From Silver Spring, Maryland, Victoria Neff (holding ribbon amongst many teammates) was the second Skidmore College rider to earn a red ribbon in a team class at IHSA Nationals on May 6th. The defending National Champion Thoroughbreds were trying to chase down Centenary College, whom they trailed 26-19 at the time.

CENTENARY COLLEGE CAPTURES SECOND NATIONAL TITLE IN THREE YEARS

LEXINGTON, KY - If you attended 2010 IHSA Nationals in Lexington, Kentucky, purchased a program, and turned to page 28 you would have seen the complete list of schools who advanced a full hunter seat team through Zones to compete at Nationals that year. An IHSA record 19 english teams were entered at 2010 Nationals. So many schools were present because the IHSA had a 1,000 rider rule in effect at the time. If your Zone had 1,000 or more riders registered to ride hunter seat during the regular season then the top three teams at Zones were invited to compete at the National show. However if your Zone was made up of fewer than 500 riders then only the top team at Zones advanced to Nationals.

With the IHSA growing so rapidly it would not have been long before two other Zones would have reached the 1,000 rider mark. At the same time it is a long, complicated (and expensive) process to secure enough top-notch horses of equal quality for riders to compete on during the National event. As was predicted for some time the IHSA Board voted to eliminate the 1,000 rider rule at their January 2010 meeting (though the change would not go into effect until the 2010-11 season). Starting in the spring of 2011 the top two teams at Zones (regardless of the number of riders registered to compete in that Zone) would advance to IHSA Nationals. With Zone 9 being eliminated following the 2009-10 season (nearly all of it became part of Zone 7) this would mean a small drop in the number of horses and only 16 teams in total competing for the National Championship at the Alltech Arena in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky May 5th through 8th.

With this in mind if you attended 2011 IHSA Nationals, purchased a program, and turned to page 30 again you would have seen the complete list of schools who advanced a full hunter seat team through Zones to compete at Nationals that year. But if you compared the 2010 list of qualified teams against the 2011 list you would note that only seven advanced a full hunter seat team to both. Never in IHSA history had so many schools (12) qualified one season and not returned the following season (this record may stand for quite a while - Editor). Of the seven schools which did repeat five are former National Champions while one other tied for Reserve at 2006 Nationals. Defending National Champion Skidmore College, high point team at Zone 2 Zones in 2010, was the reserve champion at 2011 Zones 2 Zones. Host St. Lawrence University bested the Thoroughbreds by a 46-41 score at Zone 2 Zones on April 9th, though both programs knew by the sixth class that day it was safe to plan a trip to Lexington. Centenary College, the 2009 IHSA National Champion, which had tied the University of Findlay for second at 2010 Nationals, won Zone 3 Zones by a 44-41 margin over Delaware Valley College. With Centenary having switched Zones (but ostensibly not switching regions other than in name, based on competition versus their usual regular season opponents) this marked Centenary's first time facing Del Val, Penn State University and Lafayette College at a Zones show. The Cyclones came from behind to win, though in all honesty Centenary was at least second from the fourth class of the day onward. Mount Holyoke College, national champions on three occasions since 1986 won Zone 1 Zones at home as has been the case each year since the Lyons started hosting in 2006. However this time there was a real fight for the top spot. The University of New Hampshire, a region champion for the first time in program history, twice moved ahead of Mount Holyoke. In the end the host Lyons won by a point, 44-43. The runner-up Wildcats can claim to be one-for-one in surviving IHSA Zones events! Perhaps the most exciting of the Zones shows this season was Zone 6 Zones. Miami University of Ohio proceeded to win the first three classes of the day (all over fences) and never spent any time out of first place. However the University of Kentucky, the 2008 IHSA National Champion, was buried in last place after the jumping. Then the Wildcats went on a run, taking over second place from the University of Findlay through seven team classes. The outcome of the eighth class allowed Kentucky to reach Nationals for the fifth season in a row while eliminating a Findlay team that had (technically) missed IHSA Nationals only once since 2000 (hosted by Otterbein University, Kentucky outscored Findlay 36-32 while Miami coasted to victory with 49 points). Zones shows on April 10th advanced four schools to Lexington which had not competed at 2010 Nationals. At Zone 7 Zones host University of Wisconsin at Madison fell behind, then gained the lead only to watch Purdue University win the final two team classes for a 43-39 victory. West Texas A & M had an outside chance to catch Madison going into the final class but it was not to be. Both the Badgers and Boilermakers were back at Nationals after a one-year absence. In total contrast the other Zones show on April 10th saw two schools that had never advanced a full hunter seat team to Nationals do so. Host Bridgewater College came from behind for a narrow 42-41 win over St. Andrews Presbyterian College at Zone 4 Zones. Bridgewater head coach Sarah Irvine had announced her retirement in February, effective at the end of the season. With each passing show Irvine's retirement kept getting put off! Two other Zones shows took place a week before the majority. Zone 8 Zones was the first five-way Zones show in IHSA history (there had never been a Zone made up of more than four regions prior to the summer 2010 realignment). With wins in half the team classes (and each of the last two) Stanford University won Zone 8 Zones outright for the sixth season in a row. The University of Colorado at Boulder, competing at Zone 8 Zones for the first time, was reserve champion. Though the Buffaloes were on the wrong end of a 45-35 score with Stanford, Colorado was able to hold back the University of Southern California 35-33 to finish second. The Buffaloes were one of two teams to qualify for Nationals for the first time over the April 1st/2nd weekend. Savannah College of Art & Design tied Virginia Intermont College with 43 points at Zone 5 Zones on April 2nd. Though VI won the tiebreaker SCAD was happy to join UNH, Colorado at Boulder, St. Andrews Presbyterian College and Bridgewater as one of the five IHSA programs appearing at IHSA Nationals with a full hunter seat team for the first time.

From left to right are Head Coach Cory Kieschnick, Assistant Coach Emily Miller, Chelsea Koerper, Ciara Menkens and Alyson Decker of Delaware Valley College. A freshman from Southampton, Pennsylvania, Koerper had just given the Aggies the early lead with a win in team novice over fences when this photo was taken.

The schedule of classes changed slightly from 2010, with team open on the flat moved from late in the opening day session to the final undergraduate hunter seat class of the event. Team Novice Over Fences remained the first team class, held following all three individual undergraduate over fences divisions on Thursday, May 5th. As each of the 16 riders completed the novice course, Kenn Marash (the public address announcer at five of the past six IHSA National shows) read aloud the combined scores of Judges Kim Dorfman and Robert Crandall. Those writing down scores might have observed that the overall scoring was lower than at recent IHSA Nationals events (at least so far). Five riders scored in the '60's or below, eight scored in the '70's while three were in the low '80's. While most of the top ten could be deduced by looking at the scores, Crandall and Dorfman decided to test the top two. This meant that Chelsea Koerper of Delaware Valley College and Brendan Williams of Centenary College would receive more time in the seat. After both riders went through the test all 16 entries were asked to return to the ring for the awarding of ribbons. Unlike some IHSA Nationals shows, where team classes were pinned down only to sixth place, all riders who were tenth or better received a ribbon for their effort. After Marash thanked and excused the bottom six riders for their efforts, tenth place was awarded to Allison Drost of Miami University of Ohio. A freshman from Palatine, Illinois who received a judge's score of '72' Drost was one of five Red Hawk riders to have won a team class at Zone 6 Zones. University of Wisconsin at Madison sophomore Amy Reynolds was ninth (with a score of '73) while Purdue freshman Kristin Bonacum was eighth (receiving a '74' score). From Doylestown, Pennsylvania (ironically where Delaware Valley College is located) Bonacum had won the divison at Zone 7 Zones. Sarah Truchon, a University of New Hampshire sophomore from Amherst, New Hampshire received a score of '75' for seventh place in the Wildcats' first-ever IHSA Nationals team ride. The first actual team point to be learned of went to the University of Kentucky. Brianna Goodnow, a freshman from Mundelein, Illinois who had finished fifth in the division at Zone 6 Zones received a score of '76' to put a different set of Wildcats on the board. Sami Cram, a sophomore from Mooresville, North Carolina received a score of '77' to earn fifth place for St. Andrews Presbyterian College. Cram, who won the division at Zone 4 Zones, can claim to have earned the Knights first-ever hunter seat team points at an IHSA Nationals show. Sally Gibb, who was second to Truchon at Zone 1 Zones, received a score of '78.' The Mount Holyoke College sophomore from Princeton, New Jersey was fourth. While each of the previously-announced riders had received scores that were a point better than the one before, Morgan Abbett of Stanford University was two points better with an '80.' However on the scoreboard the freshman from Belvedere, California who was second in the division at Zone 8 Zones gave the Cardinal one more point than Mount Holyoke with a third. The moment of truth came for Williams and Koerper. Marash paused between "In second place..." and "...number 468 Brendan Williams of Centenary College." The freshman from Stratford, Connecticut who was fourth at Zone 3 Zones (hampered slightly by a draw which would have suited someone smaller) had received an '83' prior to testing. Koerper, a freshman from Southampton, Pennsylvania had received a score of '82' prior to testing. Koerper repeated her first from Zone 3 Zones, giving Delaware Valley College their first-ever lead at an IHSA Nationals show. At Zone 3 Zones on April 9th Del Val led Centenary for roughly half the contest before the host Cyclones won the final three team classes. Through one class it seemed like deja vu for those who were at the Centenary Equestrian Center that day: Delaware Valley College 7, Centenary College 5, Stanford University 4, Mount Holyoke College 3, St. Andrews Presbyterian College 2 and University of Kentucky 1.

Following a pair of individual classes it was time for Team Novice On The Flat. The flat classes were generally the same, with riders entering at the walk, then trotting, then walking, then cantering, then walking, then reversing and repeating the exercise. Some but not all riders would be asked to perform a few additional requests on the rail before everyone would be told to dismount while horse handlers could enter the ring. As was the case following all Nationals classes all 16 riders were asked to line up against the temporary fence on the near end of the arena for the presentation of ribbons. Tenth place went to Valerie Goeman of the University of New Hampshire while ninth place went to Casey Zuraitis of St. Lawrence University. A sophomore from Sutton, Massachusetts Zuraitis had won the first class of the day, individual intermediate over fences. Goodnow was eighth for Kentucky while Ashleigh Ramey of Virginia Intermont College was seventh. A freshman from Culpepper, Virginia Ramey won the division at Zone 5 Zones over a month earlier. Emily Hunt, a freshman from Zionsville, Indiana who had been third at Zone 7 Zones put Purdue on the scoreboard with a sixth. Madison "Maddie" MacLeod, a Miami of Ohio freshman from Glencoe, Illinois put the Red Hawks on the board with a fifth. Jennifer Callahan, a senior from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania gave St. Andrews Presbyterian College three more points with a fourth. While Callahan had been fourth in the division at Zone 4 Zones Lindsey Goode had placed second on April 10th. A junior from Defiance, Missouri, Goode was third to earn the first IHSA Nationals team points in Bridgewater College program history. Natasha Klingenstein, a Centenary College junior in her first season with the team, moved the Cyclones into the lead with a second. From Torrance, California, Klingenstein had won the division at Zones to start the Cyclone's rally that afternoon. Defending champion Skidmore College had not won a team class at 2010 Nationals, instead hoarding five red ribbons to account for 25 of their 28 points. Alexandra "Alex" McGuire, a senior from Amherst, New Hampshire (a popular place for IHSA riders it appears) who had won an individual class at the 2010 event is the first Skidmore rider since Jennifer Wilkins won team open flat in Murfreesboro two seasons ago to earn a blue ribbon in a team class at Nationals. McGuire's win bunched things up throughout the scoreboard, save for Centenary being three points ahead of several others. Through two team classes it was Centenary 10, Skidmore 7, Delaware Valley 7, St. Andrews Presbyterian 5, Bridgewater 4, Stanford 4, Mount Holyoke 3, Miami of Ohio 2, Kentucky 1 and Purdue 1.

Every year the rider who wins team walk-trot receives the Michelle Cook memorial trophy. Bryan Cook (center) hands Mount Holyoke's Paulie Erni (second on right) the trophy named for his late sister who, like Erni, rode for Mount Holyoke College.

Team Intermediate On The Flat was the final class of any kind on opening day of 2011 IHSA Nationals (and a fast day it was. The final placing in this division was announced at 4:42PM local time, marking the second-earliest finish of all-hunter seat Thursday sessions since the four-day format was introduced in 2004. The record is still a 4:19PM ending at 2005 IHSA Nationals in Sunbury, Ohio. Coincidentally that shorest day - with the first rider into the ring at 8:50AM - was also the 5th of May). Purdue University senior Kyle Jefferson was tenth in what was the tenth class held during the opening day session. Erin Hickey, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio made history as the first Savannah College of Art & Design rider to receive a ribbon in a team class at an IHSA Nationals event. Hickey was ninth while Lauren Casey of Bridgewater was eighth. Kristin Lawrence, a senior from Montgomery Township, New Jersey was seventh for Delaware Valley. Chelsea Jones, a junior from Kailua, Hawaii had placed second for Skidmore in the exact same class at 2010 IHSA Nationals. This time around Jones was surprisingly sixth. Junior Shannon Roska, who had been out of the ribbons at 2009 IHSA Nationals in both team novice classes, put the Wisconsin Badgers on the scoreboard with a fifth. Some may have confused the rider who placed fourth with the rider who was fifth in team novice fences earlier in the day. This is because they are identical twins! Sami Cram, the sister of Kali kept St. Andrews in the top five through three divisions with the white ribbon. Kelly Herdman, a junior from Solon, Ohio more than doubled the Miami of Ohio team total with a third. Jessica Pabst, a sophomore from Oak Ridge, New Jersey, made it three straight red ribbons for Centenary. Pabst, who had won the division at Zone 3 Zones, pushed Centenary further into the lead with a second. Jordan Koivu, who had won the division at Zone 2 Zones (one place ahead of Jones) put St. Lawrence on the board in a big way. A senior from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, Koivu gave the Saints seven quick points to create a tie for third. Some in attendance could not help but recall Skidmore needed five red ribbons to win Nationals in 2010. Centenary had three red ribbons in three tries. Could the Cyclones score 40 points without winning a class? Through three classes it was Centenary 15, Skidmore 8, St. Andrews Presbyerian 8, St. Lawrence 7, Delaware Valley 7, Miami of Ohio 6, Stanford 4, Bridgewater 4, Mount Holyoke 3, Wisconsin - Madison 2, Purdue 1 and Kentucky 1.

The fourth team class of 2011 Nationals was the second class of any kind held on Friday, May 6th. Team Intermediate Over Fences seemed like the novice over fences held a day earlier, except this time there was no additional testing. When Marash made that statement the Centenary faithful let out a mild cheer, for one of their riders from yesterday's team classes had improved on her performance by one placing. Tenth place with a jumping score of '74' went to Kali Cram of St. Andrews (thus completing all 2011 rides by the Cram sisters) while Hayley Bolton of Savannah College of Art & Design was ninth. A sophomore from Gurley, Alabama, Bolton was one of a small number of riders granted a re-ride during the four-day event. Bolton received a score of '74.5' with the re-ride while Jennifer Atkinson of Purdue received a '75' to claim eighth place. Catherine "Kitty" Sarosy, a sophomore from Pataskala, Ohio who rides for Miami of Ohio received a score of '76' for seventh place. More history was made when Whitney Wickes earned the University of Colorado at Boulder's first-ever IHSA Nationals team point with a sixth. A junior from Aspen, Colorado Wickes was the only rider to compete in both team intermediate on the flat and team intermediate over fences. Receiving a score of '78' Wickes made the Buffaloes the third team to score at least a point so far in their IHSA Nationals debut. Taylor Rose, a Bridgewater College freshman from Westminster, Maryland who had placed third at Zones was the fifth-place winner with a score of '79.' Lauren Patterson, a University of Kentucky junior from Cincinnati, Ohio who won team novice over fences at 2009 Nationals received a score of '80' and fourth place this time. Jessie Lewis, a St. Lawrence freshman from Cleveland, Ohio who had placed fourth in the division at Zone 2 Zones, was third with a score of '81' to put the Saints in third place outright for the time being. Julie Mazzarella, a Skidmore sophomore from Columbia, Connecticut who was making her IHSA Nationals debut, was second to put the Thoroughbreds into second outright. Mazzarella, who had been fifth at Zone 2 Zones received a score of '83.'

Some wondered why there was in fact no testing, as Klingenstein received a score of '84' (close enough to Mazzarella's 83 and with Lewis at '81' it makes some sense). Apparently Dorfman and Crandall were secure in their decision that Klingenstein deserved first place based on one round. With the win Klingenstein had reversed her Zone 3 Zones placings, at which she was second in intermediate fences and a winner in novice flat. Klingenstein attended El Camino College in her hometown of Torrance for two years before transfering to Centenary. When asked, Klingenstein said that if she had known she could have started an IHSA team at the Southern California school she might have done so (this would not have affected her transfering to Centenary). One can only wonder how El Camino would have faired for two seasons with a team centered around Klingenstein, who up to this point was the star of 2011 IHSA Nationals. Through half the team classes: Centenary 22, Skidmore 13, St. Lawrence 11, St. Andrews 8, Delaware Valley 7, Bridgewater 6, Miami of Ohio 6, Kentucky 4, Stanford 4, Mount Holyoke 3, Wisconsin - Madison 2, Colorado - Boulder 1, Purdue 1 and three other teams still looking to get on the scoreboard.

Like every one of the Centenary riders before and after her, Natasha Klingenstein took "Fabio" the flamingo to horse draw at 2011 IHSA Nationals. Fabio was very lucky for Klingenstein, who won team intermediate fences while placing second in team novice flat.

Counting both sections of the flat phase of the Cacchione Cup competition as two classes and both sections of the rail phase of the individual AQHA Trophy as two classes, Team Walk-Trot Equitation was the tenth class of day two of Nationals. Save for the fact that no one cantered, this division was run in similar fashion to the other flat classes. Although walk-trot classes are often made up of riders who only recently took formal lessons for the first time it should be noted that three of the 16 entries were holdovers from the 2010 IHSA Nationals team class and that two of them would place inside the top six. Melissa Eischens of the University of Wisconsin at Madison was tenth while Savannah College of Art & Design sophomore Pauline Baumgartner was ninth. Tom Schoen, a Miami of Ohio sophomore from Sylvania, Ohio recieved the Jon Conyers Scholarship award for the 2009-10 season and an eighth place ribbon in the 2011 team walk-trot class. Male riders held down back-to-back placings as Blake Liljestrand was seventh. A sophomore from Marietta, South Carolina, Liljestrand had won the division for St. Andrews at Zones. Cecilia Culp, a Skidmore College senior from Shaker Heights, Ohio was seventh at 2010 Nationals but moved up to sixth place in 2011. Entering the division the University of New Hampshire was one of three teams still looking to score actual points. Anna Stoebel, a sophomore from Wellesley, Massachusetts was fifth to earn the first-ever UNH Wildcat team points at an IHSA Nationals event. Very surprisingly three-time IHSA National Champion Virginia Intermont College had not scored through the first four team classes. Freshman Taylor Scott put a stop to the goose egg with a fourth. Elise DeBuysser, a Stanford sophomore from South Bend, Indiana who placed second in the division at 2010 Nationals was third this time. Nevertheless DeBuysser doubled the Cardinal team total to eight. Allyson Gallamore, a Bridgewater College junior from King George, Virginia who placed third in the division at Zone 4 Zones improved a place at Nationals. The Eagles moved into a tie for third with St. Lawrence at 11 each with the red ribbon. Paulina "Paulie" Erni, a Mount Holyoke sophomore from Cresskill, New Jersey whose win in team walk-trot had put the Lyons into first place for good at Zone 1 Zones on April 9th was again a hero. Erni won the class to move Mount Holyoke within a point of both Bridgewater and St. Lawrence. With three classes to go: Centenary 22, Skidmore 14, Bridgewater 11, St. Lawrence 11, Mount Holyoke 10, Stanford 8, St. Andrews 8, Delaware Valley 7, Miami of Ohio 6, Kentucky 4, Virginia Intermont College 3, University of New Hampshire 2, Wisconsin - Madison 2, Colorado - Boulder 1, Purdue 1 and Savannah College of Art & Design 0.

For the only time at 2011 back-to-back team classes were held. The Team Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation class had been part of the Thursday session for a few seasons but was moved to Friday afternoon in 2011. Some complained that five-eights of the team competition was over with after only one day, and so in 2011 only three classes were completed the first day and another three were in the books by sunset on day two. Tenth place went to Geordon Duncan of Bridgewater College while ninth went to Megan Kelty, a Virginia Intermont College sophomore from Hightstown, New Jersey. Kaelee Thompson, a Savannah College of Art & Design freshman from North Granby, Connecticut was eighth. While Thompson had broken a streak of three straight ninth-place ribbons for SCAD riders the Bees were the only team still in search of their first points. Miranda Wright was third at Zone 4 Zones, two ribbons below Duncan. This time the St. Andrews freshman from Moyock, North Carolina was seventh, three places ahead. Sarah Jacobson was sixth to give Stanford another point while Claire Smedley added two points to the Kentucky total which now stood at six. Jennifer Peotter, a freshman from Appleton, Wisconsin more than doubled the Badgers' team total with a fourth.

The same three teams which had earned the top three ribbons in intermediate fences earlier in the day held down the top three spots in walk-trot-canter. However the order was flipped, with Kayla Felstedt of Centenary the first to hear her name called. A freshman from Brielle, New Jersey, Felstedt was a rarity in that she had not been the team walk-trot-canter rider at Zones. Therefore Felstedt's post-season IHSA debut was at Nationals rather than Regionals or Zones. Skidmore gained another point on the Cyclones, as Victoria Neff of the Thoroughbreds was second. A senior from Silver Spring, Maryland, Neff had elevated Skidmore's total to 19, only seven shy of last season. St. Lawrence gained even more ground, as Sophie Miller won team walk-trot-canter for the Saints. A freshman from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Miller is a second-generation IHSA rider. Unlike many prior mother/daughter combinations, Miller can claim that BOTH her mother and father rode in the IHSA. Miller's mother, Hilary Simons (now Hilary Miller), won both individual novice fences and team novice flat at 1980 IHSA Nationals at Smoke Run Farm in Stony Brook, New York. Miller's father, David Miller, competed in team walk-trot-canter at 1982 Nationals in Buena Vista, Virginia. Both Hilary Simons and David Miller met at St. Lawrence, and roughly 30 years later their daughter rode in an IHSA Nationals team class for the Saints just like they had. Even more unusually Jessie Lewis can claim her mother, Carol Schneible, won individual novice flat at 1978 IHSA Nationals in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and was a teammate of Simons on the 1980 St. Lawrence team! With two team classes to go: Centenary 26, Skidmore 19, St. Lawrence 18, Bridgewater 11, Mount Holyoke 10, Stanford 9, St. Andrews 8, Delaware Valley 7, Miami of Ohio 6, Kentucky 6, Wisconsin - Madison 5, Virginia Intermont 3, New Hampshire 2, Colorado - Boulder 1, Purdue 1 and Savannah College of Art & Design 0.

It must be in the DNA! From left to right are St. Lawrence University Head Coach Mary Dreuding, Hilary Miller, Sophie Miller and David Miller. Under her maiden name 'Simons' Hilary competed for the Saints at 1980 IHSA Nationals, husband David competed for the Saints at 1982 Nationals and daughter Sophie competed at 2011 IHSA Nationals. Sophie Miller's win in team walk-trot-canter on May 6th moved St. Lawrence within eight points of Centenary through six team classes.

For only the second time since 2004 the final IHSA Nationals hunter seat team class was not Team Open Over Fences. The team open on the flat would have that honor a few hours later. The Saturday session did in fact start with team open fences as it usually does. As each rider took their turn going over the fences, most wrote down the judge's scores. With Centenary seven points ahead, all eyes were on Kathryn Haley of the Cyclones. A sophomore from Orchard Park, New York, Haley (pronounced "Hailey" or "Hayley") was entered in both team open classes. Going in the middle of the group, Haley had one bad fence (she simply did not get the distance and, after hesitating, jumped too soon and knocked down a rail) which brought what would have otherwise been a stellar ride down to a score of only '45' (gee wiz it was the best 45 score this writer has ever seen! - Editor). Two riders, Ali Cibon of the University of Kentucky (with a score of '84') and Kelse Bonham of Savannah College of Art & Design (with a score of '86) were called back for further testing (this assured that the Bees, shut out thus far, would score at least five points). Following the tests, everyone was invited back to the ring for the presentation of awards. Ironically, Marash's Ipod, programed with many genres of music, was playing oldies in the background at the moment. Somewhat unfortunately the song playing as each rider who placed below the top ten (and in fact everyone through fourth place) was announced happened to be Linda Ronstadt's 1975 number one hit "You're No Good" (with a chorus of which repeats the title three times followed by "Baby You're No Good," one could not help but feel sorry for anyone leaving the ring with a participation ribbon at the time). Tenth place went to Shelby Goodman of Bridgewater College with a score of '68' while Kari McArthur of Purdue was ninth with a score of '70' (Though these scores seemed extremely low, many coaches who watched said the over fences rounds over three days were underwhelming and that the scores were generally accurate. By contrast Lindsay Maxwell of the University of the South had received an '80' score in the same division a year earlier to earn a tenth-place ribbon. Katie Furches of Hollins had received an '83' and was ninth!). Suzanne Snyder's score of '74' did not add any points to the St. Lawrence ledger, assuring the Saints of second place at best. Following Snyder's eighth was Rob Jacobs' seventh for St. Andrews. A senior from Temple Hills, Maryland, Jacobs received a score of '75' but would be back in the ring a short time later as one of only three riders to take part in the Cacchione Cup work-off phase. Ashley Miller, a Virginia Intermont College senior from Raritan, New Jersey added a point to the VI total with a '77.' Carolyn Kelsey doubled the University of New Hampshire's score. Kelsey, a senior from Deerfield, New Hampshire, received a '78' to take the pink ribbon. While St. Lawrence could in no way catch Centenary, Skidmore chipped away further at the Cyclone's lead. Flavia D'Urso, a sophomore from Chester, New Jersey received a '79' and fourth place. It was hard for some to believe, but 2010 Cacchione Cup winner Lindsay Sceats rode only once at 2011 IHSA Nationals. The senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado ended her undergraduate era with a '80' score to add four points to the Mount Holyoke total. It turned out that testing did not change the top two. Cibon, a senior from Bannockburn, Illinois was reserve champion (in her next-to-last IHSA undergraduate ride) while Bonham, a junior from Eolia, Missouri (does anyone at SCAD know that the official school web site lists her hometown as 'Eolia, Maryland?') provided the Bees with their first-ever team points in a big way. With a first SCAD leaped over seven schools in the standings. With a fourth Skidmore had cut the margin between first and second to four points. Could the Thoroughbreds come back and make it two straight titles? Through seven classes it was the Cyclones 26, the Thoroughbreds 22, the Saints 18, the Lyons 14, the Eagles 11, the (Kentucky) Wildcats 11, the Cardinal 9, the Knights 8, the Bees 7, the Aggies 7, the Red Hawks 6, the Badgers 5, the Cobras 4, the (New Hampshire) Wildcats 4, the Boilermakers 1 and the Buffaloes 1.

With Kelse Bonham of Savannah College of Art & Design (on horse) winning the team open fences division, all sixteen teams entered scored at least one point at 2011 Nationals. Though they did not score until the seventh of eight team classes, the Bees would overtake all but four teams over the final two divisions.

Following the Cacchione Cup work-off phase and the National Reining Horse Association-sponsored individual open reining division the final undergraduate hunter seat class of the 2010-11 season got underway. Team Open On The Flat would settle whether Centenary would maintain their lead and capture their fourth National title in program history or if Skidmore would come from behind to make it two straight and seven overall since joining the IHSA. Eight of the 16 riders in team open flat were indentical to team open over fences earlier in the day, and four of the holdovers would improve on their jumping efforts. Six of the 16 riders would be excused halfway through the open flat, assuring anyone still in the ring of placing inside the top ten (riders from Centenary and Skidmore were among those still being tested). Eventually the horse handlers were asked to enter the ring to escort the mounts back to the holding area while all 16 riders who took part were asked to line up for the presentation of ribbons. After Marash mentioned the names and schools of each of the six riders who placed below tenth the moment of truth came in a hurry. Kelly Campbell, a junior from Cohoes, New York was tenth for Skidmore College. With this announcement Centenary had clinched the 2011 National Championship. With Snyder still awaiting her ribbon Skidmore was not yet assured of a reserve championship. Audrey Bolte, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio was ninth for St. Andrews Presbyterian. The Knights first hunter seat IHSA Nationals appearance was now completed with eight points. Where this would rank overall was very much up in the air. Jennifer Burke, a senior from Dover, Massachusetts who was the Zone 8, Region 5 Cacchione rider, improved on her team open over fences ride to place eighth for Colorado at Boulder. Though Rose had been fifth in team intermediate fences she was seventh here. With Rose exiting the ring the IHSA career of Coach Irvine had come to an end. Irvine can claim to have taken two separate programs to IHSA Nationals (Southern Seminary being the other). Bridgewater finished with eleven points in their first Nationals appearance. Madison "Maddie" Smith, a Miami of Ohio junior from Los Angeles, California was sixth to close out the Red Hawks' scoring. In their first appearance at Nationals since 2006 Miami scored seven points. Though Mount Holyoke had several senior open riders on hand at the Alltech Arena, freshman Lexie Lohrer was the Lyons' team open flat entry. From Concord, Massachusetts Lohrer followed up her second in individual open flat on Thursday with a fifth here. Mount Holyoke finished with 16 points, which was going to put the Lyons in fourth place unless Skidmore and St. Lawrence finished in a tie. Miller improved slightly on her open fences effort with a fourth here. This allowed Virginia Intermont to tie Miami and Delaware Valley (which very surprisingly never scored another point after Koerper had given the Aggies the early lead) at seven points each. The last smidgen of drama went by the boards when Snyder was announced as third. The senior from Chester, New Hampshire added four points to the St. Lawrence total, creating a tie for reserve champion with Skidmore at 22 points each.

Though on a national level the drama (at least for hunter seat) had come to an end, there was a significant winning streak still on the line. Since joining the Centenary team Kathryn Haley had yet to lose a flat class. Haley won individual classes at 2011 Regionals and Zones as well as the team open flat at Zones. On Thursday Haley won the individual open on the flat, one of three individual classes won by Centenary riders. The question was would the top ribbon go to Haley or to Savannah College of Art & Design's Paul Frederick? A senior from Hopewell, Virginia Frederick was announced as the Reserve Champion. With Frederick adding five points SCAD closed out the day - and the show - with 12 points. The Bees had started the day hoping to avoid being shut out and instead claimed fifth place overall for the 2011-12 season! The Centenary faithful were already applauding before Marash could even start reading the grand champion information. Haley had shaken off the unfortunate open fences round to win yet another flat class for the Cyclones. Centenary finished with 33 points, the most ever for a Cyclone team at a National event.

Kathryn Haley (on horse), a Centenary College sophomore from Orchard Park, New York is seen here with many of her Cyclone teammates and coaching staff after winning team open flat to conclude the 2011 IHSA Nationals hunter seat team competition. Centenary finished with 33 points, good enough to defeat second place Skidmore and St. Lawrence by 11 points each.

When the presentation of awards took place later in the afternoon, it became apparent that multiple ties would mean that all but Purdue and Colorado - Boulder had finished inside the top ten. The University of New Hampshire was tenth in their first Nationals appearance, finishing with four points. The University of Wisconsin at Madison was ninth with five while Delaware Valley, Miami of Ohio and Virginia Intermont tied for eighth with seven. St. Andrews Presbyterian College was seventh with eight while Stanford was sixth with nine points. The University of Kentucky and Bridgewater College shared fifth place with eleven points each. Savannah College of Art & Design had fourth place all to themselves with 12 points. Mount Holyoke, with points in half the divisions, was third with 16 points. Skidmore and St. Lawrence tied with 22 for Reserve Champion honors while Centenary was high point (and clearly the most dominant hunter seat program of the event) with 33. Hollins University Coach Nancy Peterson had high praise for the way Centenary rode in all the classes. United States Military Academy Coach Peter Cashman (whose daughter Randi was fourth in individual open over fences for the Cyclones) noted that the results reminded him of what Zone 2 was like in past seasons, when Centenary, Skidmore and St. Lawrence went head-to-head six times since 2001. One would have to agree with Cashman's assessment, for if the individual classes and the Cacchione Cup are added in these schools accounted for 12 of a possible 17 hunter seat blue ribbons at 2011 Nationals.

Beyond the 7th of May: One week to the day after Centenary clinched their second title in three seasons and their fourth in program history, IHSA Founder and Executive Director Bob Cacchione was on hand at the 2011 Centenary College commencement ceremony. Cacchione was not just an attendee. For the first time Cacchione was given an honorary degree. During the ceremony Centenary President Barbara Jayne - Lewthwaite mentioned that Centenary not only won the IHSA National Championship (again) but that they also claimed the Cacchione Cup winner in senior Marissa Cohen. Following commencement there was a shindig back at the equestrian center, during which Cyclone coaches Michael Dowling and Heather Clark attempted to make room in the trophy case for some new additions. Located in the lobby of the equestrian center, the trophy case not only includes the Collegiate Cup (the official name of the hunter seat champion team trophy) and the Cacchione Cup but also "Fabio" the Flamingo. Fabio is a plastic flamingo which all Centenary riders had to take to horse draw. Fabio has proved to be luckier than the garden gnome he replaced a few seasons ago. Centenary riders accounted for six blue ribbons at 2011 Nationals and might have had another had Samantha Whitley not been held to second by teammate Brittany Cunnane in individual intermediate on the flat. No matter how you look at it, over the past three seasons Centenary has been the strongest overall, earning 20 or more team points at each Nationals show while winning five individual classes, two Cacchione Cups and two hunter seat team National Titles. Though a few significant seniors received diplomas on May 14th (including Cohen and Cashman, the latter of which elevated the Cyclone's western program with her dominance of the open divisions), almost everyone who delivered a top-two placing at 2011 Nationals will be back in 2011-12. There may be considerable turnover when one looks at the 2012 IHSA Nationals program but it is doubtful that Centenary College will be missing from too many of the individual or (any of the) team classes.

---Steve Maxwell

Al Cook has been the official IHSA Nationals photographer since 1998 and he took this photo of the Centenary team in the middle of the ring receiving their championship ribbons and trophies on May 7th (Cook still has IHSA Nationals photos from throughout that span; Anyone interested in purchasing photos may e-mail Cook at studio@acphotovideo.com or visit his equine website at www.ALCOOKPHOTO.com. Cook takes both still photos and action shots throughout the four-day event). USHJA President William Moroney (second on far left) was among many to help present awards at 2011 IHSA Nationals (photo courtesy Al Cook Productions).

The 2011 IHSA Nationals Hunter Seat Team Class-by-Class Results. The first three classes listed were held Thursday, May 5th, the next three were held Friday, May 6th and the final two on Saturday, May 7th. The Judges for all 2011 IHSA Nationals hunter seat classes were Robert Crandall and Kim Dorfman.

Team Novice Equitation Over Fences: 1. Chelsea Koerper, Delaware Valley College. 2. Brendan Williams, Centenary College. 3. Morgan Abbett, Stanford University. 4. Sally Gibb, Mount Holyoke College. 5. Sami Cram, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 6. Brianna Goodnow, University of Kentucky. 7. Sarah Truchon, University of New Hampshire. 8. Kristin Bonacum, Purdue University. 9. Amy Reynolds, University of Wisconsin at Madison. 10. Allison Drost, Miami University of Ohio.

Team Novice Equitation On The Flat: 1. Alexandra McGuire, Skidmore College. 2. Natasha Klingenstein, Centenary College. 3. Lindsey Goode, Bridgewater College. 4. Jennifer Callahan, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 5. Madison MacLeod, Miami University of Ohio. 6. Emily Hunt, Purdue University. 7. Ashleigh Ramey, Virginia Intermont College. 8. Brianna Goodnow, University of Kentucky. 9. Casey Zuraitis, St. Lawrence University. 10. Valerie Goeman, University of New Hampshire.

Team Intermediate Equitation On The Flat: 1. Jordan Koivu, St. Lawrence University. 2. Jessica Pabst, Centenary College. 3. Kelly Herdman, Miami University of Ohio. 4. Sami Cram, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 5. Shannon Roska, University of Wisconsin at Madison. 6. Chelsea Jones, Skidmore College. 7. Kristin Lawrence, Delaware Valley College. 8. Lauren Casey, Bridgewater College. 9. Erin Hickey, Savannah College of Art & Design. 10. Kyle Jefferson, Purdue University.

Team Intermediate Equitation Over Fences: 1. Natasha Klingenstein, Centenary College. 2. Julia Mazzarella, Skidmore College. 3. Jessie Lewis, St. Lawrence University. 4. Lauren Patterson, University of Kentucky. 5. Taylor Rose, Bridgewater College. 6. Whitney Wickes, University of Colorado at Boulder. 7. Kitty Sarosy, Miami University of Ohio. 8. Jennifer Atkinson, Purdue University. 9. Hayley Bolton, Savannah College of Art & Design. 10. Kali Cram, St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

Team Walk-Trot Equitation On The Flat: 1. Paulie Erni, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Allyson Gallamore, Bridgewater College. 3. Elise DeBuysser, Stanford University. 4. Taylor Scott, Virginia Intermont College. 5. Anna Stoebel, University of New Hampshire. 6. Cecilia Culp, Skidmore College. 7. Blake Liljestrand, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 8. Tom Schoen, Miami University of Ohio. 9. Pauline Baumgartner, Savannah College of Art & Design. 10. Melissa Eischens, University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Team Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation On The Flat: 1. Sophie Miller, St. Lawrence University. 2. Victoria Neff, Skidmore College. 3. Kayla Felstedt, Centenary College. 4. Jennifer Peotter, University of Wisconsin at Madison. 5. Claire Smedley, University of Kentucky. 6. Sarah Jacobson, Stanford University. 7. Miranda Wright, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 8. Kaelee Thompson, Savannah College of Art & Design. 9. Megan Kelty, Virginia Intermont College. 10. Geordon Duncan, Bridgewater College.

Team Open Equitation Over Fences: 1. Kelse Bonham, Savannah College of Art & Design. 2. Ali Cibon, University of Kentucky. 3. Lindsay Sceats, Mount Holyoke College. 4. Flavia D'Urso, Skidmore College. 5. Carolyn Kelsey, University of New Hampshire. 6. Ashley Miller, Virginia Intermont College. 7. Rob Jacobs, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 8. Suzanne Snyder, St. Lawrence University. 9. Kari McArthur, Purdue University. 10. Shelby Goodman, Bridgewater College.

Team Open Equitation On The Flat: 1. Kathryn Haley, Centenary College. 2. Paul Frederick, Savannah College of Art & Design. 3. Suzanne Snyder, St. Lawrence University. 4. Ashley Miller, Virginia Intermont College. 5. Lexie Lohrer, Mount Holyoke College. 6. Maddie Smith, Miami University of Ohio. 7. Taylor Rose, Bridgewater College. 8. Jennifer Burke, University of Colorado at Boulder. 9. Audrey Bolte, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. 10. Kelly Campbell, Skidmore College.

2011 IHSA Nationals Hunter Seat Team Totals: