Seen here at the October 8th Smith College show aboard "Jiffy," Alyson Murphy was one of three University of Massachusetts at Amherst riders to win a class at the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions on September 24th. A junior from Natick, Massachusetts, "Aly" was a blue ribbon winner in intermediate flat.

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS HOLDS THEIR OWN AT PRE-SEASON TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

(Caitlin Schumann, a sophomore novice rider from Huntington, New York who is also the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Point Secretary, forwarded us a write-up on the Minutemen's trip to the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions held in Westville, Ohio on September 24th. Though their first official IHSA show of the 2011-12 season was not until October 8th, this contest marked the UMass Coaching Debut of former UMass and Findlay rider Mara Keith-Hunter. Until recently the Head Coach at Hampshire College, Keith-Hunter's first event as UMass Head Coach went very well indeed. - Editor)

On Friday, September 23rd, 2011 seven members of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Equestrian Team woke up early, packed their cars and drove 12 hours to compete in the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions invitational, hosted by Otterbein University at their Equine Science Facility in Westerville, Ohio the next day.

UMass Head Coach Mara Keith-Hunter and Assistant Coach Jill Bourne had selected the seven top riders to compete in the tournament. This was the second time any UMass Equestrian team had the opportunity to participate in a tournament outside of their region and the anticipation was high as the group drove towards Ohio (previously UMass took part in the 2007 Holiday Tournament of Champions at Centenary College - Editor).

On Saturday morning the riders had their boots polished, shirts pressed, helmets clean, makeup on and were ready to participate. There were 13 other schools competing, including some teams that brought two squads. UMass's regional rival Mount Holyoke College was also riding which added more excitement to the event.

Though not an officially sanctioned IHSA event the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions operates under IHSA rules. The host school provides horses for the competing teams as well as themselves. Horses are designated for certain divisions depending on the combined abilities of the horses and riders. Riders are judged on their Equitation; which is the rider’s positioning and effectiveness on their horse. The divisions range from Beginner Walk-Trot (a class often made up of new riders) to the Open divisions (made up of seasoned riders who have mastered the art of Equitation). Riders receive individual points for their placing in their classes (if you are new to following the IHSA the point system is as follows: 1st = 7 points, 2nd = 5 points, 3rd = 4 points, 4th = 3 points, 5th= 2 points and 6th = 1 point). At the end of the show the team with the highest cumulative points wins.

Seen here with her Mother after winning the third section of advanced walk-trot-canter at the Smith show, Margaux Sarin of UMass (on right) won the same division at the Pre-Season Tournament. The senior from Fairfield, Connecticut (and Team Secretary) was one of several UMass riders who helped revise Schumann's original story.

Each class had an average of 10 riders participating. In addition there was a separate division known as the Medal Class, which is held in lieu of a ride-off. Open to open riders, intermediate riders and alumni riders, the Medal division had 20 riders entered. Riders in the Medal class jump first. Then perhaps 12 are called back to flat. After the flat phase an even smaller number are invited back for the work-off (the ribbons earned in the medal class do not count towards the team totals - Editor).

UMass came to Ohio determined and ready to win. Team Secretary Margaux Sarin won the Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter class; Captain Kari Searls was second in Novice Fla; Alyson Murphy won her Intermediate Flat class; Captain Courtney Bryggman won Open Flat as well as placing sixth in the Medal class. When the final scores were tallied UMass tied Virginia Intermont College and Otterbein University for third with 26 points but because UMass had the most first place ribbons they were awarded third place behind Miami University of Ohio (who won the tournament with 30 points) and Virginia Intermont – Gold Team (which was reserve with 28. Virginia Intermont's Black Team technically finished between UMass and Otterbein's "Otter Trotters" in fourth place).

For those who participated and those who were back home on the Amherst campus it was a very proud moment in UMass program history. The Minutemen and their coaches are currently fund-raising to send a squad to the Holiday Tournament of Champions in Long Valley, New Jersey on December 3rd. The hope is that Coach Keith-Hunter can take two teams to the holiday event allowing the full team to enjoy the tournament experience.

--Caitlin Schumann; Edited by Steve Maxwell