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UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT ALUMNI MAKE THEIR PRESENCE FELT IN 2004-05 The University of Connecticut Equestrian Team dates back to the late 1960's, when the huskies joined the fledging IHSA and quickly became one of the best teams in the organization. The 1971-72 UConn team came from behind at the final show of the season, overtaking Stony Brook to finish as high point team in their region. And since the IHSA was made up of only one region at that time, the huskies were IHSA Champions. A lot has changed since those early days, but one thing has remained true throughout: The University of Connecticut has always fielded a large team. In 2004-05, 26 different huskie undergraduate riders qualified for IHSA Regionals, and several would ride in more than one division at the first post-season show. To put this in perspective, the entire Zone 8, Region 2 had only 14 hunter seat riders qualify for Regionals this season. Not content to qualify so many undergraduates, the riders who spent four years taking classes in Storrs, Connecticut signed up for IHSA shows in record numbers, even branching out into other regions. The UConn alumni ruled in Zone 1, Region 1 this season, while several other Huskie graduates made a splash slightly further south. During the Holiday Tournament of Champions show on December 4th, at which time three University of Connecticut alumni were competing along with the current team, this writer asked UConn Head Coach Janice Callahan why so many of her former riders turn out for alumni. "It's probably because they have such a great Coach," Callahan said, facetiously but still dead pan. When the same question was posed to the alumni, there was no simple reason given. Stefanie Kealey, who graduated last May, got into it almost by accident. Kealey is now at Columbia University for graduate school, pursuing a masters degree in Social-Organizational Psychology. While at Columbia, Kealey met several individuals who rode for various schools as undergraduates, and several decided to show alumni with the Columbia team in Zone 2, Region 1. Another of the Columbia graduate students turned out to be Jennifer Lazzaro, who was UConn class of '03. Lazzaro was the last of the UConn alums to sign up this season, making her IHSA alumni debut with a fourth in alumni flat at Pace University's February 19th show.
Kealey went all the way to Zone 2 Zones in the alumni over fences, just missing the cut for Nationals with a third on April 9th. Another former teammate, 2003 UConn graduate Chrissy Sealaus also got into riding alumni through a chance encounter. Seelaus knew 2004 Kutztown University graduate Trish Brosman from riding at the same facility in Pennsylvania. Brosman had planned to ride alumni (and became the Zone 3, Region 4 alumni rep before the season was over) and happenned to run into Seelaus in September. "I had lived out west for a year and came back," says Seelaus. "Trish told me about the alumni. It was all very last minute. She convinced me to do it. I hadn't ridden in a year." Seelaus faired well in Zone 3, Region 4, ending the regular season second in alumni flat points and third in alumni fences. Like Kealey, Seelaus made it to Zones in alumni fences, turning in a briliant, blue-ribbon-winning ride in the rain at Regionals on April 2nd. And like Kealey, Seelaus did not get past Zones. The remaining UConn alumni all reside close enough to their original region that they still compete in it. Eight different UConn alumni riders took part in Zone 1, Region 1 shows during the 2004-05 season, with the most successful of the group being 2004 alum Shay Meisinger. Meisinger led the region in alumni flat points with 42 (ten more than former teammate Liz Lopez) and alumni fences points with 33 (two more than former teammate Lora Abbott). Meisinger, Abbott and Allison Wooten each qualifed for Regionals in both alumni divisions, while Jen Corti qualified over fences and Lopez made it in on the flat. Strangely enough, half of the alumni were class of '03 (Corti, Lopez, Julie Gordon and Bethany Cardile) and half were class of '04 (Abbott, Meisinger, Wooten and Crystal King).
Corti and Meisinger placed in the top two at Zone 1, Region 1 Regionals over fences, while Abbott got to Zone 1 Zones on the flat. Surprisingly, the only alumni rider in the region not from UConn joined Abbott at Zones in the alumni flat. University of Massachusetts at Amherst alumni rider Dana Stark was the other flat rider. At Zone 1 Zones on April 9th, Meisinger won the alumni over fences while Abbott, who was the Regional Point Secretary during the 2003-04 season, won the alumni flat. Both thus advanced to IHSA Nationals, held this season at the Eden Park Equestrian Complex in Sunbury, Ohio. Both alumni classes will take place on Friday, May 6th, starting first thing in the morning with Meisinger's division. UConn alumni have faired well recently at Nationals, as Tracey Hunter-Clark won the alumni flat in 1996 while Amy Tuckerman won the alumni fences only two seasons ago. Unlike the seasons when Hunter-Clark and Tuckerman rode, the huskies will have a full team in attendance to support Meisinger and Abbott, as UConn won their region and then placed second as at team at Zone 1 Zones (the top two teams at Zone 1 Zones advance to IHSA Nationals). It would not surprise too many people if some of the UConn seniors on this year's team turned up in several places this fall riding alumni. Even if you did not go to UConn, as long as you showed once in IHSA competition as an undergraduate, you may have the chance to ride alumni in 2005-06. Simply get in touch with the alumni rep in your area and they will take it from there. ---Steve Maxwell 2004-05 IHSA Alumni Reps by Region (Regions currently offering alumni classes; An asterisk * indicates the region is hunter seat only at this time) ZONE 1, REGION 1*: Janice Callahan - jcallaha@canr.uconn.edu ZONE 1, REGION 3*: Anne Meade - akmeade@mtholyoke.edu ZONE 1, REGION 4*: Tracy Wallace - tres115@aol.com ZONE 2, REGION 1: Sandra Sayre - sandrasandrajoy@aol.com ZONE 2, REGION 2: Alicia Fereday - afereday@cbasyracuse.org ZONE 2, REGION 3: Christie Schneckner - cgs6@cornell.edu ZONE 3, REGION 1*: Erin Graham - lehanegraham@hotmail.com ZONE 3, REGION 2: Joanne Coniglio - joannest1194@yahoo.com ZONE 3, REGION 3: Stephanie George - laminadevooh@hotmail.com ZONE 3, REGION 4: Trish Brosman - punkie818@hotmail.com ZONE 4, REGION 1: Trisha Prettyman - prettyman79@hotmail.com ZONE 5, REGION 1: HUNTER SEAT: Mawghan McCabe - mmccabe@eakinpartners.com ZONE 5, REGION 1: STOCK SEAT: Marianne England - wubbie3me@yahoo.com ZONE 5, REGION 2: Mary Catherine Chewning - mustangkidd@mindspring.com ZONE 5, REGION 3: Emily Wilbanks - emily.s.wilbanks@mail.sprint.com ZONE 6, REGION 1: Holly Saigo - hhsaigo@jonesday.com ZONE 6, REGION 2: (alumni not offered in 2004-05; Contact Zone 5, Region 1 reps for more information) ZONE 6, REGION 3: Sue Ferguson - phurgus@provide.net ZONE 7, REGION 1: No official rep - Contact Adrienne Baisch at Laramie County Community College, drenpb@hotmail.com ZONE 7, REGION 2: Kinsey McClure - nrhatrainer2B@hotmail.com ZONE 8, REGION 1: Stephanie Reeves - slr35@csufresno.edu ZONE 8, REGION 2: Tanya Zilinskas - zilinskas@yahoo.com ZONE 8, REGION 3: Melissa Daly - mdaly@wso.williams.edu ZONE 8, REGION 4: Dawn Salazar - dawn_salazar@hotmail.com ZONE 9, REGION 1: Angela Yates - acyates@uiuc.edu ZONE 9, REGION 2: Joanne Numrich - siuceqteam@hotmail.com OR gdyup7_99@yahoo.com ZONE 9, REGION 3: Andrew Hinrichs - fjordguy@hotmail.com
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