Seen here with IHSA Founder and Executive Director Bob Cacchione, College of William & Mary alumni rider Jill Wilson twice was a Reserve National Champion at 2007 IHSA Nationals on May 4th.

THE 2007 IHSA NATIONALS ALUMNI DIVISIONS

(2000 Tufts University graduate Katie Schaaf, who has competed at three IHSA National shows as an alumni plus one individual open flat appearance as an undergraduate in 1998, has written a very detailed account of the hunter seat alumni divisions held at 2007 IHSA Nationals on Friday, May 4th. Our editor then adds his take on the western portion of the alumni divisions, which took place on both Friday, May 4th and Saturday, May 5th - Editor.)

West Springfield, MA - The field in the alumni classes at 2007 IHSA Nationals was wide open, not because there weren’t any standouts, but because there were so many. Though she did not compete, five-time Alumni National Champion and current Drew University Assistant Coach Sandy Sayre correctly noted that the alumni division “now attracts more of the Cacchione Cup and open riders than in the past.” This year’s classes included a former Cacchione Cup winner, two open flat champions, an intermediate fences champion, three alumni fences champions and ribbon winners from the Cacchione Cup, USEF Medal Finals and USET Finals, thrilling viewers who remember recently graduated open stars Emily Unger and Amanda Forte, or this year’s notable new alum, Kristine Kennedy. Kennedy and Sayre are both Drew graduates; Would Drew be able to hold onto the Open Flat title Sayre won last year, or would one of the many former open flat competitors take that title for their own school? With no restrictions on how many years alumni can compete, and with growing enthusiasm for the division, it is only a matter of time before the alumni classes become the most hotly contested of the show.

The alumni fences course consisted of single jumps, several bending lines and one forward five stride line. Though the horses selected for the class were the novice types, each horse had flying lead changes and an adjustable stride. Only a few years ago several horses in this class would have required simple lead changes, but no longer. Seven-time alumni competitor Ashton Phillips noted the quality of horses over fences saying, “with the right ride, every horse was capable of winning.” Katie Estes, a first-time rider at Nationals added, “the level of competition and quality of horses definitely exceeded my expectations.” Between the rising level of competition and the quality of horses, it is no wonder alumni riders return year after year.

The course as set provided many striding options, but it was the riders giving forward, galloping rides who were rewarded by judges Linda Shahinian and Randy Mullins. The top two scores in the first round went to Amanda Forte with an '84' and Jill Wilson with an '85.' Both drew slightly short-strided but capable horses, Forte riding Toby from Centenary College (the only palomino in the hunter seat portion of the show), and Wilson on Dartmouth’s Thaddy. With the only two scores in the 80s, Forte and Wilson were asked to test for the championship over the full course after switching horses. Both gave smooth, solid rides, but Forte continued her galloping, positive style and moved up for the win. Forte, who won all five open classes at Nationals during her four years at Brown, is the first Cacchione Cup winner to win alumni fences. Wilson, a graduate of the College of William and Mary, finished as reserve champion.

Lauren Sappenfield of Purdue earned a '79' and the third place ribbon, followed closely by Kristine Kennedy of Drew in fourth with a '78.' Emily Unger of Stonehill College, who won alumni fences in 2005, finished fifth with a score of '77.50.' In sixth place with a '77' was Allison Park of Hiram College. Jamie Mast of Delaware Valley College finished seventh, posting a score of '76,' and Diane Zrimsek of St. Mary’s College of Maryland earned a '76' and eighth place. Ashton Phillips, a former reserve champion in alumni fences, finished ninth, and Dana Stewart, a former champion in alumni fences, tenth. Phillips attended IHSA powerhouse Virginia Intermont, and Stewart (who was then Dana Lee) graduated from the University of San Diego.

She won the individual open flat in 1999, the individual open fences in 2000, both hunter seat open team classes in 2001, the Cacchione Cup also in 2001 and in 2007 she is the individual alumni fences champion. 2002 Brown graduate Amanda Forte (center, holding blue ribbon) is the only rider ever to win the Cacchione Cup and alumni fences, joining 1974 Bennett College graduate Marty Webster (not pictured) as one of only two Cacchione winners to later win an alumni class at IHSA Nationals.

Many ribbon winners from the morning over fences class returned for the flat in the afternoon, including Kennedy, Wilson and Phillips, Notably absent were Forte and Unger, both open flat stars when in college. The fact that both qualified in only one division for 2007 Nationals is a testament to the high level of competition in the alumni division, even at the regional and zone level. Joining the group for the flat were Mawghan McCabe, 2001 National Champion in intermediate fences and former Cacchione competitor for Vanderbilt University, where she is now the Head Coach; 2003 Virginia Intermont graduate Angee Quattro, who won alumni fences at Nationals last year; and 2006 Miami University of Ohio graduate Megan Palmer, the 2004 National Champion in individual open flat.

Judges Linda Shahinian and Randy Mullins began the class with sitting trot, working the class at this gait for a long period, as they had for previous flat classes. Riders then moved to the rising trot and canter before changing direction and showing the canter, rising trot and sitting trot again. After working in both directions, the judges made a cut, leaving 10 riders in the ring to work-off for ribbons. Remaining riders were asked to drop their stirrups, but since the judges had a clear preference for using the sitting trot to separate their class, the riders only showed posting trot and canter for a brief period without their stirrups. After working-off in one direction the judges were ready to award the ribbons.

Winning the class was Kennedy, following in the highly-decorated footsteps of Drew Assistant Coach Sayre. “It all came full circle,” said Sayre as she presented Kennedy with her ribbon and the trophy Sayre donated for the class. Kennedy’s win gives Drew a total of six alumni championships, the most of any school. Interestingly both 2006 graduate Kennedy and Sayre are currently Drew Assistant Coaches.

“She is a huge inspiration to [my teammates], as well as to me!," said Kennedy of Sayre. "I'm glad I could contribute a bit to Drew University's alumni success, although catching up to Sandy's success will be a feat in itself!” Quite a feat indeed, but Kennedy, a ribbon winner at USET Finals and in the Cacchione Cup, is in a good position to do it. Though she now lives in Arlington, Virginia she plans to continue commuting to Zone 2, Region I shows in 2007-08 to help Drew and show alumni. Of the driving, Kennedy notes, “it's totally worth it.”

Drew University Head Coach Karen Sykes (second on left) can claim to have been the Head Coach or Assistant Coach during all six of the Rangers' blue ribbons won at IHSA Nationals in the alumni divisions. Sandy Sayre (far left) won three alumni flat and two alumni fences classes at various IHSA Nationals between 1998 and 2006 while Kristine Kennedy (on horse) is the 2007 IHSA alumni on the flat National Champion.

Wilson was once again the Reserve National Champion, making her the most consistent alumni rider for the day. McCabe finished third, tieing her alumni fences placing at 2004 Nationals in Murfreesboro while fourth went to Stewart, who as Dana Lee finished fifth in the 1997 Cacchione Cup Competition the last time Nationals were held in Western Massachusetts. Estes, a 2005 Tufts graduate placed fifth in her first trip to Nationals, followed by Phillips in his seventh visit to an IHSA Nationals venue. Though he has earned reserve champion ribbons four times, Phillips is still pursuing the elusive championship. Speaking of his future in the alumni division, Phillips quipped, “I’ll be doing alumni until I have one foot in the grave, or win, whichever comes first. They might have to wheel me to the mounting block and hoist me on with a crane, but I’ll be there.” Unfortunately, riding time is minimal for Phillips, due to coaching both the Princeton and New York University teams (in separate regions! - Editor). Rounding out the class was Amy Gregonis of Centenary College in seventh, Palmer in eighth, Smith Colleges' Jessica Willis in ninth and another former Miami of Ohio rider, Erin Barritt, in tenth. Known as Erin Armbruster while a Miami undergrad, Barritt was both a team and individual open over fences rider at 2000 Nationals in Conyers, Georgia for the Red Hawks. Ironically Barritt competed only on the flat at Zone 6, Region 1 shows during the 2006-07 season. Barritt did however earn the most alumni flat points in her region this season, besting Hiram College graduate Allison Park (who also competed in this class at 2007 Nationals) by a slim 48-46 margin.

Out of the ribbons in both of these divisions was 2006 College of Southern Idaho graduate Meghan Sederholm, who was the only rider at 2007 Nationals to compete in both alumni hunter seat and alumni western classes. Sederholm certainly had one of the longest days in IHSA Nationals history, for at 8:32AM on May 4th she was the first rider on course for the alumni fences, and at roughly 8:15PM she was the final competitor in the ring for her alumni reining pattern. In the early afternoon Sederholm also competed in the alumni flat. Though the first IHSA rider of any kind to compete that morning was out of the ribbons over fences, Sederholm did finish eighth in the alumni reining pattern in the days' final ride.

Sederholm was one of nine riders to compete in the alumni reining division, which has only been held at IHSA Nationals since the 1998 show in Port Jervis, New York (the IHSA Nationals program lists the winner of this division starting in 2000, though New Mexico State graduate Cathy Cumberworth won it in 1999 while Findlay alum Michelle Gagat won the very first IHSA Nationals alumni reining class in 1998. Gagat was one of only four riders to compete in the division at Port Jervis that May day). The tenth Nationals alumni reining division did not contain riders with quite as storied histories as the hunter seat alumni divisions could claim, yet several had competed at a prior IHSA National show. 2005 Ohio State graduate Heather Roberts had competed in the team beginner western horsemanship division at both 2004 and 2005 Nationals, winning the blue ribbon in her first appearance. While no one else in the division could claim a prior blue ribbon at Nationals, 2001 Middle Tennessee State graduate Jessica Schultz finished second in alumni western horsemanship last season while twice earning a third place ribbon, leaving with the yellow in alumni reining last season and in individual advanced western at 2001 Nationals in Conyers, Georgia. Delaware Valley graduate Courtney Beidelman had competed in the alumni reining division at three straight Nationals, placing 8th in '05, fifth in '03 and out of the ribbons in '04. Bloomsburg graduate Saylise Schraeder was the only returnee other than Schultz from the '06 reining class in Harrisburg, having placed fifth in a field of nine that time. Bucks County Community College graduate Alexis Plavacos was making her alumni debut, having finished out of the ribbons in individual open western and the individual AQHA Trophy division in '03 but able to earn a tenth in advanced western at '02 Nationals in Cazenovia, New York. Sederholm had placed out of the ribbons in both team advanced western and individual novice western at 2005 Nationals in Sunbury, Ohio and in several hunter seat classes both in '05 and '06 before earning a ribbon above the participation level on Friday evening.

Ohio State graduates Heather Roberts (left) and Melanie Baker are smiles at IHSA Nationals prior to their first appearance in the alumni reining division. Roberts would place seventh, though the 2005 Buckeye graduate from Toledo would improve on her placing a day later in the alumni rail division. Baker would be fifth in her first Nationals appearance of any kind.

Because the new Semifinal shows eliminated so many more riders than the old western Zones shows did, very few riders from Northeast schools qualified to compete at 2007 Nationals. Of those who did many were from the alumni divisions, with Zone 3 somehow represented by four riders in the alumni reining field. Two of these riders would make the top five.

For reasons that are not clear, the combined alumni reining scores from Western Judges Dawn Clason and Mike Jennings were not read by announcer Ken Marash after each ride. By contrast the scores were read aloud during both the team open reining and individual AQHA Trophy reining classes the next day and the NRHA-sponsored individual open reining division on Sunday the 6th. As a result no one could be sure who was going to place where, though several of the rides proved problematic and at least one re-ride was given (Re-rides were a rarity at 2007 Nationals, with almost all of them taking place during the western divisions held on Friday). At least two riders who struggled mightily with their draws were not given re-rides, and due to these struggles the alumni reining division was perhaps the longest in time of any class held over the four days. Most of the trouble came after riders stopped in the middle, trying to make their horses perform the spins prior to attempting the slide-stops. In at least one case a rider had her horse facing away from the judges and then inexplicably backed up closer and closer to them.

Eventually the class was completed and everyone returned to the ring to receive their ribbons. Ninth place went to Schraeder while eighth went to Sederholm. Seventh went to Roberts while sixth went to 2006 Kutztown graduate Leah Moyer. Moyer is the second Kutztown rider in the program's 33-year history to qualify for Nationals in the alumni reining division, joining early '90's graduate Angie Sell who was fifth in the division at '02 Nationals in Cazenovia, New York. Fifth went to another former Ohio State rider, as Melanie Baker earned her first ribbon of any kind at an IHSA Nationals show. Plavacos placed higher than at any IHSA Nationals show she took part in as an undergraduate, securing the fourth-place ribbon. Plavacos's Zone 3, Region 2 opponent Beidelman earned her best Nationals ribbon to date, placing third overall.

Second place went to 2004 Oregon State graduate Jennifer Loughlin, who was the only Zone 8 alumni reining rider to qualify for the post-season. The Napa, California resident finished on top of the Zone 8, Region 4 Alumni Reining standings by a 21-20 over another Oregon State graduate, Aurora Wales.

While it was the first Nationals appearance of any kind for Loughlin, the third time at Nationals was the proverbial charm for Schultz, who was the 2007 alumni reining blue ribbon winner. Schultz was one of a handful of riders participating at 2007 Nationals who could claim her college was located in her hometown! The Murfreesboro, Tennessee resident is the first Middle Tennessee State graduate to win the division. Schultz was also one of six riders in this division with a shot at another alumni ribbon the next day.

Middle Tennessee State University Head Coach Anne Brzezicki (right) can claim the IHSA Nationals alumni western horsemanship champion for each of the past two seasons. 2001 Blue Raider graduate Jessica Schultz (left) won both the alumni western and the alumni reining at 2007 Nationals, and was slated to be married on June 30th with 2006 alumni western champion Corinne Gould (not pictured) as one of her bridesmaids.

There was much pomp and circumstance prior to the alumni western horsemanship division on May 5th, as the yearly Parade of Teams and presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award were followed by the appearance of none other than USET President and olympic medalist David O'Connor. With all the ceremonies (which also included the presentation of the hunter seat awards) the first western class of the day did not take place until after 3:30PM. The second western class was the Alumni Western, which got underway around 4:30PM. The field was slightly larger than that for the alumni reining, with 12 riders taking part. Of the six riders competing only in the alumni western horsemanship three had previously competed at IHSA Nationals. Of these three University of Wyoming graduate Codi Burris had had the most success, having placed sixth in '02 in the same division at Cazenovia (Burris was also 10th in alumni reining that year). Delaware Valley College graduate Whitney Eisentraut and Kutztown alum Chrystal Coffelt were both looking for their first Nationals ribbon of any kind, with each having competed as an undergraduate in one division or another. Eisentraut had been a three-time individual AQHA Cup qualifier, including once representing Bucks County Community College before transfering to Del Val for her junior year.

All 12 riders entered the ring and were instructed to walk, jog and lope in that order. Later each rider attempted to navigate the pattern, with the overall riding much improved from the sub-standard demonstrations in alumni reining the previous evening. The results from this division came fairly quickly after the final ride, with Andrea Barger of Ohio State placing tenth in her first IHSA Nationals appearance. Loughlin dropped down to ninth while former Smith College hunter seat rider Tanya Zilinskas was eighth. Now riding in a region made up mostly of Northern California schools, Zilinskas was competing at an IHSA show held in New England for the first time since the 1998-99 season, when she showed for Smith in the novice flat and fences divisions. The other alumni western rider from Zilinskas's current region to qualify for the post-season is College of the Sequoias graduate Tristan Mallory, who managed to finish one place higher, earning a seventh. Moyer proved to be as consistant as Wilson had been in the two hunter seat alumni classes, repeating her sixth from the reining division. Plavacos dropped a spot to fifth while Sederholm moved up from eighth to fourth, earning her best ribbon at Nationals to date. Burris faired well in her first Nationals ride since '02, placing third overall. Roberts looked like the rider who won team beginner western a few years back, also demonstrating she could lope very well indeed. Roberts was the 2007 reserve champion.

Three riders remained in the ring at this point, though it was obvious to anyone who watched the entire class which one was receiving the blue ribbon. As had been the case a day earlier Schultz was the winner, and has had been the case a year earlier, a Middle Tennessee State rider was the alumni western champion. 2004 MTSU graduate Corinne Gould had won the division in '06 and though she was not present at 2007 Nationals it was likely she would be able to personally congratulate Schultz during the summer. At the time of writing, Schultz was planning to get married on June 30th, with Gould as a bridesmaid and 2003 alumni western horsemanship champion Lisa Ligon-Grissom as the maid of honor! Like Schultz and Gould, Ligon-Grissom is a Middle Tennessee State graduate, and this perhaps is the only case in IHSA history where three riders who won the same IHSA National Championship would all be members of the same wedding party. But who knows. A year from now there could be another wedding with as many IHSA Nationals blue ribbon winners or even another rider to compete at the very beginning and the very end of the day at an IHSA Nationals show!

--Katie Schaaf (coverage of hunter seat) and Steve Maxwell (coverage of western)

The following is a list of the Alumni Class-by-Class Results from 2007 IHSA Nationals, held in the Big E Coliseum on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Alumni Fences, Alumni Flat and Alumni Reining were held on Friday, May 4th while Alumni Western Horsemanship (also known as Alumni Rail) was held on Saturday, May 5th. The judges for all hunter seat classes were Linda Shahinian and Randy Mullins while the judges for all western classes were Dawn Clason and Mike Jennings:

Individual alumni equitation over fences: 1. Amanda Forte, Brown University. 2. Jill Wilson, College of William & Mary. 3. Lauren Sappenfield, Purdue University. 4. Kristine Kennedy, Drew University. 5. Emily Unger, Stonehill College. 6. Allison Park, Hiram College. 7. Jamie Mast, Delaware Valley College. 8. Diane Zrimsek, St. Mary's College (MD). 9. Ashton Phillips, Virginia Intermont College. 10. Dana Lee-Stewart, University of San Diego.

Individual alumni equitation on the flat: 1. Kristine Kennedy, Drew University. 2. Jill Wilson, College of William & Mary. 3. Mawghan McCabe, Vanderbilt University. 4. Dana Lee-Stewart, University of San Diego. 5. Katie Estes, Tufts University. 6. Ashton Phillips, Virginia Intermont College. 7. Amy Gregonis, Centenary College. 8. Megan Palmer, Miami University of Ohio. 9. Jessica Willis, Smith College. 10. Erin Barritt, Miami University of Ohio.

Individual alumni reining: 1. Jessica Schultz, Middle Tennessee State University. 2. Jennifer Loughlin, Oregon State University. 3. Courtney Beidelman, Delaware Valley College. 4. Alexis Plavacos, Bucks County Community College. 5. Melanie Baker, Ohio State University. 6. Leah Moyer, Kutztown University. 7. Heather Roberts, Ohio State University. 8. Meghan Sederholm, College of Southern Idaho. 9. Saylise Schraeder, Bloomsburg University.

Individual alumni western horsemanship: 1. Jessica Schultz, Middle Tennessee State University. 2. Heather Roberts, Ohio State University. 3. Codi Burris, University of Wyoming. 4. Meghan Sederholm, College of Southern Idaho. 5. Alexis Plavacos, Bucks County Community College. 6. Leah Moyer, Kutztown University. 7. Tristan Mallory, College of the Sequoias. 8. Tanya Zilinskas, Smith College. 9. Jennifer Loughlin, Oregon State University. 10. Andrea Barger, Ohio State University.