|
||||||
|
TAKING EACH IHSA SHOW ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS The results around the IHSA from October 15th and 16th cannot be generally categorized. A few teams moved ahead of others to take the lead for the first time this season while others simply padded a lead they already had with varying degrees of success. After the first week of Zone 1, Region 1 competition Brown University was in sixth place, nine points behind the University of Rhode Island. Then the Jacqueline Lubrano era began at the Bear's home show on October 16th. The freshman from Glenmoore, Pennsylvania and younger sister of former Penn State Cacchione qualifier Elizabeth Lubrano won both of her open classes as Brown earned their second-ever perfect 49 score (and the second nationwide this IHSA season) to move eight points ahead of URI. Stonehill College trailed Tufts University by two points going into the second Zone 1, Region 4 show of 2011-12. The Sky Hawks lost the show to Wellesley College 33-32 (tieing with Boston University for Reserve Champion) on the 15th but took the overall lead by 69-67 over Tufts. Sacred Heart University had never led their region at any time after three shows had been completed. However the Pioneers won 41-35 over Trinity College on the 16th to take a 103-97 lead on Connecticut College in Zone 2, Region 5. Defending Region Champion University of Connecticut now has 94 while Trinity has 93 in what so far is the most interesting team race on the eastern seaboard. Only UConn in that group has ever won a Region Championship. In most places the leaders held their leads but didn't always win the battle. The University of New Hampshire won at Dartmouth, edging the hosts 37-33 on the 15th to open up a 12 point lead on the University of Vermont in Zone 1, Region 2. Mount Holyoke College won by a 42-27 margin over both UMass-Amherst and Smith College on the 15th. For the moment the Lyons have the largest lead within any New England region, up 83-68 on the Minutemen through two shows. Nassau Community College did not participate in the Zone 2, Region 4 season opener on October 2nd. This may eventually prove meaningful as Nassau won the second show 31-27 over Stony Brook University on the 16th. St. Josephs College (on Long Island) may have tied Dowling College for fifth that day (21 points each) yet St. Joseph's still leads Stony Brook by 59-55 overall. Zone 3, Region 4 has already shown hunter seat four times, with Bloomsburg University winning their most recent meet on the 16th. The Huskies defeated Rutgers 32-30 while defending Region Champ Lafayette College was third with 28. Rutgers has not won a Region Title since 1987 but lead Lafayette by 122-110 while Bloomsburg has nearly caught the Leopards by raising their total to 107. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won the second Zone 4, Region 3 hunter show of the season and finished second to surprising East Carolina University. The Pirates were 36-33 winners over the Tar Heels while St. Andrews and North Carolina State both scored 32. Defending region champion St. Andrews maintained their seven point lead overall versus the Wolfpack, currently at 76-69 with the Tar Heals at 62 and the Pirates at 60. The University of Delaware prevailed again in Zone 4, Region 4, opening up a 12 point lead over both the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University with a 37-28 home show victory on the 16th. In a bizarre coincidence both Penn and Drexel have scored exactly 28 points at each of the first two Region 4 shows. Virginia Intermont College won the Zone 5, Region 4 opener at Virginia Tech on the 15th, escaping the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Arena with a narrow 37-36 win. Since the region split one year ago VI has yet to lose a regular season show. Perhaps the most surprising season opener anywhere so far in 2011-12 took place at Little Pond Farm in Tallahassee, Florida on the 15th. The surprise isn't so much that defending region champion Savannah College of Art & Design won it is that the Bees doubled College of Charleston 42-21 for the day. The Cougars were fourth with last season's upstarts the University of Central Florida third with 29 while Georgia Southern University had one of their best openers ever. The Eagles scored 36 points to earn Reserve High Point Team honors. Before anyone write off the Cougars please remember that it was SCAD who rallied late last season to overcome a large deficit. College of Charleston has seven or eight more shows to try and dethrone the high-flying Bees. By the time you finish reading this story at least two IHSA shows scheduled for Friday the 21st will likely be over. Maryville College hosts a combination of two western and two english shows this weekend, with one of the western shows a Friday afternoon contest. The University of Colorado at Boulder was supposed to host shows on Saturday and Sunday only. However the weather was so bad early in the day on October 8th that the season opener was suspended after open and intermediate fences to be picked up at a later date. That date turned out to be the 21st, so essentially three-quarters of a show will take place. The defending National Champion Berry College western team is already twice as good as North Georgia College in Zone 5, Region 2 western, having outscored them 67-33 in a doubleheader two weekends ago. This weekend Berry hosts English and Western shows each day. The western race will likely turn into a romp if it isn't already. The hunter seat race in Zone 5, Region 2 is anybody's guess before things actually start. Miami University of Ohio won the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions on September 24th. The Red Hawks haven't competed anywhere since but will host the Zone 6, Region 2 hunter seat opener this Saturday. The talent level is high in this region so expect the unexpected at least once over the two days in Oxford. The greater Cincinnati area will host two IHSA hunter shows each day, as Xavier University of Ohio hosts the Zone 6, Region 3 English opener. This will be Xavier's first time hosting an IHSA show at Beckett Run Farm in Hamilton, a frequent site for IEA shows in recent years. This will be the University of Kentucky's first season since 2006-07 without IHSA Nationals regular Ali Cibon competing in either the open or intermediate divisions. The Wildcats will still be the early-season favorite in Region 3. Last season Purdue University snapped St. Mary of the Woods' long streak of Western region titles, taking the top spot 196-182. Eastern Illinois hosts the Zone 7, Region 1 season opener(s). This race is anyone's guess. In 2011-12 the Alfred University Western team won Zone 2, Region 1 by 93 points over Cornell. Alfred hosts a doubleheader on the 22nd which will likely resemble a continuation of last season. Hunter seat riding also returns to Upstate New York as Skidmore College hosts the Zone 2, Region 3 season opener on Saturday. The Thoroughbreds were Co-Reserve Hunter Seat National Champions last season and the best Hunter Seat team in the land two seasons ago. As usual expectations run high in Saratoga Springs. If you follow the Open Rider Standings around the IHSA you may have noticed that Dartmouth College in Zone 1, Region 2 has an open rider in the top ten named Olivia Cameron. This is the same Olivia Cameron who represented Skidmore at 2011 IHSA Nationals in the Cacchione Cup Competition (Contrary to what this article stated when it was posted on 10/21 there turns out to be only one Olivia Cameron). She did not transfer from Skidmore to Dartmouth but is in fact part of a joint degree program between the two schools. It is likely that Cameron will be at Dartmouth for all of 2011-12 and 2013-14 but will be back at Skidmore in between. We hope to have more details on this unusual arrangement between the two schools at some future date. And though we try our best to present accurate start time information sometimes we are forced to guess. Regarding the start time for her show this Sunday Stony Brook University Head Coach Myrna Treuting said "I think it is supposed to start at 8:30AM but we have 238 rides so I am starting as early as possible!" We are listing the start time as 8:15AM but don't complain to us if the show is already underway by then (or if it starts late for that matter). Bring hand sanitizer, bring a sharpie, bring a blanket, remember your course if you are jumping, remember your reining pattern if you are reining, bring the GPS and enjoy the shows! ---Steve Maxwell
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
HOME
| CONTACT US |
||||||
Friday,
October 21st:
Zone 5,
Region 1 Maryville College (Host) at Penrose
Farm, Knoxville, TN 2:00PM WESTERN ONLY
Zone 8,
Region 5 University of Colorado (Host) at Fall River
Farm, Fort Lupton, CO 1:00PM ENGLISH ONLY - CONCLUSION OF SUSPENDED SHOW ON OCTOBER 8TH