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SIX REGIONS (IN FOUR ZONES) CAPTURE INDIVIDUAL ENGLISH DIVISIONS Murfreesboro, TN - For those who do not know how one qualifies for IHSA Nationals on an individual basis, here is a simple explanation. During the regular season a rider showing in any of the divisions except for Open and Alumni must earn 35 points to qualify for Regionals in that division. A rider earns seven points for a first, five for second, four for third all the way down to one point for sixth. Once a rider reaches or exceeds 35 points that rider automatically qualifies for Regionals and moves up to the next level for the remainder of the regular season. At Regionals all of the riders who qualified in a given division ride off against each other. Depending on the Zone, either the top two or the top three at Regionals advance to Zones for hunter seat. For western, the top two go on to one of the three Semifinals shows. The individual qualifiers to Zones must then place first or second to advance to IHSA Nationals, while for western the top four at Semifinals move on to Nationals. For open riders and alumni riders the process is similar. Riders in these divisions need to earn 28 or more points to qualify for Regionals. However unlike in the other divisions the points do not carry over from season-to-season, with all points erased at the end of the school year. Once a rider at any of the open or alumni levels qualifies for the post-season they too must make the top two or three at Regionals to continue their seasons on to Zones, Semifinals and ultimately Nationals. In many cases riders had to compete against over a dozen riders in their division at Regionals to reach Zones or Semifinals, and at that point had to ride against five to fifteen others. Those who reach IHSA Nationals had to earn it 99 percent of the time, so simply to be competing in the National show should be an honor.
In 2008-09 90 different schools advanced one or more undergraduate riders to IHSA Nationals to compete in one of the eight individual hunter seat undergraduate classes (a separate story covering English and Western Alumni Results from Nationals will appear in mid June). With the 2009 schedule of classes at IHSA Nationals reverting back to the format utilized from 2004 through 2007, the majority of the individual hunter seat classes took place on the first day of the four-day event. One minor change - to swap alumni flat with intermediate flat - meant that six of the eight individual classes would take place on Thursday, May 23rd (this change from the 2007 schedule was planned well ahead of time to allow alumni who qualified on the flat to compete on a Saturday instead of a Thursday - Editor). This meant that 79 of the 90 schools with at least one individual hunter seat undergraduate rider qualified would see one of their riders compete on opening day. As has been the case since 2004 (even last year, with a very different schedule in Burbank), the IHSA National show kicked off with the individual intermediate over fences division. Starting at 9:12AM local time, riders jumped the intermediate fences course set up inside the Tennessee Miller Coliseum one-by-one until all 18 trips had been completed. After each trip public adress announcer Justin Ochs read the combined score of judges Pamela Hunt and Mindy Minetto (the latter a last-minute replacement for Geoff Teal). Hunt and Minetto decided to test the top four in the division, each of whom had scored '81' or higher. When the test was completed all 18 riders were invited back to the ring for the placings. Tenth was awarded to Kutztown University's Andrea Heinzman, a junior from Cochranville, Pennsylvania who earned a score of "72." College of William & Mary freshman Katherine Wallace, who won both intermediate classes at Zone 4 Zones was ninth with a score of "75" while South Dakota State sophomore Molly Ryan was eighth with a score of "75.5." Like Heinzman, Caitlin Smith of College of Charleston is a junior from the state of Pennsylvania (from the town of Glenmore) but the defending team novice flat national champion was four points better than Heinzman in the judge's eyes, receiving a score of "76" for seventh place. Edward Miller, a Western Michigan University freshman who goes by his middle name "Ben" was half a point better than Smith, earning a "76.5" for the green ribbon. Fifth went to Brittney Hartigan, the lone Iowa State rider to reach IHSA Nationals and the first to do so since former Cyclone and then Head Coach Meaghan McLoughlin finished ninth in both alumni flat and alumni reining at the 2004 National Show also held at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum. The sophomore earned a "77," making Hartigan one of seven riders to score in the "70's." All of the placings up to this moment were anti-climactic to anyone writing down the jumping scores into their programs, as the placings could be determined by ranking the judge's scores. Though the test could have moved riders up or down within the top four the written judge's scores would match the remaining placings. State University of New York at New Paltz sophomore Amanda Bender, who had scored "81" was fourth while yet another sophomore, Kathryn Pratt of Oregon State University was third with an "82." Kelly Gerland became the third Pennsylvania resident (from Malvern) and the third freshman to make the top ten in intermediate jumping. The Lynchburg College standout earned the reserve championship with a score of "83." Like Smith earlier, Ali Cibon of the University of Kentucky had won a team class at 2008 IHSA Nationals, having helped the Wildcats to a National Championship with a first in team intermediate over fences. This time around the sophomore from Bannockburn, Illinois was again a blue ribbon winner over the jumps, with the test only helping her "86" score look that much more deserved. The new individual intermediate over fences National Champion was not done for the day, later placing second in team open flat to help Kentucky finish the first day of 2009 Nationals with the lead in the hunter seat team standings. Following team novice over fences (which was won by yet another University of Kentucky rider, in this case freshman Lauren Patterson), the second individual class of the day took place which was also the first to showcase open level riders. Though five competitors scored in the 80's during the individual open over fences only four were invited back to test by Hunt and Minetto. When Ochs finally made the announcements tenth place went to senior Allie Minnis of the combined University of Notre Dame/St. Mary's College of Indiana team. During the 2008-09 season this appears to be the only case throughout the IHSA where two schools competed in hunter seat as one team. Minnis received a score of "75" while Samantha Parsons, a Dartmouth College junior from Weston, Connecticut who won every class she competed in at Zone 1 Zones including a Cacchione division, was ninth. Meredith Gallagher was the first of two Savannah College of Art & Design riders to place inside the top ten within open fences, the senior and Zone 5, Region 3 Cacchione entry finishing eighth with a score of "78." University of Mary Washington senior Jessica VanBrocklin, who won individual open flat at 2008 Nationals, was seventh with a score of "79." Like each of the previous three riders mentioned, Celia Barenfanger was also qualified to compete in the Cacchione division. The University of Wisconsin at Madison senior earned sixth place with a score of "79.5." This writer feels the judges should have tested down to fifth place, as Kim Lynch of the University of New Hampshire earned a score of "80" to finish only a point behind the fourth best score. The sophomore from Derry, New Hampshire could point out that the top five were tested in team novice fences, with two of the riders having scoring in the high 70's while riders in the upcoming individual novice fences were tested down to fifth as well, with one of the riders tested also in the 70's. While Lynch was fifth the test did change the third/fourth outcome. Ironically the riders who finished third and fourth, respectively, came from the same region and essentially wound up reversing their placings from Zones. Fairfield University junior Elysse Ruschmeyer, who won individual open fences at Zone 2 Zones on April 4th was fourth with a score of "81" while New York University senior Hanna Gelfand was third though her jumping score was "80.5" headed into the test. From Los Angeles, Gelfand was also the Zone 2, Region 4 Cacchione Cup qualifier. The reserve championship went to Kelse Bonham of Savannah College of Art & Design. The Bee freshman from Charleston, South Carolina received a score of "83" prior to testing. Though it may seem like Brittany Denton has been a fixture at recent IHSA Nationals the Virginia Intermont College senior from Atlanta, Georgia had never placed above fourth in a division of any kind at the year-end show. Denton received a score of "86" to capture her first blue ribbon in what would be the first of four 2009 IHSA Nationals classes she would compete in.
The final individual over fences division was the fourth class of 2009 Nationals, the novice fences. Though several riders and their coaches had asked for a re-ride earlier it was not until Mississippi College senior Meredith Guider was granted one in individual novice fences that the stewards were in agreement to give one. After all 18 riders (including Guider twice) had competed the top five were invited back to test. When the placings were announced Samantha "Sami" Davis of Centenary College would hear her name first. Davis was tenth with a jumping score of "70" while Kristen Gfroerer of the University of Montana Western took ninth with a score of "72." A senior from Ronan, Montana, Gfroerer was the only rider to compete in both the individual AQHA Trophy division (the western version of the Cacchione Cup division) and a hunter seat division of any kind. University of Kentucky junior Victoria Willock was eighth with a score of "73" while Guider moved from a "41" score to a "74" and seventh place thanks to the re-ride. Natalie Baker of West Texas A & M was sixth with a score of "76." Save for the Cacchione division, no class saw the top placings affected by testing more so than individual novice fences. Fifth place went to University of San Diego sophomore Kelly Usher. Usher's score of "79" headed into the testing would have been fourth had no testing been requested. Fourth went to Sarah Guidice of the University of Findlay. Though her score was the second best at "81" the Oiler sophomore from Rochester, New York was overtaken by two others during testing. One of the two was Allison Mecaughey of the University of Delaware. Mecaughey's score of "78" combined with a good test made her third overall. Mallory Barrett of Georgia Southern University finished her undergraduate era with a score of "83," which had the senior from Brooklet, Georgia in first prior to testing. However Barrett, who trained with Eagles Head Coach Eleanor Ellis for many years before going to college there, would finish second. Rob Jacobs, a St. Andrews Presbyterian College sophomore from Temple Hills, Maryland, jumped from third to Champion thanks to his impressive test. Jacobs, who scored an "80" received the most applause of any individual competitor during 2009 Nationals when he was announced as the Novice Fences National Champion (this includes those who showed individual western). Though Daniel Geitner won the Cacchione Cup in 1994 Jacobs appears to be the first hunter seat rider in Knights program history to win an individual class at an IHSA National show. Jacobs also became the second rider of the day from Zone 4, Region 3 to win an individual class, following Denton's performance not much earlier. Following a pair of team flat classes the individual intermediate flat took place. For the first time in three years no Miami University of Ohio rider would win the division, as no Red Hawk rider qualified through Zones. However riders from Miami's Zone 6 would account for two of the top three placings. Once each of the 18 riders had walked, trotted and cantered each direction, and had been split into different groups for better viewing, the riders lined up and the placings were announced. Wesley Laudeman become the first College of Charleston rider other than Caitlin Smith to hear her name announced when she received tenth place (Smith had in fact won team intermediate flat two classes earlier). Ninth went to Savannah College of Art & Design junior Hannelore McElneny while the legendary Mount Holyoke College program earned their first ribbon of 2009 Nationals as Elizabeth Tripp was eighth. Freshman Lauren Kendle would be the first of two University of Colorado at Boulder riders to make the top ten over the course of eight classes, earning seventh place. Sarah Beatty of the University of Virginia was sixth while Wallace, who was one of three riders in the division who had also shown in intermediate fences, moved up four placings to fifth in her second ride of the day. For the second time today a South Dakota State rider made the top ten as Ashley Marrin was fourth. For the second time today Cibon was inside the top three, taking third place. Cibon would have one blue, one red and one yellow ribbon all in a day's work! The University of Massachusetts had two riders entered over the eight divisions, and each would leave Murfreesboro as either the champion or reserve champion. Elena Serkin, a junior from Richmond, Massachusetts provided UMass with the red ribbon here. Though Michigan State University had a full western team entered, Shelby Piechorowski was their lone hunter seat rider to qualify. A sophomore from Lambertville, Michigan, the Zone 6 Zones champion in the division repeated the placing here, giving the Spartans their first individual blue ribbon in a hunter seat class at Nationals just as Jacobs had done for St. Andrews.
Individual novice flat was the next division held on opening day, and for the first time a rider not from either Zones 4 or 6 would finish on top. Following the usual routine (walk-trot-canter-reverse-walk-trot-canter-then whatever) the class was lined up and the awards were given out. Shannon Thieme, a Rutgers University freshman from Shamong, New Jersey received tenth place while Hadley Deming, a St. Lawrence University sophomore from New York, New York was ninth. Riders from Zone 6, Region 2 continued to bat 1,000 at making the top ten, as Morehead State University junior Hanna Toebben was eighth. University of California at San Diego senior Kimia Nozari was seventh while Kelsey Hill of Stonehill College was sixth. A junior from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, Hill was the only rider from Zone 1, Region 4 to advance to Nationals individually (excluding the Cacchione entry). A pair of Katherines held down the next two placings, as Lake Erie College freshman Katherine Hanneman was fifth while Penn State University senior Katherine Petro was fourth. Amy Balmain, the lone qualifier from the University of California at Davis, would earn the best individual undergraduate hunter seat ribbon for a California school, placing third in novice flat. The reserve National Champion could also claim to be the first IHSA Nationals qualifier in University of Central Florida program history. Alisha Mays, a sophomore from Tampa, Florida was second, competing for a Golden Knights team that only joined the IHSA roughly four years ago. By contrast the school which produced the individual novice flat champion now has 13 individual hunter seat champions, two alumni champions, two Cacchione Cup champions and five hunter seat team national championships. Back in 1984 Ceci Zak won the individual open over fences in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to become the first Skidmore College rider in program history to win a blue ribbon at IHSA Nationals. 25 years later Grier Filley won individual novice flat to become the latest Skidmore National Champion. A junior from Millbrook, New York, Filley is the second Skidmore rider ever to win the individual novice flat, joining Katie Ryan who did so in 1990. Filley is also the sixth Skidmore rider this decade to win an individual class at the year-end show. The tenth class to take place on April 23rd was the individual walk-trot-canter. First to hear her name called was Ashlynne Jones of Centenary College, who was the third rider of the day from a New Jersey school to earn a tenth place ribbon. Amanda Carlson had more in common with teammate Kristen Gfroerer than one might expect, as both are seniors, both attend the University of Montana Western and at this moment both had claimed ninth-place ribbons. Berry College had riders entered in seven of the eleven classes held on opening day, but only one of them actually placed. After having placed sixth in team novice flat Berry sophomore Elizabeth Leduc was eighth in individual walk-trot-canter. Their western team would be very impressive over the next three days, and on day one sophomore Hayley McGuire was the second Oregon State rider into the ribbons with a seventh. Diana Kroll kept Zone 6, Region 2 in the ribbons each time so far (at least individually), as the Miami of Ohio standout was sixth. Delaware Valley College earned their first ribbon of the show, as Kristin Moreland was fifth for the Aggies. Bridgewater College also earned their first ribbon of the day, as Jamie Robinson was fourth. This would not be the only time the Eagles would earn a white ribbon over the long weekend. The same high school in Hawaii can claim two yellow ribbon winners on day one of 2009 IHSA Nationals. Much earlier in the day Chelsea Jones of Skidmore was third in team novice over fences. Shortly after 6:00PM Shannon Brown, a sophomore from Kailua, Hawaii was announced as third in individual walk-trot-canter. Brown was the second University of Mary Washington rider of the day to place and the second from the high school in Hawaii whose name we do not know to place third. Speaking of Skidmore the well-named Thoroughbreds were reserve champions in walk-trot-canter. Hanae Kimura, a sophomore from Seattle, Washington has proven to be very calm under the pressure of IHSA Nationals. Last season Kimura won team walk-trot-canter at Nationals in Burbank to give Skidmore a chance on the final day of the contest. This time around Kimura just missed with a second. The last time Nationals were at the Coliseum a Mount Holyoke rider won the individual walk-trot-canter. Five years after Melissa Rabbitt had the honor it would be Mignon "Emme" Johnston of the Lyons prevailing. A junior from Raleigh, North Carolina, Johnston became the 14th Mount Holyoke rider in program history to win an individual undergraduate class at IHSA Nationals (Over the years the Lyons also have three blue ribbons in alumni classes at IHSA Nationals if you are keeping score - Editor).
The individual walk-trot was either the fourth or ninth class of the day on April 24th, depending on how you look at it. Alumni fences, the Cacchione Cup over fences phase (no placings announced, though there were judge's scores given), team intermediate fences, the Cacchione Cup flat phases, the individual AQHA Trophy phases and team novice western horsemanship all took place before the only individual hunter seat division of day two. There was a minor change with flat classes held on day two (it might have even been in effect late in the day on April 23rd). After riders walked and trotted in each direction Hunt and Minetto excused eight of the eighteen riders, thus making it clear that each of the remaining ten would receive a ribbon above the participation level. Along with team walk-trot, this division is often the shortest in time at IHSA Nationals, as no work at the canter (or lope) is necessary. Over and done in less than half an hour, tenth place went to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania sophomore Lindsay Carter, the only hunter seat rider from Zone 3, Region 3 to earn a top ten placing at 2009 Nationals. Christine Nemeth was the third of three Lake Erie College riders to compete, earning the ninth place ribbon. The rider in eighth place was without a doubt the busiest rider on day two of IHSA Nationals. University of Findlay sophomore Spencer Zimmerman had the rare distinction of riding in three consecutive classes at an IHSA Nationals show. From Newport, Pennsylvania Zimmerman competed in team novice western and finished out of the ribbons. Then there was a minor delay for him to change into hunter seat apparel and compete in individual walk-trot. Then after the walk-trot the individual individual intermediate western horsemanship would be delayed while Zimmerman changed into yet another western outfit for that class. Zimmerman, who was second in individual beginner western and fifth in team walk-trot at 2008 Nationals in Burbank went on to win individual intermediate western and claim his first IHSA Nationals blue ribbon. Because he met the criteria, Zimmerman also won the Versatility award. To be eligible to receive the Versatility award one must qualify for and compete in at least three classes at Nationals, with at least one being hunter seat and one being western. Zimmerman joins the likes of former Cacchione entries Eric Hubbard of College of Southern Idaho and Jill Humphrey of the University of California at Davis as a recipient of the award. Like Zimmerman, Brown University's Kona Shen had competed in team walk-trot at 2008 Nationals. The junior from Seattle, Washington was seventh while Brent Noll of Virginia Tech was sixth. The only one of three male riders qualified in individual walk-trot to place, Noll had won the division at Zone 4 Zones on April 5th. Fifth place went to Melissa "M.J." Thompson, the final Savannah College of Art & Design rider to compete in 2008-09. All four Bees made the top ten, and ironically each represented a different graduating class! Gallagher is a senior, Bonham a freshman, McElneny a junior and Thompson a sophomore during 08/09. Though Noll won the division at Zone 4 Zones it was the reserve Zone champion finishing fourth. Nolls' Hokie teammate Abby Carmichael finished two places higher while third place went to Emily Hottensen of Skidmore College. A senior from New York, New York, Hottensen was one of four Thoroughbred riders to qualify for Nationals individually, and the third inside the top three. Centenary College had been fired up by Marissa Cohens' first in team intermediate fences a few classes earlier, and Mary Bogatko kept the momentum going. The senior from Westfield, New Jersey (who won team walk-trot in Burbank) was the reserve champion. The Cyclones would overtake the University of Kentucky during the final team class to win their first IHSA team National Championship in thirty years the next day. Five of the previous seven individual walk-trot champions were from Zone 1 schools and the latest section made it six of the past eight. University of Massachusetts at Amherst senior Margaret Wiggin may have gone undefeated in the division for 2008-09. From Calumet, Massachusetts, Wiggin was the individual walk-trot champion, becoming the second Minuteman rider in program history to win the division at Nationals. According to one of her relatives who was present for photos in the winner's circle, Wiggin broke a rib prior to Zones but continued to compete nevertheless.
After two full days the only undergraduate hunter seat individual class remaining was individual open flat. Held following the final team class (open fences), the Cacchione Cup work-off phase and the alumni flat, the individual open flat was the final hunter seat class of any kind at IHSA Nationals for the eighth time in nine years! Astoundingly, only one rider (Parsons of Dartmouth) had also qualified for individual open fences two days earlier. Riders in this particular division took to the ring at roughly 11:30AM local time on April 25th, and after eight riders were excused the remaining riders were called into the middle one at a time while cantering until only two remained. Tenth place went to Murray State University junior Samantha Erwin, who was one of six riders in the class who also represented her region in the Cacchione Cup. Sara Gumbiner of Delaware Valley College was ninth while eighth went to a rider not listed in the program. West Texas A & M's Katherine "Katie" Williams may have placed out of the ribbons in both team open divisions, yet the sophomore from Alpine, Utah who was third in individual open flat at Zone 7 Zones on April 5th was into the ribbons on April 25th with an eighth. Williams was allowed to replace another rider who had made the top two at Zones but was not in attendance at Nationals. Miami of Ohio senior Sarah Willoughby was seventh, meaning that every hunter seat rider from Zone 6, Region 2 who qualified for Nationals also placed inside the top ten. Ashley Lovegrove was another of the six riders who were also a Cacchione qualifier. However the Randolph College senior from Monetta, Virginia was the only rider of the six to place inside the top ten in the Cacchione. Lovegrove placed sixth in individual open flat, then had to wait several hours to find out she was also sixth overall in the Cacchione competition (The hunter seat team awards and the Cacchione Cup presentation took place after at least two western classes that followed individual open flat, as well as several other awards presentations and the Parade of Teams). Audrey Tobin, a University of Colorado at Boulder freshman from Arvada, Colorado was the final rider to place in individaul open flat who also rode in the Cacchione. Tobin was fifth while Patti Ann Thornton became the second Bridgewater College rider in three days to place fourth. While many were preparing for 1989 Nationals at Mount Holyoke College on April 25th of that year, Murray State's Ashley Eggersdorfer was busy being born! Twenty years later the Birthday girl almost won, instead turning twenty with a yellow ribbon (Eggersdorfer was not the only person in the Coliseum celebrating a birthday. Former Middle Tennessee State and four-time individual AQHA rider Rusty Rea received some really nice birthday cake later in the evening). While no freshman won an individual hunter seat class at 2009 Nationals, Erin Cechini joined Gerland and Bonham as frosh reserve champions. The Ohio State freshman from Flemington, New Jersey was second in her IHSA Nationals debut. The final hunter seat rider to claim a blue ribbon for the 2008-09 season was the lone hunter seat qualifier from Cazenovia College. From East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Cazenovia senior Barbie Lanigan won individual open flat, in a way making Cazenovia the 90th school to be represented in the individual hunter seat at '09 Nationals. Surprisingly Lanigan is the first Wildcat rider in program history to win individual open flat at Nationals. Lanigan is also the first Cazenovia hunter seat rider to win a class at IHSA Nationals since 2002, when the Wildcat team was Reserve National Champion while Missy Starr and Frank Bassett won individual open over fences and novice flat, respectively.
Overall four different Zones managed two blue ribbons each. Zones 1, 2, 4 and 6 each claimed a pair of firsts, with Zone 1, Region 3 and Zone 4, Region 3 each with two champions. With the decade coming to an end, the time seems right to examine which Zones - and which Regions within those Zones - faired the best at Nationals with regard to blue ribbons in individual undergraduate hunter seat classes. Leading the way with 18 individual blue ribbons, with the first two earned at 2000 IHSA Nationals in Conyers, Georgia, is Zone 2. Perhaps surprisingly Zone 2 had their best year for blue ribbons before they grew from three to four regions, earning four of them at 2005 Nationals in Sunbury, Ohio. Second on the list is Zone 6. 16 times a rider from Zone 6 won over the past ten seasons, with their best Nationals being the 2007 event in West Springfield, Massachusetts. On that ocassion four riders - three from the University of Findlay - won individual classes. Though Zone 6 claims 16 winners it should be noted that one of the 2000 Zone 5 champions was from the University of Kentucky, a Zone 6 school since fall 2002. And if Zone 6 wasn't happy enough with all this good information they will also enjoy hearing that only once between 2000 and 2009 did they bat zero-for-eight at Nationals (in 2002 at Cazenovia), while all others claim at least two Nationals where they failed to win a single individual class. Zone 1 has produced 14 individual champions in that time. At both of the previous National shows in Murfreesboro Zone 1 claimed three winners. Both Zones 1 and 2 have produced at least one champion eight out of ten years. Zone 4 has produced 12 individual winners. The second of two seasons in which Nationals were held in Conyers was their best, with three firsts. Zone 5 has produced eight winners in the single digit decade, though five of them were between 2000 and 2002. Oddly all five winners are from schools that are now in different regions (two from Vanderbilt, when the Commordores were in Zone 5, Region 3; one from the University of Kentucky before the Wildcats were re-aligned to the north and two from the old Zone 5, Region 4, eliminated prior to 2002-03 but containing schools located in what is now called Zone 5, Region 3). Zone 8 once went seven seasons between individual blue ribbons but when the University of San Diego's Megan Feil was the first of two winners at Cazenovia in 2002 the Zone made up mostly of West Coast schools went on a hot streak. Between 2002 and 2007 Zone 8 produced seven winners. In '02 Feil won novice fences while Kelly Taylor of Cal Poly - Pomona (Kelly Lynn Taylor, not to be confused with 1997 Centenary College Cacchione winner Kelly Ann Taylor, until recently the Fairfield University head coach) closed the show with an upset of Brown's Amanda Forte in open flat. This gave Zone 8, Region 2 a pair of winners at one Nationals, a feat equaled by Zone 8, Region 1 in 2006 at Harrisburg when Stanford's Sarah Willeman won both open divisions. Zone 9 only began operation in the fall of 2002 (just like Campus Equestrian!) and can claim three winners since. Cameo Parrish of Purdue was the first, winning intermediate fences to start the show at Eden Park in 2005 while University of Wisconsin at Madison riders won in '06 and '08. Zone 7 has produced only one champion since 2000. Lindsey Smith of Oklahoma State won individual novice fences at 2003 Nationals in Murfreesboro, thus having bragging rights for Zone 7 to herself. The same can be said for Allison Bond of Bucknell University. "(Bond) came to me from scratch. She knew nothing," said then-Bison Head Coach Jan Phillips to this writer (then working for the SPORTS CAMPUS web site) on May 13, 2000 after Bond won individual walk-trot at the Charles Walker arena in Conyers. Since that May day no other Zone 3 rider has won an undergraduate individual class of any kind at an IHSA National show. There is a three-way tie for the region with the most blue ribbons in that time. Zone 2, Region 2, Zone 2, Region 3 and Zone 6, Region 3 have each produced seven individual hunter seat blue ribbons. Zone 1, Region 3 and Zone 4, Region 2 came close, with six each. Mount Holyoke College (from Zone 1, Region 3) and Skidmore College (from Zone 2, Region 3) are the schools with the most individual blue ribbons during that span, with six each.
End of an era (but did anyone notice)?: Though we are not sure when the 'virtual' competition began, the IHSA held something called the "Zone All Stars" or "Zone All Star Teams" every season from at least 1997 through 2008. The description straight out of the 2007 IHSA Nationals program explained it this way: "Each Zone team competing for the title will field a team of eight riders, one individual Zone Champion from each class (1 to 8) to compete for the National Zone All Star Championship. All eight individual riders will count. The team scoring the highest number of points in these classes shall be declared the National Zone All Star Champion. The Zone Teams are to be represented by those riders who won first place in their respective individual class at their Zone finals." When awards were announced at past Nationals there would be a brief mention of the All Star winner but no actual group on the floor of the arena most seasons to claim it. The All Star competition (which probably was the least of the rider's worries who were entered in it) appears to have gone the way of the cassette player in a car stereo. The 2009 Nationals show program made no mention of the division, and the usual print-out scoreboard, often posted near the Hunter Seat and Western Team Points, was nowhere to be found. It was not until this writer was driving home from Nationals that he remembered the whole All Star concept was not once discussed in front of him over the entire four days. An award for "T": After the parade and celebration of teams the IHSA's 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Teresa McDonald. Known to most simply as "T," McDonald has been associated with the Virginia Tech program for many years, mostly as the Head Coach. McDonald rode for Radford University when they joined the IHSA in the mid-to-late '70's, and coached her alma matter before a short stint at Virginia Tech followed by a short stint at Ferrum College and then a much-longer stint at VT where she is now the Riding Director. Besides having been both a Region President and a Zone Chair, McDonald helped Virginia Tech become a founding member of the Interscholastic Dressage Association (IDA) and with 2007 Lifetime Award recipient and (Hollins Head Coach) Nancy Peterson created the Southwest Virginia Hunter Jumper Association which now has over 300 members. Among those on hand to see McDonald accept the award was Meghan Cunningham-Colvin, who is one of many former Virginia Tech IHSA riders now among the coaching ranks themselves (Cunningham-Colvin coaches the Tennessee-Martin NCAA program. At one time during the 2007-08 season five former Virginia Tech students from the "T" era were coaching in the IHSA, including Kina Davis, Ashley Duda and Lisa Tomaselli). In addition to her equestrian pursuits McDonald is a seventh generation farmer, raising cattle, horses and sheep on a 600 acre family farm founded back in 1763. McDonald is the sixteenth individual to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award since it was first given out in 1993. ---Steve Maxwell The following is a list of the Individual hunter seat Class-by-Class Results from 2009 IHSA Nationals, held at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The first six classes listed were held Thursday, April 23rd, the seventh class was held Friday, April 24th and the final class was held Saturday, April 25th. The Judges for all hunter seat classes were Pamela Hunt and Mindy Minetto. Individual intermediate equitation over fences: 1. Ali Cibon, University of Kentucky. 2. Kelly Gerland, Lynchburg College. 3. Kathryn Pratt, Oregon State University. 4. Amanda Bender, State University of New York at New Paltz. 5. Brittney Hartigan, Iowa State University. 6. Ben Miller, Western Michigan University. 7. Caitlin Smith, College of Charleston. 8. Molly Ryan, South Dakota State University. 9. Katherine Wallace, College of William & Mary. 10. Andrea Heinzman, Kutztown University. Individual open equitation over fences: 1. Brittany Denton, Virginia Intermont College. 2. Kelse Bonham, Savannah College of Art & Design. 3. Hanna Gelfand, New York University. 4. Elysse Ruschmeyer, Fairfield University. 5. Kim Lynch, University of New Hampshire. 6. Celia Barenfanger, University of Wisconsin at Madison. 7. Jessica VanBrocklin, University of Mary Washington. 8. Meredith Gallagher, Savannah College of Art & Design. 9. Samantha Parsons, Dartmouth College. 10. Allie Minnis, University of Notre Dame/St. Mary's College (IN). Individual novice equitation over fences: 1. Rob Jacobs, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 2. Mallory Barrett, Georgia Southern University. 3. Allison Mecaughey, University of Delaware. 4. Sarah Guidice, University of Findlay. 5. Kelly Usher, University of San Diego. 6. Natalie Baker, West Texas A & M University. 7. Meredith Guider, Mississippi College. 8. Victoria Willock, University of Kentucky. 9. Kristen Gfroerer, University of Montana Western. 10. Sami Davis, Centenary College. Individual intermediate equitation on the flat: 1. Shelby Piechorowski, Michigan State University. 2. Elena Serkin, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 3. Ali Cibon, University of Kentucky. 4. Ashley Marrin, South Dakota State University. 5. Katherine Wallace, College of William & Mary. 6. Sarah Beatty, University of Virginia. 7. Lauren Kendle, University of Colorado at Boulder. 8. Elizabeth Tripp, Mount Holyoke College. 9. Hannelore McElneny, Savannah College of Art & Design. 10. Wesley Laudeman, College of Charleston. Individual novice equitation on the flat: 1. Grier Filley, Skidmore College. 2. Alisha Mays, University of Central Florida. 3. Amy Balmain, University of California at Davis. 4. Katherine Petro, Penn State University (State College). 5. Katherine Hanneman, Lake Erie College. 6. Kelsey Hill, Stonehill College. 7. Kimia Nozari, University of California at San Diego. 8. Hanna Toebben, Morehead State University. 9. Hadley Deming, St. Lawrence University. 10. Shannon Thieme, Rutgers University. Individual walk-trot-canter equitation: 1. Emme Johnston, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Hanae Kimura, Skidmore College. 3. Shannon Brown, University of Mary Washington. 4. Jamie Robinson, Bridgewater College. 5. Kristi Moreland, Delaware Valley College. 6. Diana Kroll, Miami University of Ohio. 7. Hayley McGuire, Oregon State University. 8. Elizabeth Leduc, Berry College. 9. Amanda Carlson, University of Montana Western. 10. Ashlynne Jones, Centenary College. Individual walk-trot equitation: 1. Margaret Wiggin, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 2. Mary Bogatko, Centenary College. 3. Emily Hottensen, Skidmore College. 4. Abbey Carmichael, Virginia Tech. 5. Melissa Thompson, Savannah College of Art & Design. 6. Brent Noll, Virginia Tech. 7. Kona Shen, Brown University. 8. Spencer Zimmerman, University of Findlay. 9. Christine Nemeth, Lake Erie College. 10. Lindsay Carter, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Individual open equitation on the flat: 1. Barbie Lanigan, Cazenovia College. 2. Lauren Cechini, Ohio State University. 3. Ashley Eggersdorfer, Murray State University. 4. Patti Ann Thornton, Bridgewater College. 5. Audrey Tobin, University of Colorado at Boulder. 6. Ashley Lovegrove, Randolph College. 7. Sarah Willoughby, Miami University of Ohio. 8. Katherine Williams, West Texas A & M University. 9. Sara Gumbiner, Delaware Valley College. 10. Samantha Erwin, Murray State University.
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