Previously she competed for the Dana Hall school's IEA team. Now a sophomore at St. Lawrence University, Katherine Figueroa (center, between head coach Mary Dreuding on left and assistant coach Cate Wagner) won the team novice flat class at IHSA Nationals on May 3rd. Figueroa put St. Lawrence ahead through two hunter seat team classes. The Saints would maintain that lead over the remaining six team classes.

ST. LAWRENCE PLACES FOURTH OR HIGHER IN FIRST SIX TEAM CLASSES, CAPTURES HUNTER SEAT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

RALEIGH, NC - Can anyone name the IHSA hunter seat team which has finished second at IHSA Nationals the most times so far in the 21st Century? Hint: This program was second to the University of Findlay in 2001, part of a three-way tie for second in 2008 and tied with Skidmore College for the honor last season.

While you are thinking about it let's go over the field of teams which qualified for the 2012 IHSA Nationals hunter seat team competition. From west to east you have Stanford University, a Zone 8 Zone Champion every season since 2006; the University of Colorado at Boulder, second to Stanford at each of the past two Zone 8 Zones shows; The University of Wisconsin at Madison, Zone 7 Zones Champion by way of a tie-breaker and a region champion team for the tenth time in program history; Purdue University, the other half of the Zone 7 Zones tiebreaker, a 22-time region champion and like Madison back at Nationals for the second season in a row; Miami University of Ohio, Zone 6 Zones Champion for a second consecutive season and the winner of the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions invitational; the University of Kentucky, reserve champion in Zone 6 and back at Nationals with a full hunter seat team for the sixth consecutive season; Virginia Intermont College, the Zone 5 Champion, back at Nationals for a 13th consecutive season (the longest current active hunter seat team streak); Savannah College of Art & Design, runner-up to VI at Zone 5 Zones and back at Nationals a second season in a row; Goucher College, Zone 4 Zones Champion and fielding a full hunter seat team at Nationals for the first time since 2007; St. Andrews University, runner-up at Zone 4 Zones two years in a row and like Colorado and SCAD taking a full hunter seat team to Nationals for the second time in program history; Penn State University, the suprise Zone 3 Zones Champion, taking a full team to Nationals for the first time in three seasons; Centenary College, the defending National Champions, back at Nationals with a full english team for a seventh consecutive season while also having hosted and won the Holiday Tournament of Champions; Skidmore College, the Zone 2 Zones Champion, actually further east than the St. Lawrence team they edged out at Zones 49-44 and the defending co-runner up from 2011 Nationals; St. Lawrence University, the runner-up at Zone 2 Zones, which tied Skidmore for second at 2011 Nationals; Mount Holyoke College, the Zone 1 Zones Champion and high point team at the Winter Tournament of Champions invitational; and Brown University, back at Nationals for the first time since 2009. Brown, Penn State and Goucher were the only 2012 qualified teams who did not field a full hunter seat team at 2011 Nationals, making for a season with the least amount of hunter seat 'team turnover' from one National show to the next in over two decades.

Surprisingly only six of the 16 teams could claim to have competed at 2010, 2011 and 2012 IHSA Nationals. Of these six Centenary and Skidmore each already claimed National Titles in that time. Kentucky reached double figures in both 2010 and 2011 while both Mount Holyoke and Stanford averaged better than ten points per show at the contests which were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. While Virginia Intermont scored 11 points at '10 Nationals and seven last season the Cobras (we have permission from head coach Eddie Federwisch to call the team from Bristol, Virginia by the name of their official mascot) had been a force to contend with prior to that time, having won National Championships in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Mount Holyoke most recently won the championship in 2006 (one point ahead of Stanford and Penn State at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex) while Kentucky won in Burbank in 2008. The point being made here is that a small group of teams tend to dominate IHSA Nationals shows from year to year. And the team with three reserve championships since 2001, St. Lawrence University in case you had not guessed, must beat out a strong Cazenovia College team within Zone 2, Region 2 every season in order to reach Zones. Since Zone 2 began eliminating teams at their yearly Zones show starting in 2001 the school from Zone 2, Region 2 - always either St. Lawrence or Cazenovia - has ultimately fielded a full hunter seat team at IHSA Nationals each of these 12 seasons (Cazenovia was the Reserve Champion at 2002 Nationals). In 2011-12 St. Lawrence scored 40 or more points at each of the final seven shows, including a 49 score at home in the regular season finale to finish ahead of Caz for the season by a 345-320 margin. The Saints were also blessed with a very strong group of freshmen, several of which were entered in the team competition in Raleigh.

A year after placing second in team intermediate over fences, Skidmore College junior Julia Mazzarella (on right, with her Mother) found herself competing at Nationals in the exact same division. Mazzarella won the top prize in the division this time around, which moved Skidmore into a tie with Centenary for second place at the time.

For nearly the entire hunter seat portion of 2012 Nationals the temperatures were hot for this time of year in Raleigh. High temperatures peaked each day at no less than 88 degrees, making this the 'warmest' Nationals show since at least 1996. The indoor arena at the Hunt Horse Complex is not air-conditioned and many spectators were seen faning themselves each afternoon. The schedule of hunter seat team classes was identical to 2011 Nationals in Lexington. Following three individual over fences classes to start the long weekend Team Novice Over Fences was the first team class held on Thursday, May 3rd. Temperatures were into the '70's by the time each of the 16 entries in the division had cleared the course. After each rider took their turn public address announcer Kenn Marash read aloud the combined scores of Judges R. Scot Evans and Chrystine Tauber. Because jumping scores for all riders at IHSA Nationals are read over the PA system anyone with a pen can write them down and determine who will place where provided there is no testing. During the three individual classes Evans and Tauber were content to pin the divisions without any testing, and team novice fences proved to be no different.

As was the case in 2011 the top ten riders in each hunter seat division received a ribbon even though only the top six within the team classes actually earned points for their respective teams. After Marash thanked and excused the bottom six riders one at a time it was time for the actual placings and the chance to see who would grab the early lead. Tenth place was awarded to Morgan Abbett of Stanford University. A sophomore from Belvedere, California Abbett was third in the very same class at 2011 Nationals but her 2012 score of '73' was seven digits shy of her score in Kentucky. Sami Cram of St. Andrews University also saw a minor reversal of fortune from one year to the next. A junior from Mooresville, North Carolina, Cram had been fifth in 2011 with a score of '77' but was ninth with a score of '74' this time. Holly Ray of the University of Kentucky (sophomore, from Easton, Connecticut) was eighth with a score of '75' while Amanda Pritt of Penn State (sophomore, from Whiteford, Maryland) was seventh with a score of '76.' (one year earlier a '76' was good enough for the top ten; However the scores over fences were down in general throughout 2011 Nationals. Far more riders reached the '80's in 2012 than in 2011). Sixth place went to Olivia Dodd of Savannah College of Art & Design. A freshman from Ocala, Florida Dodd gave the Bees their first point well ahead of last season, when SCAD was the only team to go into the final day still looking for their first team points (the Bees did very well that final day of hunter seat, earning 12 points to place ahead of all but four teams in 2011). Scores of '82' and '83' put riders into a two-way test in 2011. This time Madeline Frank of Skidmore College (junior, from Montclair, New Jersey) placed fifth with a score of '82.' Grace Segrave was the first of the St. Lawrence freshmen to compete at 2012 Nationals. From Saratoga Springs, New York, Segrave was fourth with a score of '83.' Ironically Segrave has a Skidmore connection, as her Father was the Tennis coach there for some time. Another freshman, Centenary's Elisabeth Scovotti, was third. From Katonah, New York, Scovotti received a score of '84' to start the defending champs in third place. Hillary Oberpeul was the only non-freshman in the top four. From Brighton, Michigan the Miami of Ohio junior (whose last name is pronounced 'Ober-poil,' like 'Boil') received a score of '85.' Last season the University of Colorado at Boulder took a full hunter seat team to Nationals for the first time. At 2011 Nationals the Buffaloes scored one single team point. Their second visit to Nationals was seven times better after only one team class. Drew Weber, a freshman from Parker, Colorado received a score of '86' to give Colorado seven points and the early lead.

University of Colorado at Boulder freshman Drew Weber (pictured) won the first team class at 2012 IHSA Nationals, novice over fences. Weber is seen here in the 'prize room,' filled with saddlepads, tack boxes and many other items that were given out to riders based on which class they competed in and the ribbon they earned.

Save for Dodd and Purdue freshman Molly Schlagel, the field for Team Novice On The Flat was completely different from team novice fences. This division also featured the youngest average age, as ten of the sixteen entries were freshmen. Held following two individual hunter seat classes (which meant that five of the eight individual undergraduate english divisions were done before all but one of the english team classes) the flat classes generally all operated the same way, 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 was told to dismount while horse handlers entered the ring. While all 16 entries lined up in center of the ring quickly enough there was some lag time before the flat scores could be calculated and the results announced.

Six riders within the top ten were freshmen, including Victoria Hackbarth of the University of Kentucky. From Louisville, Kentucky Hackbarth was tenth to give the Wildcats their second top ten team placing though they were still in search of their first team points. Freshman Madeline Shortt provided Mount Holyoke with their first top ten ribbon with a ninth. Erin Gray (Salinas, California) was eighth for Stanford while Skidmore junior Emory Wonham was seventh. One unusual coincidence is that Wonham and Shortt are not only both from Eugene, Oregon but that both riders have trained at the same facility there (Wonham and Shortt rode against each other once before, when Wonham won a novice flat class at the Winter Tournament of Champions in December while Shortt had been out of the ribbons). If you want your daughter to grow up to be a successful IHSA novice rider you might want to name her Madeline, as Madeline Fass of Penn State was sixth. However the freshman from Westport, Connecticut went by 'Maddy' in several Zone 3, Region 1 programs prior to attending Nationals where formal names are usually printed into the official program. Juss as Fass put Penn State on the board so did Alexandra Kuechel do the same for the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The Badger sophomore from Morton Grove, Illinois was fifth. Hallee Foster of Brown University was fourth, the freshman from Menlo Park, California putting yet another school on the scoreboard. This trend continued as Ashleigh Ramey of Virginia Intermont was third. A sophomore from Culpepper, Virginia Ramey saw her fortunes rise from one Nationals to the next, as she had placed seventh in team novice flat one year ago. Reserve Champion honors went to Goucher College freshman Joey Fink. From Baltimore, Maryland Fink is the youngest of three siblings each of whom rode in the IHSA (sister Katie is a senior with Cornell while oldest sister Julie competed for Goucher a few seasons ago). With Fink second the chance remained that each team which scored points in the first team class could be shut out in the second, which has not happened at any IHSA Nationals since 1997 (and maybe ever!). However St. Lawrence took the overall lead as Katherine Figueroa won the division. A sophomore from Norfolk, Massachusetts Figueroa competes in dressage shows outside the IHSA, and she cited Bill Warren and Bill McMullen as her trainers in that discipline. However the former Dana Hall school rider keeps her horse with Cookie DeSimone, who is part of the Dana Hall IEA coaching staff. Though two team classes it was St. Lawrence 10, Colorado at Boulder 7, Miami of Ohio 5, Goucher 5, Centenary 4, Virginia Intermont 4, Brown 3, Skidmore 2, Wisconsin at Madison 2, Savannah College of Art & Design 1 and Penn State 1.

The last of ten classes held during the Thursday session was Team Intermediate On The Flat. In total contrast to each of the nine classes held throughout the day judges Tauber and Evans decided to test this class. They did this by excusing all but six riders after everyone had gone each direction for a lengthy amount of time. After further requests of the remaining six riders everyone was asked to line up, dismount and allow the horsehandlers to put the horses away for the day. Tenth place went to Addie Jabin (junior, Annapolis, Maryland) of Goucher College. Justine Thomas, a Stanford senior from Redwood City, California who was already fifth in individual novice over fences was ninth here. Karly Hobbs (junior, Frederick, Colorado) was eighth for Colorado - Boulder in what was the first of her two rides at 2012 Nationals. Emily Denning (sophomore, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey) just missed giving Penn State another point with a seventh. Four of the six riders who where tested were from teams which had already scored at least one team point. Katherine Wingerter (freshman, College Park, Maryland) put the Kentucky Wildcats on the board with a sixth. Julia Mazzarella (junior, Columbia, Connecticut) equalled Skidmore teammate Frank's placing. Ariel Black (freshman, Salt Lake City, Utah) was fourth to boost Virginia Intermont's total to seven. Mount Holyoke got on the board as Abigayle Raucher (freshman, Easthampton, Massachusetts) was third.

With each of these placings both the St. Lawrence rider and Centenary rider within the division remained in the ring. With the six riders who were out of the ribbons excused by way of honorable mention prior to the actual placings it was obvious that St. Lawrence was going to hold the lead into the Friday session. Casey Zuraitis, a junior from Sutton, Massachusetts was second for the Saints. This was Zuraitis's second ride of the day, having placed fifth in individual novice flat earlier. Astoundingly of all the riders who had placed in the team classes so far today, none had been seniors (even more surprisingly only two seniors were even entered in any of the first three team classes). The last rider to win a class on Thursday broke that drought as Natashia Klingenstein of Centenary was the intermediate flat champion. From Torrance, California Klingenstein had already placed eighth in individual novice flat earlier in the day. Klingenstein's rides at 2011 Nationals loomed large for Centenary, as she won team intermediate over fences while placing second in team novice flat. However with her win in team intermediate flat Klingenstein's time riding for the Cyclones had come to an end. Because she transfered from El Camino College in Torrence prior to her junior year Klingenstein was part of the team for only two seasons. Centenary would have to chase down the Saints with the rest of their roster over the final five classes. Through three it was St. Lawrence 15, Centenary 11, Virginia Intermont 7, Colorado 7, Goucher 5, Miami of Ohio 5, Mount Holyoke 4, Skidmore 4, Brown 3, Wisconsin 2, SCAD 1, Penn State 1, Kentucky 1 and Purdue, St. Andrews and Stanford looking to get on the board.

She went undefeated in team intermediate classes. This was over two seasons however. Centenary College senior Natasha Klingenstein won team intermediate over fences at 2011 Nationals. On May 3rd of this year Klingenstein won team intermediate on the flat to put Centenary in second place through the first day of competition. After winning the division Klingenstein (on left) was interviewed by the Chronicle of the Horse's Megan Brincks (who is a former member of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln's IHSA team).

Following the alumni fences division Team Intermediate Over Fences was the second class of any kind on day two of 2012 Nationals (or the Friday session if you will). Four riders would score in the '80's, five in the '70's, six in the '60's and one would not complete the course. As the show itself progressed it seemed as though more over fences riders reached the '80's and the '60's compared to 2011 when riders scoring in the '70's was the norm. When the placings were announced Hobbs of the Buffaloes was tenth, down two places from her intermediate flat effort a day earlier, having received a score of '69.' Centenary's Brendan Williams (sophomore, Stratford, Connecticut) received a much better combined judge's score of '75' but was only one place higher with a ninth as there would be a logjam of riders separated by only a point. Ramey of the Cobras slipped from third in novice flat to eighth here with a score of '76.' Laura Douglas of the University of Kentucky (freshman, Baltimore County, Maryland) was seventh with a score of '77.' Allison Drost, a Miami of Ohio sophomore from Palatine, Illinois who had won individual novice over fences on Thursday with a score of '85' was sixth with a '78' to add a point to the Red Hawk's total. Foster of Brown moved down one place from her team novice flat effort to earn fifth place with a score of '79.' From here the odd-numbered combined judge's scores ruled. Kali Cram, the identical twin sister of Sami Cram, had been out of the ribbons in team novice flat but her score of '81' assured St. Andrews of their first three team points as a 'University' (the school was known as St. Andrews Presbyterian College prior to the current season). Jessie Lewis, a sophomore from Chesterland, Ohio was third with a score of '83' to add four points to St. Lawrence's front-runner total. Nell Maynard of Mount Holyoke College (sophomore, Colorado Springs, Colorado) would have won nearly every other over fences class at 2012 Nationals with her score of '87.' However in Maynard's case this was only good enough for second place. This is because Mazzarella received the highest combined over fences score of the entire show with an '89.' During the off-season Mazzarella trains with Jeryl Davis at Seven J's farm in Glastonbury, Connecticut (the home of the Seven J's IEA team and the Central Connecticut State University IHSA team). One year earlier Mazzarella was second in the exact same division for Skidmore with a score of '83.' In any event Mazzarella now had nine of Skidmore's 11 points which put the well-named Thoroughbreds in a tie for second with the defending champion Cylclones through half the team classes. However the Saints were now over a blue ribbon ahead of both programs. Could St. Lawrence finally get out of the reserve champion rut they had been in for over a decade? Through four it was St. Lawrence 19, Centenary 11, Skidmore 11, Mount Holyoke 9, Colorado 7, Virginia Intermont 7, Miami of Ohio 6, Brown 5, Goucher 5, St. Andrews 3, Wisconsin 2, Kentucky 1, Penn State 1, Savannah College of Art & Design 1 and both Purdue and Stanford still looking for their first top six team ribbon.

Over six hours passed between team intermediate over fences and the fifth team class, Team Walk-Trot Equitation. This is because both the flat and jumping phases of the Cacchione Cup, two sections of the rail phase of the individual AQHA Trophy (the Cacchione Cup of the western world), team open reining and individual walk-trot all took place between these two team divisions. Team walk-trot, or any walk-trot class for that matter, is often the biggest crap-shoot of IHSA Nationals. In order to be a walk-trot rider an individual must arrive at college with almost no riding experience whatsoever. This individual must learn to mount the horse, get the horse to walk and then actually post. Once the rider is good at posting is when you have a genuine walk-trotter who can compete in an IHSA show. However that rider has only a two-year window to qualify for Regionals. If this rider has not reached 36 points after four semesters she/he must be moved up into beginner walk-trot-canter or stop competing. Four of the riders entered in today's team walk-trot class had also competed in the division at 2011 Nationals, so their time in the walk-trot was likely nearing the end.

Each of the riders walked and trotted in each direction. This division, and the individual walk-trot which immediately preceeded it, were unsuprisingly the fastest divisions at 2012 Nationals. When the placings were announced one of two seniors in the division was tenth. Hannah Eldridge of the University of Kentucky (from Carrollton, Kentucky) had been out of the ribbons in the division at 2011 Nationals but was tenth in her final IHSA undergraduate ride. The Buffaloes had yet another rider in the top ten as Caitlin Safchik (freshman, Miami, Florida) was ninth. Thomas Goodwin of Centenary College (sophomore, Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania) was eighth while Taylor Scott of Virginia Intermont was seventh. A sophomore from Leander, Texas Scott had placed fourth in the division last season. Like Drost before her, Ellen Quigley (junior, Centerville, Ohio) placed sixth for Miami and added a point to their total. Wei Ling Heng became the first foreign rider to place in a team class at 2012 Nationals. From Penang, Malaysia Heng was fifth to give Stanford their first team points of the contest. Shiloh Kozlowski (sophomore, Trenton, Michigan) was fourth for St. Andrews to move the Knights within a point of the Cobras, Buffaloes and Red Hawks for fifth place. Courtney Shea (freshman, Walpole, Massachusetts) was third to give SCAD their first points since Dodd was sixth the previous morning.

Seen here with his Father, St. Lawrence senior Tim Moore won team walk-trot around 6:00PM on Friday evening (May 4th). At this point St. Lawrence had opened up a ten point lead on Skidmore with only three team classes remaining.

The only riders still standing in the ring belonged to St. Lawrence and Skidmore. If Marisa McCullough (junior, Montvale, New Jersey) were to win the class for the Thoroughbreds the school from Saratoga Springs would be within a first of the Saints. However it was McCullough second and Tim Moore of St. Lawrence first. A senior from Clinton, New York, Moore had finished out of the top ten in team walk-trot one year earlier. This time the physics major (with a minor in Math) won outright to provide St. Lawrence with a commanding lead. With only three team classes remaining it was St. Lawrence 26, Skidmore 16, Centenary 11, Mount Holyoke 9, Miami of Ohio 7, Virginia Intermont 7, Colorado 7, St. Andrews 6, SCAD 5, Goucher 5, Brown 5, Stanford 2, Wisconsin 2, Penn State 1, Kentucky 1 and Purdue still in seach of their first points.

The final english team class on May 4th was Team Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation. Held directly after the team walk-trot division, the Walk-Trot-Canter class could mathematically clinch the National Title for St. Lawrence. At the same time a fourth for the Saints would be enough to eliminate everyone in the field save for Skidmore, Centenary and Mount Holyoke. Everyone walked, trotted and cantered in each direction. Riders in the division were called in one by one until only two riders remained. Then the final two were asked to line up. Eventually Marash read the results and Megan Kelty of Virginia Intermont was tenth. The junior from Hightstown, New Jersey was the fifth Cobra rider in six tries to place within the top ten. Daniel Goossens was the second international rider to earn a top ten ribbon. A freshman from Groningen, the Netherlands Goossens was ninth for SCAD. Sarah Jacobson (sophomore, Andover, Massachusetts) was eighth for Stanford while Lindsay Vance (Freshman, St. Louis, Missouri) was seventh for Kentucky. Miranda Wright (sophomore, Moyock, North Carolina) was sixth to give St. Andrews at least one point in each of the three team classes which took place on May 4th. Anthony DeSimone of Centenary (freshman, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts) was fifth while Anna Haron of St. Lawrence (freshman, Springfield, New Hampshire) was fourth. With St. Lawrence now 16 points ahead of Centenary the Cyclones would not repeat as National Champions though reserve champion honors were still in reach. Though there were eight freshmen in the division, two of the top three were seniors. Erin Sutherland, a Penn State senior from Eldersburg, Maryland who won the final team class at Zone 3 Zones was third to lift the Nittany Lions' total to five points. Isabella McKeon (senior, Red Hook, New York) made it back-to-back red ribbons for Skidmore. McKeon kept the Thoroughbreds alive and even trimmed the St. Lawrence lead from ten to eight points. Samantha Stone, a Mount Holyoke freshman from Stoneham, Massachusetts, won the division to lift Mount Holyoke into third place for the moment. Stone trains with Andrea Mank (a Mount Holyoke graduate) at Evenstride Ltd in Byfield, Massachusetts. After six: St. Lawrence 29, Skidmore 21, Mount Holyoke 16, Centenary 13, St. Andrews 7, Colorado 7, Virginia Intermont 7, Miami of Ohio 7, Penn State 5, Goucher 5, SCAD 5, Brown 5, Stanford 2, Wisconsin 2, Kentucky 1 and Purdue trying to avoid the shutout.

Stone's win kept Mount Holyoke mathematically alive, meaning that only Skidmore and the Lyons had a chance to catch St. Lawrence. The Saints meanwhile were in the driver's seat, with at least a 50/50 shot at their first title since...eh...there is some debate about this. All IHSA Nationals programs list St. Lawrence as the 1977 IHSA hunter seat National Champion (as well as in 1973 and 1976). All IHSA Nationals programs since at least 1992 list Southern Seminary Junior College as the National Champion every season from 1980 through 1988 save for 1986 when Mount Holyoke won. However IHSA Nationals programs in the early 1980's show that Southern Seminary TIED the State University of New York for the title in 1980 and that St. Lawrence and not Southern Sem won the championship in 1981. It is a fact that Stony Brook did tie Southern Sem at 1980 Nationals (George Lukemire, the Head Coach at Stony Brook from 1965 through 2006 confirms this). St. Lawrence head coach Mary Dreuding also thinks that among the equestrian teams' National Championship banners within the athletics facility on campus is one from the early 1980's. Campus Equestrian e-mailed the Hill News, the weekly St. Lawrence school newspaper, to see if they can produce a 1981 story indicating that the Saints were IHSA National Champions. The National show itself was hosted by St. Lawrence in 1981 so hopefully some archived news stories will confirm the Saints had four titles and not three entering Raleigh.

Mount Holyoke's Samantha Stone (on left) poses with head coach C.J. Law after winning team walk-trot-canter shortly before 7:00PM on May 4th. The Lyons did not score in the first two team classes but were in third place through six and still mathematically alive for the title.

The final two hunter seat team classes took place on Saturday, May 5th and involved both open divisions. Sometimes one or two open riders will be held in high regard based on their accomplishments outside the IHSA. On several occasions over the years a rider who has faired well on the 'A' circuit or in Medal Maclay will be seen as a 'competitive edge' if they are part of an IHSA team competition at Nationals. While riders such as Greg Best (of the University of Pennsylvania in 1986) and Peter Wylde (of Tufts University in 1986 and 1987) made an impression in the individual classes there have been team class efforts which greatly impacted one school's point total. In 2000 Amanda Starbuck of the University of Vermont showed sparingly during the regular season due to non-IHSA horse show commitments but at Nationals she showed twice and won 14 of the Cattamount's 17 points. A year later Amanda Forte of Brown University won both of her team open classes to lift Brown from a point to 15 points overall (Not good but great trivia: Forte is the only rider in IHSA history to win both individual open divisions, both team open divisions, both hunter seat alumni divisions and the Cacchione Cup at various IHSA Nationals shows). And few who were there will forget Sarah Willeman's dominance at 2006 Nationals. The Stanford senior won both individual open classes, the Cacchione Cup and team open on the flat. On more than one occasion Willeman's combined judge's scores were in the '90's. However even Willeman proved to be human, as Jodie Weber of Sweet Briar College (the blue ribbon) and Kyla Makhloghi of Mount Holyoke (the red ribbon) relegated her to third in the team open over fences class which concluded the contest.

Several IHSA coaches and riders wondered days ahead of the final team classes if Brown University had the same sort of weapon as they once had with Forte in sophomore Jacqueline Lubrano. In her first season in the IHSA Lubrano missed at least two fall shows due to non-IHSA commitments, just as Forte had done as a freshman well over a decade earlier. As a result Lubrano was not the Zone 1, Region 1 Cacchione Cup representative, but in her first six shows she earned four firsts and two seconds in open flat. Lubrano also pointing out of open fences after seven shows. The younger sister of 2011 Penn State graduate Elizabeth Lubrano, many believed that Jacqueline Lubrano would boost the Brown point total in a big way, regardless of how many points the Bears had going into the final day of showing.

The Saturday session kicked off at 8:14AM, as Claire Margolis of Stanford University entered the ring at that time to begin Team Open Over Fences. Margolis was one of two riders in the division who would compete in the second class of the day, the work-off phase of the Cacchione Cup competition. Margolis's score of '82' was still the high score through roughly a third of the division. Lubrano received a score of '83' but was soon bested by Kels Bonham of Savannah College of Art & Design. Previously known as "Kelse" Bonham, the SCAD senior has encountered difficulty getting others to pronounce her name correctly (strangers would think the 'e' at the end of her first name made it 'Kels-ee' which was not the case) so on all paperwork and all websites she is now 'Kels' which most pronounce the way "Kelse" is supposed to be pronounced. Bonham, who was second in the 2010 Cacchione Class, and who would be part of the three way work-off with Margolis and Skidmore's Kelly Campbell a short time later, received a score of '85' to take the lead.

The three scores which affected who would be the new IHSA National Champion settled the verdict before the division could be pinned. Mount Holyoke sophomore Lexie Lohrer received a score of '78' while Skidmore senior Cheslea Jones received a score of '77.' Abby Cook of St. Lawrence scored higher than either of the two, earning a '81' to assure the Saints that for the first time since either 1977 or 1981 the Championship was bound for Canton, New York. Cook, Margolis, Lubrano, Bonham and Goucher junior Karli Postel each earned scores in the eighties, with Postel's '82.5' putting her between Margolis and Lubrano. Postel was one of several riders over the course of three days to draw a horse associated with her team. Goucher brought several horses including "Gandi," who Postel drew. There had been very little testing up to this point and if Tauber and Evans did not test then the scores had in fact already pre-determined the announced placings. Marash stated the familiar "there will be no further testing" and everyone scurried back to the ring to receive their ribbons.

Jones (from Kailua, Hawaii) was tenth in her final IHSA undergraduate ride. Jones was far from the only senior (there were six of them in team open fences) as Audrey Hanlon of Virginia Intermont was ninth in her undergraduate ride. From Huntington, New York, Hanlon received a score of '77.5.' Lohrer (from Carlisle, Pennsylvania) was eighth while Jamie Donovan of Miami of Ohio (junior, Armonk, New York) was seventh with a score of '78.5.' Meghan Shader was yet another rider who was on the brink of graduation. The University of Kentucky senior from Towson, Maryland was sixth with a score of '79.' Though a senior, Cook (from Duxbury, Massachusetts) was not done as she was also entered in team open flat for the Saints. Cook was fifth while Margolis (freshman, Carmel Valley, California) was fourth, getting time in the seat prior to her work-off appearance. Postel (Newbury Park, California) was third while Lubrano, who had been eighth in individual open flat and out of the ribbons in individual open fences two days earlier, doubled the Brown point total from five to ten. Bonham, a senior from Eolia, Missouri had the honor of winning the exact same class two seasons in a row. At 2011 Nationals Bonham received a score of '86' but was part of a two-way test with Ali Cibon of the University of Kentucky prior to receiving the blue ribbon. This time Kels would try to win two consecutive classes at the same National show!

First place was now locked up. But second remained unchanged. The race for third was now far more interesting than it had been. Through seven classes: St. Lawrence 31, Skidmore 21, Mount Holyoke 16, Centenary 13, SCAD 12, Brown 10, Goucher 9, Virginia Intermont 7, St. Andrews 7, Miami of Ohio 7, Colorado 7, Stanford 5, Penn State 5, Kentucky 2, Wisconsin 2 and Purdue down to their last chance to get on the board.

Brown University head coach Michaela Scanlon holds the perpetual trophy for Jacqueline Lubrano (on horse), who won team open on the flat. Lubrano nearly won back-to-back team classes, placing second in open fences. Brown started the final day of the hunter seat team competition in a four-way tie for sixth and ended up in third place outright thanks to Lubrano's efforts.

The Cacchione Cup work-off phase was a quick one, with Bonham, Margolis and Campbell going over a short course before the top ten received ribbons. Bonham won the Cacchione, making her undefeated for the day through two divisions. Following individual open reining Bonham had a shot to win a third class, as she and 15 others made up the field for Team Open On The Flat. Eight of the 16 riders had in fact competed in team open over fences, and all but Postel from the top five were entered. After riders picked up the walk, the trot and the canter in each direction, Evans and Tauber decided to excuse all but six riders for the remainder of the division. Though Cook was among the ten who were excused (the first time in eight divisions that St. Lawrence would not earn at least one team point) riders from Skidmore, Centenary, SCAD and Brown were still in the ring. With Campbell still in the ring Skidmore was assurred of the Reserve Championship. However with the Mount Holyoke rider having been excused the race for third could fall to any of four teams sitting on between 10 and 16 points. A strange possibility existed that six different teams could finish with exactly seven points. None of the four schools currently with seven had a rider in the ring while two which were chasing these four schools did.

After each rider had been asked to perform a specific pattern one at a time the riders were excused and the results of the final team class announced. Tenth place went to Margolis (who was third in the Cacchione Cup) while ninth went to Virginia Intermont's Lauren Fay (senior, Shelburne, Vermont, who coincidentally was ninth in the Cacchione Cup earlier in the day). Donovan proved to be one of the most consistant riders of the weekend, as the Miami of Ohio junior was sixth in the Cacchione, seventh in team open fences and eighth here. It turned out that Cook just missed the cut-off, as the St. Lawrence senior ended her undergraduate era with a seventh. SCAD would not overtake anyone in the team totals as it turned out. Bonham's run at three straight wins was snapped as the Cacchione champion was sixth. Kathryn Haley (sophomore, Orchard Park, New York) had been one of the big storys at 2011 Nationals, winning both her team and individual flat classes for Centenary College and remaining unbeaten through every IHSA flat class she had ever competed in up to that time. In 2011-12 Haley was human in the flat division, and today she was fifth to raise the Cyclone's team total to 15 points. Campbell, a senior from Cohoes, New York who had the top flat phase score (an '86') on her way to reserve champion honors in the Cacchione Cup was fourth to close out the Skidmore scoring at 24 points. Penn State had a chance to finish in a tie with Miami of Ohio, Colorado, Virginia Intermont and St. Andrews but instead leapfroged this quartet. Brendan Weiss, a sophomore from Southampton, Pennsylvania was third for the Nittany Lions, which finished in a seventh-place tie with Goucher at nine points. The rider in second place turned the four-way tie for eighth place into a five-way tie! Lauren Patterson, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio who also represented Zone 6, Region 3 in the Cacchione Cup went out with a bang. Patterson's second gave the University of Kentucky five more points and made the Wildcats part of the 'touchdown and extra point club.' The only rider remaining in the ring had in fact changed the order of the top five. After just missing out over fences Lubrano was the team open flat champion. Through the efforts of Lubrano and Foster (two riders who are new to IHSA competitions in 2011-12) Brown overtook Mount Holyoke by a single point for third place. Brown finished with 17 points, their best effort since scoring a program-high 23 at 2007 Nationals in West Springfield, Massachusetts. However that Brown team finished behind three teams (VI won big with 37 while Mount Holyoke and the University of Findlay had 25 each) while both the 2012 and 2002 Bears trailed only two teams when finishing third.

It had been a long time since St. Lawrence was National Champion. How long? It depends on the source. Some publications say 1977 while this web site is trying to confirm the correct date was actually 1981. In any event St. Lawrence defeated reserve champion Skidmore by a 31-24 margin for either their fourth or fifth IHSA National title.

Almost lost in the St. Lawrence victory was that Saints Head Coach Mary Dreuding was the 2012 IHSA Lifetime Achievement Award winner. For reasons which are unclear this award was presented to Dreuding during Zone 2 Zones and not at IHSA Nationals as is traditionally the case (Marash and IHSA Founder and Executive Director Bob Cacchione acknowledged Dreuding winning the award over the PA system at different times). A 1983 Colby-Sawyer College graduate, Dreuding rode for the Charger's IHSA team before becoming their assistant coach. In the spring of 1989 Colby-Sawyer tied Penn State for high point team at Nationals. By the 1993-94 season Drueding was the Charger's head coach, and in 1994 Colby-Sawyer won the National Championship outright. Now at St. Lawrence since at least 1995, Dreuding's Saints have won Zone 2, Region 2 titles in 2001, 2003, 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2011-12. Though the IHSA Nationals program did not say who actually made the statement, the program states that "St. Lawrence has been proud for many years to live by the motto 'the few, the proud, the second'." Just as Boston Red Sox fans once had to hear chants of '1918' or the New York Rangers fans had to hear '1940' it is doubtful many will bring up 'the few, the proud, the second' for awhile. Though Cook and Moore will graduate almost everyone else will be back, and after bringing such a successful class of 2015 Drueding has put together something not unlike what Centenary had circa early 2009.

The more things change the more they stay the same?: In preparing this story this writer went back to check results from several prior IHSA Nationals. In contrast to the lack of 'team turnover' from 2011 Nationals to the next I could not help but notice which teams made up the 15 team field at 2002 Nationals. While checking Brown's points from that show (the Bears earned 21) their opponents were so completely different from today that I could not help but include the complete team totals from that show on the ten year anniversary. Held at the Cazenovia College Equestrian Center in Cazenovia, New York on May 3rd, 4th and 5th (just like in 2012), Ohio University was the surprise winner. The Bobcats had never even advanced a full hunter seat team to Nationals and yet they won their first time out. This was one of only two Nationals since 1989 in which Centenary College did not have a full team entered (they were ousted at Zone 2 Zones). This is also the most recent time to date that a school hosted Nationals in their own facility. Without further adeu here are the 2002 IHSA Nationals hunter seat team totals: Ohio University 27 (National Champions); Cazenovia College 22 (Reserve); Brown University 21; Hollins University 19; Berry College 16; Skidmore College 16; University of Findlay 16; Stonehill College 10; Oklahoma State University 9; University of Delaware 7; Virginia Intermont College 6, University of Florida 4; Colorado State University 2; Cal Poly-Pomona 1 and Wilson College 0.

---Steve Maxwell

The 2012 IHSA Nationals Hunter Seat Team Class-by-Class Results, held at the James B. Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina. The first three classes listed were held Thursday, May 3rd, the next three were held Friday, May 4th and the final two on Saturday, May 5th. The Judges for all 2012 IHSA Nationals hunter seat classes were R. Scot Evans and Chrystine Tauber.

Team Novice Equitation Over Fences: 1. Drew Weber, University of Colorado at Boulder. 2. Hillary Oberpeul, Miami University of Ohio. 3. Elisabeth Scovotti, Centenary College. 4. Grace Seagrave, St. Lawrence University. 5. Madeline Frank, Skidmore College. 6. Olivia Dodd, Savannah College of Art & Design. 7. Amanda Pritt, Penn State University. 8. Holly Ray, University of Kentucky. 9. Sami Cram, St. Andrews University. 10. Morgan Abbett, Stanford University.

Team Novice Equitation On The Flat: 1. Katherine Figueroa, St. Lawrence University. 2. Joey Fink, Goucher College. 3. Ashleigh Ramey, Virginia Intermont College. 4. Hallee Foster, Brown University. 5. Alexandra Kuechel, University of Wisconsin at Madison. 6. Maddy Fass, Penn State University. 7. Emory Wonham, Skidmore College. 8. Erin Gray, Stanford University. 9. Madeline Shortt, Mount Holyoke College. 10. Victoria Hackbarth, University of Kentucky.

Team Intermediate Equitation On The Flat: 1. Natasha Klingenstein, Centenary College. 2. Casey Zuraitis, St. Lawrence University. 3. Abigayle Raucher, Mount Holyoke College. 4. Ariel Black, Virginia Intermont College. 5. Julia Mazzarella, Skidmore College. 6. Katharine Wingerter, University of Kentucky. 7. Emily Denning, Penn State University. 8. Karly Hobbs, University of Colorado at Boulder. 9. Justine Thomas, Stanford University. 10. Addie Jabin, Goucher College.

Team Intermediate Equitation Over Fences: 1. Julia Mazzarella, Skidmore College. 2. Nell Maynard, Mount Holyoke College. 3. Jessie Lewis, St. Lawrence University. 4. Kali Cram, St. Andrews University. 5. Hallee Foster, Brown University. 6. Allison Drost, Miami University of Ohio. 7. Laura Douglas, University of Kentucky. 8. Ashleigh Ramey, Virginia Intermont College. 9. Brendan Williams, Centenary College. 10. Karly Hobbs, University of Colorado at Boulder.

Team Walk-Trot Equitation On The Flat: 1. Tim Moore, St. Lawrence University. 2. Marisa McCullough, Skidmore College. 3. Courtney Shea, Savannah College of Art & Design. 4. Shiloh Kozlowski, St. Andrews University. 5. Wei Ling Heng, Stanford University. 6. Ellen Quigley, Miami University of Ohio. 7. Taylor Scott, Virginia Intermont College. 8. Thomas Goodwin, Centenary College. 9. Caitlin Safchik, University of Colorado at Boulder. 10. Hannah Eldridge, University of Kentucky.

Team Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation On The Flat: 1. Samantha Stone, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Isabella McKeon, Skidmore College. 3. Erin Sutherland, Penn State University. 4. Anna Haron, St. Lawrence University. 5. Anthony DeSimone, Centenary College. 6. Miranda Wright, St. Andrews University. 7. Lindsay Vance, University of Kentucky. 8. Sarah Jacobson, Stanford University. 9. Daniel Goossens, Savannah College of Art & Design. 10. Megan Kelty, Virginia Intermont College.

Team Open Equitation Over Fences: 1. Kels Bonham, Savannah College of Art & Design. 2. Jacqueline Lubrano, Brown University. 3. Karli Postel, Goucher College. 4. Claire Margolis, Stanford University. 5. Abby Cook, St. Lawrence University. 6. Meghan Shader, University of Kentucky. 7. Jamie Donovan, Miami University of Ohio. 8. Lexie Lohrer, Mount Holyoke College. 9. Audrey Hanlon, Virginia Intermont College. 10. Chelsea Jones, Skidmore College.

Team Open Equitation On The Flat: 1. Jacqueline Lubrano, Brown University. 2. Lauren Patterson, University of Kentucky. 3. Brendan Weiss, Penn State University. 4. Kelly Campbell, Skidmore College. 5. Kathryn Haley, Centenary College. 6. Kels Bonham, Savannah College of Art & Design. 7. Abby Cook, St. Lawrence University. 8. Jamie Donovan, Miami University of Ohio. 9. Lauren Fay, Virginia Intermont College. 10. Claire Margolis, Stanford University.

2012 IHSA Nationals Hunter Seat Team Totals: