining division but missed out in the rail with only 26 points. Sisto would be the only alumni stock seat rider in the region to reach Nationals, getting to Murfreesboro on the rail. Sisto had a shot at going to Nationals in hunter seat, getting as far as Zones in alumni fences. Virginia Intermont graduate Ashton Phillips wound up with more alumni points than anyone in the Zone (58 on the flat, 61 over fences), and for the first time since he rode alumni in Zone 2, Region 1 a decade ago, Phillips reached Nationals in both hunter seat alumni divisions. It is worth noting that Findlay graduate Erika Bender, who did not show in at least three of the ten Region 4 shows, still managed 36 points on the flat and placed second to Phillips at Zones in that division.
Zone 4: Neither Region 2 nor 3 of Zone 4 had alumni this season (as usual). However Region 1 had both alumni hunter seat and stock seat classes. Region 1 generally holds eight hunter seat shows a year. The number was almost nine but turned out to be seven that counted (a hurricane cancelled the season opener, a non-approved judge nullified the results of the second show). To make matters worse for alumni, at least two shows did not have alumni classes. All the more remarkable is the fact that two riders qualified for Regionals in alumni on the flat and that one got in over fences. Daphne Boogaard, who rode for the University of Maryland was the lucky jumper, while Mount Holyoke graduate Andrea Bill (who won alumni flat at 2003 Nationals) and Tricia Prettyman of the University of Maryland qualified on the flat. Eight stock seat shows took place during the season, with Prettyman qualifying for the post-season in both divisions. St. Mary's of Maryland Head Coach Jaqueline Falkowski-Schmitter, who attended Mary Washington College as an undergraduate, also qualified in alumni reining (Falkowski-Schmitter won the alumni flat at 2001 IHSA Nationals and likely would have qualified had all the hunter seat shows featured alumni classes). With no need for alumni classes at Regionals, and no need for alumni classes at Zones either, all of the above received a direct pass to Murfreesboro (Boogaard was the first to clinch, doing so at the February 15th Mary Washington Show). Zone 5: In a similar situation to Zone 2, Zone 5 contained one region with no stock seat alumni classes, another region without enough alumni classes to count, and a third with a large stock seat alumni turnout. All three regions had fair-to-exceptional hunter seat alumni participation. Region 1 was the only region within Zone 5 with stock seat riders who qualified for the post-season. Middle Tennessee State alumni Allison Brannon led both the reining and rail divisions, while Laura Harbour of the University of Kentucky pointed out in alumni rail (known as alumni western horsemanship to many) and Krista Dausmann advanced in alumni reining. With no one else qualified from the other two regions, Brannon, Harbour and Dausmann were each assured of a place at IHSA Nationals. The hunter seat riders did not have it so easy. Vanderbilt alumni Mawghan McCabe received 39 points in alumni flat and 73 hunter seat points overall, tops in Region 1. Brannon and Harbour, like McCabe, qualified in both hunter seat divisions. Caroline Thompson of Tennessee (at Knoxville) and Julie Neumann of Vanderbilt also made it to Region 1 Regionals in both hunter seat alumni divisions. Marianne England of Midway College got in over fences. Regionals knocked out Thompson and Harbour on the flat and over fences, while Brannon was sixth over fences but later first on the flat. After all the camaraderie with this group, only McCabe made Nationals, placing second at Zone 5 Zones on April 3rd. Clemson graduate Diana Davis tied Erskine alum Heather Greer with 33 points each in the Region 2 alumni on the flat standings. Davis led the region with 30 points over fences. Davis was the only qualifier in the jumping. By the time the regular season ended, Davis was no longer Davis, having married a man named Thompson. Davis-Thompson went on to place first in alumni flat at Zones while placing second to McCabe over fences. The three Region 3 survivors to take part in Zones were all Wesleyan College graduates. While Vivia Exum and Melissa Williams were unable to place first or second at Zones, Jasmyn Jones, who was class of '99 at Wesleyan, jumped her way to second over fences on April 3rd in Rome, Georgia.
Zone 6: Tyline Nearon of Ohio State was third in alumni western horsemanship at Region 1 Regionals. With only the top two advancing to Zones at Zone 6 Regional shows, Nearon became the only alumni rider to be eliminated within the Zone who had qualified for the post-season. Like Zone 4, only Region 1 of Zone 6 had alumni classes in 2003-04 (though several riders who showed alumni in Zone 5, Region 1 would gladly ride alumni in Zone 6, Region 2 if that region reinstates the classes in 2004-05). Ohio State alums Kari Fryman and Maria Paxton were one-two for the regular season in alumni rail, while Paxton finished ahead of Fryman in alumni reining. Allison Parks of Hiram College qualified in both hunter seat alumni divisions, while Oberlin graduate Allison Matthews also reached Regionals in alumni fences. Parks and Matthews thus both moved on to Nationals, though all four alumni classes were held at Zone 6 Zones on April 3rd (including Parks flatting by herself). Though Matthews placed second to Parks at Zones, the Oberlin graduate who had some success at prior National shows was a no-show in Murfreesboro. Zone 7: Region 1 was the most popular region for alumni west of the Mississippi, with more riders than ribbons in most alumni classes. Region 2 had three loyal western rail riders, but this is as far as the story goes for the Region known for Texas A & M, Oklahoma State and West Texas A & M. Stephen F. Austin graduate Karen Hodges led the Region 2 alumni western horsemanship riders with 37 points. Kinsey McClure of Texas Tech obtained 30 and Prairie Endres of Sul Ross State also qualified for Regionals with 29. Regionals eliminated Endres. Zones eliminated McClure. Region 1 had a multitude of riders in each division. University of Wyoming alumni Michelle Schwope led the reining standings with 35 points. Former New Mexico State teammates Rachel Knight (who was Rachel Rosencrans as an undergraduate a year ago) and Lindsay Hansen both accrued 30 points in reining while Hansen led Knight 38-37 on the rail. Although Hansen was probably the best of the bunch during the regular season, she would place third at Regionals in reining and third at Zones in horsemanship. Though there was a large turnout for alumni flat and fences during the regular season, only two Region 1 riders made it to 28 points in either division. University of Findlay graduate Shannon Gossman reached 40 points in alumni fences, while no one else earned more than 27. Colorado State alum Liz Devine led the alumni flat with 40 points, while Gossman managed 36. Both earned the automatic trip to Nationals, though for reasons that are not clear, Devine did not compete at the championships. Apparently higher-ups knew Devine would not be at Nationals, for her name was not in the official show program (by contrast, Matthews of Oberlin in Zone 6 was listed).
Zone 8: In a nutshell, Region 1 had only a handful of hunter seat riders at roughly three shows, so no one qualified for the post-season. Region 2 had no alumni classes. Region 3 had alumni, but only Terry Paulish from Rider University qualified, doing so in alumni flat. Region 4 had their alumni act together, with recent Washington State graduate (and 2003 AQHA Cup rider) Corinda Behler and 2003 Oregon State alum Dawn Salazar qualified for Regionals in alumni western horsemanship and Salazar qualified in alumni reining. Sacha Maxwell, who was class of 2001 at Mount Holyoke, qualified in both hunter seat alumni divisions. All four riders advanced to Nationals. Zone 9: Regions 1 and 3 did not have alumni. Region 2 was made up primarily of riders with a stock seat background. Several of these riders gave it a shot at alumni flat. Alumni fences classes were not held. At the end of the regular season, Iowa State graduate and current Head Coach Meaghan McLoughlin, Virginia Intermont graduate and Northern Illinois Head Coach Joleen DeWitt and Southern Illinois (at Carbondale) graduate Joanne Numrich all qualified for Regionals in alumni flat; Numrich, McLoughlin and Southwest Missouri State graduate Robert Guy qualified for Regionals in alumni reining, and Numrich and Guy qualified in alumni western horsemanship. Apparently Guy could not compete at some point in the post-season, which allowed McLoughlin and Numrich to move on to Nationals where applicable. Numrich was third in alumni flat at Regionals, which allowed McLoughlin and DeWitt to ride in Murfreesboro. So what became of these people when they showed up at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum on May 6th? Some left very happy, some were indifferent, and most took home more than a participation ribbon. The first four-day IHSA Nationals had a unique schedule that put only hunter seat classes on Thursday (May 6th), both english and western on Friday and Saturday, and only stock seat classes on Sunday (May 9th). Some alumni were frustrated that the hunter seat classes were on a Thursday, as most would have to take three days off of work to compete. The stock seaters were more fortunate, with both of their alumni divisions on the Saturday schedule. Prettyman and McLoughlin had to show both days. Both are involved with the coaching of their respective teams (Prettyman as an assistant to Maryland Head Coach Emmie Prettyman, coincidentally her Mother, and McLoughlin the Coach at Iowa State) so it was probably not a stretch for either to be at the show all four days. Alumni fences was the fourth class on Thursday. With the standard practice of announcing the judge's combined scores following each trip, anyone writing down the scores could figure out, save for ties, who would place where. Phillips led for a while with a score of '83' until Gossman received an '84.' When the placings were announced, Corti placed tenth out of 13 with a '64,' Davis-Thompson ninth with '65,' Sayre eighth with '69,' Thibodeau seventh, recently engaged, and just ahead of Sayre at Zone 2 Zones, with '70,' Maxwell sixth with '76,' Boogaard fifth with '77,' Park fourth with '78' and McCabe third with '81.' Phillips had made it to Nationals each of the previous two seasons, placing third over fences in 2002 and second on the flat last season. The 1989 Virginia Intermont graduate stayed inside the top two, but watched Gossman win alumni fences her first time showing as a graduate. Her only previous ride at an IHSA National show was her senior year, when Gossman placed sixth in team open flat back in May of 2000. Alumni flat took place four classes later, sandwiched between each flat phase of the Cacchione Cup Competition. While only 12 riders took part in alumni fences, 16 qualified for the flat, with seven riders (Schaaf, Sayre, Phillips, Davis-Thompson, Park, Gossman and Maxwell) participating in both divisions. This time around Gossman was out of the ribbons, as was the legendary Sayre, who won three of four hunter seat alumni classes the two seasons Nationals were held in Conyers, Georgia (2000 and 2001). Park also dropped out of the top ten. In the top ten with a tenth was Jones, who rode as an undergrad at Wesleyan College under Jon Conyers, the Head Coach at the time and the co-manager of 2004 Nationals today! McLoughlin placed ninth, while Davis-Thompson moved up a place to eighth from her performance over fences earlier in the day. Gerber was seventh, while Maxwell cornered the market on green ribbons with another sixth. Schaaf did much better than her jumping round, moving from what would technically be eleventh to fifth. Bender, riding at Nationals as an alumni for the first time, placed fourth. Helbig, who was a Cacchione Cup rider two seasons ago, placed third. It was Deja Vu for Phillips and Bill, who in 2003 were the final two riders in the ring. As was the case a year ago, Phillips heard his name called first, which meant second place. For the second season in a row, 2001 Mount Holyoke graduate Andrea Bill, former teammate of Sacha Maxwell and former teammate of this year's Mount Holyoke individual and team open fences rider Lauren Morlock, was the individual alumni flat champion. In three IHSA Nationals appearances, Bill has placed third in alumni fences once, second in alumni flat once, second in alumni fences once, and first in alumni flat twice. Phillips, who finished one place behind Bill for the third time in three years, said afterwards that he doubted he would ever win an alumni class at Nationals. Save perhaps for those who show against him, the masses hope Phillips keeps on trying.
Two days later the alumni western horsemanship took place. The third class of the day, 14 riders were qualified, with all but four making their alumni debut. Following the walking, the jogging, the loping and the pattern, tenth place went to Numrich. Fereday, the only entry in the class who is also a Head Coach, placed ninth. Whitney, who placed one position above Fereday at Zone 2 Zones, did so again, with an eighth. Beidelman placed seventh, while Fryman, who had ridden in several Nationals classes as an undergraduate, finished sixth. Her former Ohio State teammate Paxton was fifth, while ex-Kentucky wildcat Harbour placed fourth. Hodges, who was the only rider from Zone 7, Region 2 NOT from either Texas A & M or Oklahoma State to participate in 2004 Nationals, was third in her IHSA Nationals debut. Brannon, who twice as an undergraduate made it to Nationals when a rider who placed above her at Zones was later unable to compete, placed second. Knight, who finished third in the Zone 7, Region 1 stock seat open rider standings in 2002-03, won her first time out as an alumni. The stars would not move far as the afternoon progressed. Ten of the fifteen riders in alumni rail were back an hour later to try their hand at reining. Several riders were given re-rides in the division, but when it was over, seven of the ten riders who showed in the rail class were in the ribbons here. Tenth place went to Kaufman, who rode this one time only. McLouglin had placed ninth in alumni flat on Thursday and repeated the ribbon here. Numrich moved up from a tenth to an eighth, while Schwope, who finished ahead of Knight during the regular season in Zone 7, Region 1 placed seventh. Brannon fell back to a sixth. Fereday improved quite a bit with a fifth. Paxton moved up a place with a fourth. Out of the ribbons in western horsemanship, Salazar jumped a country mile to a third. Fryman leaped from a sixth to reserve. Knight was unchanged! Will alumni be as big in 2004-05? The numbers were way up in 2003-04, and with Alumni Director Karen Sykes taking more of hands-on approach than others earlier in the millennium, logic would indicate her second year in the position should be even better than her first. ---Steve Maxwell The Alumni Individual Class-by-Class Results. Alumni Fences and Alumni Flat were held Thursday, May 6th while Alumni Western Horsemanship and Alumni Reining were held Saturday, May 8th. The judges for hunter seat classes were Sarah Good, Belton, Missouri and John Roper, Brentwood, Tennessee. The judges for stock seat classes were Gretchen Mattes, Harwinton, Connecticut and Betsy Tuckey, Ashland, Virginia: Individual alumni equitation over fences: 1. Shannan Gossman, University of Findlay. 2. Ashton Phillips, Virginia Intermont College. 3. Mawghan McCabe, Vanderbilt University. 4. Allison Park, Hiram College. 5. Daphne Boogaard, University of Maryland. 6. Sacha Maxwell, Mount Holyoke College. 7. Allyson Thibodeau, Cazenovia College. 8. Sandra Sayre, Drew University. 9. Diana Davis Thompson, Clemson University. 10. Jen Corti, University of Connecticut. Individual alumni equitation on the flat: 1. Andrea Bill, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Ashton Phillips, Virginia Intermont College. 3. Holly Helbig, Ohio University. 4. Erika Bender, University of Findlay. 5. Katie Schaaf, Tufts University. 6. Sacha Maxwell, Mount Holyoke College. 7. Tara Gerber, Sacred Heart University. 8. Diana Davis Thompson, Clemson University. 9. Meaghan McLoughlin, Iowa State University. 10. Jasmyn Jones, Wesleyan College. Individual alumni western horsemanship: 1. Rachel Knight, New Mexico State University. 2. Allison Brannon, Middle Tennessee State University. 3. Karen Hodges, Stephen F. Austin University. 4. Laura Harbour, University of Kentucky. 5. Maria Paxton, Ohio State University. 6. Kari Fryman, Ohio State University. 7. Courtney Beidelman, Delaware Valley College. 8. Shannon Whitney, State University of New York at Oswego. 9. Alicia Fereday, State University of New York at Oswego. 10. Joanne Numrich, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Individual alumni reining: 1. Rachel Knight, New Mexico State University. 2. Kari Fryman, Ohio State University. 3. Dawn Salazar, Oregon State University. 4. Maria Paxton, Ohio State University. 5. Alicia Fereday, State University of New York at Oswego. 6. Allison Brannon, Middle Tennessee State University. 7. Michelle Schwope, University of Wyoming. 8. Joanne Numrich, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. 9. Meaghan McLoughlin, Iowa State University. 10. Dawn Kaufman, Delaware Valley College.
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