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BIZARROWORLD HITS IHSA TEAM STANDINGS If Baseballs' Tampa Bay Rays can reach the American League Championship Series then perhaps the traditional IHSA region leaders should be nervous too. The Rays were Major League Baseball's worst team in 2007 (and most of the past ten seasons) but in 2008 found themselves with the third best record out of 30, with 31 more wins than a season ago. The results of IHSA shows held over the October 4th/5th weekend certainly give underdogs a reason to be positive, though perhaps the surprising team results are not quite as big a story as the Rays. Among the early season upsets were... Centenary College, the Zone 2, Region 1 high point hunter seat team every season since 1990, falling 35-34 to Drew. Defending Cacchione Cup Champion James Fairclough II was one of two Drew riders with a pair of firsts for the Rangers. The University of Delaware, the Zone 3, Region 2 high point hunter seat team each of the past two seasons, on the wrong side of a nine point loss to traditional rival Delaware Valley College. Brown University, the Zone 1, Region 1 high point hunter seat team each of the past two seasons, losing by three to host University of Rhode Island. Murray State leading Middle Tennessee State by a point in Zone 5, Region 1 HUNTER SEAT! Defending Region 1 hunter seat high point champion Vanderbilt trails by 25 points while the University of the South is 29 out after two shows. Hollins University, the Zone 4, Region 2 high point hunter seat team all but once since 1997-98, finishing 15 points behind Randolph College, with Bridgewater College, Sweet Briar College and James Madison University in between. When you add in Franklin & Marshall's three-point upset win at Penn State a week earlier you have several powerful programs currently sitting in second place or lower headed into the October 11th/12th weekend. How long these teams will sit there is anyone's guess (though for the majority, not long is the likely answer). Even in races where the traditional leader is ahead the margin is slim... Virginia Intermont College, which finished in a three-way tie for high point team with UNC-Charlottte and host Virginia Tech on Sunday, leads both St. Andrews and the Charlotte 49'ers by only 80-75 through two shows. Berry College, one of the easier hunter seat region champs last season, a 30-29 winner versus the University of Georgia three weekends ago. The College of Charleston, winners of four consecutive Zone 5, Region 3 hunter seat Region Championships, leading the University of Central Florida by 30-27 with Savannah College of Art & Design only another point back. And in the region where no one is yet sure who is supposed to be the best, the University of Massachusetts hosted and defeated Mount Holyoke College 43-39 in the Zone 1, Region 3 season opener. To prove this is still planet earth there are a few races that vaguely resemble normalcy... The University of Findlay won a pair of Zone 6, Region 3 hunter seat shows on Sunday, and lead Otterbein College by 23. West Virginia University hosted the Zone 3, Region 3 season opener, and brushed aside the University of Pittsburgh 38-27 in workmanlike fashion. And the University of Mary Washington won the Zone 4, Region 1 season opener, scoring the IHSA's first perfect 49 score of the new season. The surprise here is the margin of victory, as Goucher College, riding at their own facility though they were not the host school, trails 49-33 in a race that this writer though would be (and still thinks will be) close. Though many will point to the luck of the draw (and the ability to pick the correct point riders) at some point it will become clear that the riding at several schools has simply improved in a short time. Early candidates for this label include Middle Tennessee State, the University of Central Florida and Randolph College. No matter how you look at it, the closer the team races, the more interesting the shows are to the entries and the spectators. Many of the shows this weekend will likely put the traditional leaders back on track. Hollins hosts on a Friday (today if you are reading this on October 10th) and will hope for a big day on their own horses. Penn State hosts their second of two fall shows on Sunday. Franklin & Marshall will hope for lightning to strike twice. Lehigh hosts at a facility not previously used for an IHSA show. The Zone 3, Region 4 race could do just about anything, though current leader Kutztown does have strength in numbers. Miami of Ohio hosts two hunter seat shows in Zone 6, Region 3, where the Red Hawks are currently seven points behind Otterbein for second place. Smith College welcomes UMass and Mount Holyoke and others to Fox Meadow Farm. UMass won there to clinch a trip to Zones the last time Smith hosted. However prior to that UMass had less success at Fox Meadow Farm over the previous decade than when competing at the Mount Holyoke Equestrian Center! Your guess is as good as mine. And then there are the season openers. The IHSA returns to California for the first time since Nationals concluded on May 11th as the University of San Diego hosts a pair of Zone 8, Region 2 hunter seat shows. Cal Poly - Pomona advanced a full hunter seat team to Nationals last season, and will hope not to fall behind like the other leaders. Ditto for Zone 1, Region 2, where the University of Vermont and Middlebury will host on consecutive days. Mount Ida College won their first region championship last season, though this race could be a four-way between Dartmouth, New Hampshire, Vermont and Mount Ida based on recent history. Though their western team already kicked off their season in late September (and Campus Equestrian is still waiting for western totals from several regions - Editor), the University of Kentucky will begin their defense of the 2007-08 hunter seat National Championship when they travel north to what is normally the site of Ohio University shows in Zone 6, Region 1. The Kentucky Wildcats have sent a full hunter seat team to IHSA Nationals each of the past two seasons, though they will try for a third trip without open rider and nationals hero Callie Schott, who graduated. Still the Wildcats are the likely favorites in Zone 6, Region 2. And we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the results of the first-ever IHSA western show in New England this past Friday. Sacred Heart University hosted, and the United States Military Academy remained unbeated in three Zone 2, Region 1 western shows. The Black Knights were 32-28 winners over Centenary College, while Stevens Institute was third with 21 and host Sacred Heart next with 19 despite no advanced or open riders. The weather should be nice in most places. Bring sun block, drive safely, ride safely and enjoy the shows! ---Steve Maxwell
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Zone 4,
Region 2 Hollins University (Host) at Hollins Riding
Center, Roanoke, VA Time TBA ENGLISH ONLY
Zone 3,
Region 4 Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Host) at Crooked Creek Horse
Park, near Ford City, PA 9:00AM 2 WESTERN ONLY