Mount Holyoke open rider Kyla Makhloghi (left) and Head Coach C.J. Law have lots to be happy about. During Zone 1 Zones On April 9th, Makhloghi won four classes and Law saw her Mount Holyoke Team advance to IHSA Nationals for the seventh time in the past nine seasons.

TEAM RACE GOES DOWN TO WIRE (AGAIN) AT ZONE 1 ZONES

(This account of Zone 1 Zones was written by Mount Holyoke College junior Sara Royston, who rode in the walk-trot-canter divisions for the 2004-05 season. Royston, who is majoring in both Neurobiology and Math, was National Champion in the individual walk-trot at 2004 IHSA Nationals. If you take part in the Quiz Bowl prior to the start of 2005 IHSA Nationals, keep in mind that Royston wrote this year's Quiz. Royston spent most of this years' Zone 1 Zones show in the announcer's booth, obtaining a first-hand view of the proceedings).

Greenfield, MA - Since the IHSA started the process of eliminating teams at Zones shows in 1997, the Zone 1 Zones Team Competition has featured some of the finest riding and closest outcomes of any zone bar none. One example is the 1998 battle for second, when Mount Holyoke overcame a rider falling off early to move into second place, then watched the University of Connecticut force a ride-off for reserve in the last class. Holyoke surivived that scare, advancing to Nationals for what would be the second of five consecutive appearances in the National Team Competition, which the lyons would win in 2000.

Another example would be in 2002, when Brown University, thought by many going in to be a contender for the National Championship (thanks in part to the presence of open rider Amanda Forte), dug themselves into last place, only to rally and tie for reserve when Forte won the final team class of the day. The ride-off went to Brown, though only after the other rider went off-course (the bears went on to place third at Nationals for the record).

The competitive nature of schools throughout Zone 1 means that rarely do all four teams from the previous years' team competition return. Usually at least one region produces a new high point team, and in 2005 there were two teams who unseated the defending region champs. The University of Connecticut, last at Zones in 1998, won a see-saw affair with Brown during the regular season, as both teams took turns leading Region 1 until the huskies took the lead for good through eight shows. The Region 2 race saw Dartmouth College hang on for their first region title ever. The remaining region races were lop-sided, as Mount Holyoke College and Stonehill College led early and often in Regions 3 and 4 respectively. The top two teams in the team competition advance to IHSA Nationals, as do the top two riders in each of the individual classes.

Held once again at the Stoneleigh-Burnham school, the 2005 edition of Zone 1 Zones began at 10:00AM with the Team, or “Collegiate” Open Fences Class. After intense testing by judge Linda Shahinian, Mount Holyoke junior Kyla Makhloghi was awarded first place. Following in second was Samantha Vopat from Stonehill College. Third went to UConn’s Heather Callahan, while Dartmouth’s Tim Malone was fourth. Makhloghi, who was the only rider in the class who also finished as high point open rider within her region, would not be done raking in blue ribbons on this day.

The Individual Open Fences Class followed the team class. Eight riders took part in each of the undergraduate individual classes on this day, with the top two moving on to IHSA Nationals in Sunbury, Ohio. Three of the four riders from the team open fences class qualified here, and once again Makhloghi came out on top. Reserve Champion Whitney Keefe from Brown University also assured herself a place at Nationals.

The jumping phase of the Zone 1 High Point Class was next. Brown junior Jamie Peddy (from Oyster Bay, NY), the High Point rider representing Region 1, was first in the order of go. Next to go were Dartmouth freshman Daisy Freund (from Southhampton, New York and Region 2), Makhloghi (from Putney, VT and Region 3) and Stonehill College senior Kelsey Amedeo (Springfield, MA and Region 4). While all of the riders received scores for the jumping phase, no results were announced, as the placings would not be determined until completion of the flat phase much, much later in the day as it would turn out.

The Individual Intermediate Over Fences Class was next. Rachel Bertsch from the University of Vermont and Megan Bowers from the University of Connecticut advanced to Nationals with a first and second respectively.

The first team class had given the established Zones entries the early lead. However, the two teams making their first appearance this decade would show they belonged soon enough. Robert "B.R." King was king of the team intermediate fences, giving Dartmouth their first-ever blue ribbon in an IHSA Zones Team Competition. Sara Goldstein of the University of Connecticut was second, while Karin Corbett of Mount Holyoke was third and Elizabeth Ryan of Stonehill fourth. Mount Holyoke still led with eleven, Dartmouth now had ten, UConn nine and Stonehill, which two seasons ago won the IHSA Hunter Seat National Championship, had eight. But this is Zone 1 Zones, and to be trailing by three points after two classes is almost as good as winning, at least if history means anything.

The first of the two Alumni classes was next. After all of the entries had finished jumping, Shay Meisinger, a 2004 University of Connecticut graduate, had won while Reserve went to Katie Schaaf from Tufts. Following the Alumni flat phase, Schaaf learned not only that she will be riding in two classes at Nationals, but that her former trainer Ashton Phillips would be riding against her in both! Phillips, like Schaaf, placed second in both of his Alumni classes at Zone 3 Zones. In a season where University of Connecticut alumni dominated Region 1 (and were represented well in other Zones), yet another huskie alumni, in this case 2004 graduate Lora Abbott, won the Alumni Flat class.

The final set of jumping classes would follow. The Individual Novice Fences Championship Class was held first. Staying with the trend of every other jumping class of the day, both novice jumping classes were tested by the judge. Emerging on top after the test was Megan Piermarini from Endicott College, the first individual qualifier of the day from Region 4. Reserve Champion status and a trip to Ohio were then awarded to Grace Peloquin of Brown University, joining bear teammates Keefe and Cacchione qualifier Peddy on a trip to Nationals.

The Team Novice Fences Class followed. Shahinian felt strongly that no winner stood out after the first round, so all four entries switched horses and started over. In the end, Stonehill’s Kristina Grossman added seven points to her team score with her first place in the class. Second went to UConn’s Hillary Anderson, while Kate Wooler of Dartmouth was third. Mount Holyoke’s Christine Gunn placed fourth. These results left three of the four teams tied for second and the fourth, Stonehill, suddenly out of the cellar and into first place through the jumping divisions, up 15-14 on the field.

Before any further team classes were held, riders for the Individual Intermediate Flat Class were to ride. While the judge tested extensively over fences, there was no work off in the majority of the flat classes. Mount Holyoke’s Catherine Tauscher won the class outright, with Rachel Bertsch from the University of Vermont taking second. It was the cattamount seniors' second National qualifying ride of the day. There was no work in the Team Intermediate flat class either. Jennifer Palmadessa placed first, earning the University of Connecticut their first blue ribbon in an IHSA Zones team competition since 1992. Elizabeth Bissell of Dartmouth took second, leaving Stonehill’s Shannon Tibbits in third, and Mount Holyoke’s Diana Rosenbaum in fourth. At the halfway mark: UConn 21, Dartmouth 19, Stonehill 19 and Mount Holyoke 17.

In the Individual Novice Flat class, Becky Osinga of Mount Ida College placed first. Christine Gunn from Mount Holyoke College will also head to Ohio after placing second in the division. The Team class was next. The coaches were already beginning to realize how much tension the rest of the day would hold. The schools placed in the exact same order as they had in the preceding class. UConn’s Amber Garland won, with Dartmouth’s Janelle Moerlein taking second. Sarah Muller from Stonehill placed third, and Marie Hilliard from Mount Holyoke was fourth.

Hilliard and Muller quickly remounted, and with six others, headed into the Individual Walk-Trot-Canter Championship class. Meghan Sorel from Wheaton College received champion status, while Hilliard improved with a second. Heading into team Walk-Trot-Canter, UConn led with 28 points, followed by Dartmouth with 24, Stonehill with 23 and Mount Holyoke with 20. Running out of time and having underperformed so far compared to their regular season efforts (when they won Region 3 by 65 points over Smith College), Mount Holyoke broke their run of fourth place ribbons in a big way when Caroline Nobo placed first here, giving the lyons 27 points. Second place went to Stonehill’s Kim Foley. Caroline Gottschalk of UConn was third, while Mitzi Huang of Dartmouth took fourth. Through five divisions it was the University of Connecticut with 32, Stonehill with 28 and both Mount Holyoke and Dartmouth tied for third with 27. In theory, no team was either eliminated or could claim to have clinched a place at Nationals in the team competition. And only two team classes remained.

Before the tension could be eased (or increased), the riders from the Individual Walk-Trot class were to ride. Gottschalk won this class outright while Foley again received a red ribbon. Regardless of which teams would eventually survive, the huskies knew that at least Bowers, Gottschalk and two alumni would go on to Eden Park in Sunbury, while chieftains' Foley and Amedeo were assured of a trip to Nationals as well.

The ring was silent as the Team Walk-Trot class rode into the ring. Mount Holyoke’s Danielle Johnson won the rather short class, adding crucial points to the lyons' score. Second place went to Laura Bredehorst of UConn while Sara Zerany of Stonehill was third and Shayan Ghosh from Dartmouth placed fourth. Mount Holyoke’s Team Manager, Darcy Broughton, confirmed what most of the coaches had already realized: It would all come down to the last class.

Barring a freak disqualification (which happenned elsewhere in the IHSA on this day), the University of Connecticut had clinched their first trip to IHSA Nationals as a team since 1992. Even with a fourth in open flat, the Huskies were in. UConn had 37, Mount Holyoke 34, Stonehill 32 and Dartmouth 30. Working out all the scenerios, Dartmouth still had a shot to at least be part of a ride-off for reserve. It would take a Dartmouth first from Freund and a Mount Holyoke fourth from Makhloghi in the final class to accomplish this. Stonehill needed a first from Amedeo and no more than a third from Makhloghi to force a ride-off for second. A fourth for Makhloghi could also open the door for Stonehill to take second outright. No matter how anyone looked at it, Makhloghi's ride would mean the most to everyone.

All of this hypothesizing would have to be put on hold through the Individual Open Flat. After several re-rides and intense testing, Makhloghi won again, her third blue ribbon of the day and a good omen for the lyons. Amedeo received second place, and gave her plenty of time in the seat to be ready to go again in the team class moments later. Makhloghi's first gave Mount Holyoke five individual rides at Nationals, which were not only more undergraduate individual rides than any other team at today's show, but more than any of the other REGIONS could claim as a whole (Region 1 had four riders in Keefe, Peloquin, Bowers and Gottschalk; Region 2 had Osinga and Bertsch twice; and Region 4 had Piermarini, Sorel, Foley and Amedeo all make it to Nationals on an individual basis).

Prior to the start of Team Open Flat, the show stewards (who were Janice Callahan, the UConn Coach, Region 1 Region President, and Mother of Open Rider Heather from the first team class; Beth Horvath-Palmer, the Dartmouth Assistant Coach, and Region 2 Region President; Sue Payne, the Coach of Smith College, and President of Region 3, and Stephanie Andreottola, Head Coach of Endicott College, who was recently given the Region 4 President tag) made sure that Shahinian fully understood how important the Team Open Flat class would be. In the end, Makhloghi would once again emerge on top. Freund was second, Amedeo third and UConn’s Meghann Jones fourth. This made Mount Holyoke, which had trailed for most of the day, the 2005 Zone 1 Champion College with 41 points. The University of Connecticut was reserve with 40 points, while Stonehill was third with 36 points and Dartmouth fourth with 35 points.

As the surviving teams celebrated, the Regional High Point riders mounted up for the flat phase of the Zone 1 High Point Rider Championship. For Amedeo and Makhloghi, it was their third class in a row without a break. In the end, Freund was awarded top honors. In her only non-champion finish of the day, Makhloghi took second. Amedeo was third, while Peddy was fourth. Regardless of these placings, all four of the Zone 1 High Point Riders will be moving on to compete for the Cacchione Cup at the Eden Park Equestrian Complex in Sunbury, Ohio near Columbus May 5th through 7th.

"I am so excited for Nationals," said Makhloghi, who will be making her second appearance at Nationals, having placed sixth in both individual and team open flat in Murfreesboro last season. "While Zones was definitely a milestone along the way, it is just the beginning. Ohio is yet to come!" Makhloghi also went on record that even when things looked bleak through five team classes, the lyons did not give up on their goal of winning. "The best part about Zones was that we all really worked as a team. Our riders rode well, and despite some of the placings, we were all supportive of one another. It made it possible for the day to go as well as it did."

When the Cacchione Class was pinned, many stopped to look at their watches. There was still daylight, yet all of the testing and re-rides meant that 2005 Zone 1 Zones did not end until 7:15pm! By contrast, Zone 7 was able to hold their English AND Western Zones Saturday in the same amount of time. Still, the length of today's show only adds to the mystique of what Zone 1 Zones is all about.

All of the teams, competitors, and coaches wish to extend a very special thank you to the Stoneleigh-Burnham School, to the wonderful horses, to Dolores Vausch, who serves as the horse draw steward each year at Zone 1 Zones, and to all of the people who helped with Zone 1 Zones throughout the day.

--Sara Royston

Show Incidentals: Sunny and clear. Highs in the low 60's. Entire show held indoors. Start Time: 10:00AM. Finish: 7:15PM - includes numerous schooling breaks. Results announced after each Zone 1 Zones team class?: Yes. Alumni Classes held at this show?: Yes. Judge: Linda Shahinian, Edgewater, New Jersey. Stewards: Callahan/University of Connecticut, Horvath-Palmer/Dartmouth College, Payne/Smith College and Andreottola/Endicott College.

Class results, in the order in which they were held, with the top two in each individual class advancing to 2005 IHSA Nationals in Sunbury, Ohio May 5th through 7th:

Team open equitation over fences: 1. Kyla Makhloghi, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Samantha Vopat, Stonehill College. 3. Heather Callahan, University of Connecticut. 4. Tim Malone, Dartmouth College.

Individual open equitation over fences: 1. Kyla Makhloghi, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Whitney Keefe, Brown University. 3. Dyanna Rucco, Stonehill College. 4. Regan Duffee, University of Connecticut. 5. Daisy Freund, Dartmouth College. 6. Alicyn Roy, Mount Holyoke College. 7. Samantha Vopat, Stonehill College. 8. Tim Malone, Dartmouth College.

Individual intermediate equitation over fences: 1. Rachel Bertsch, University of Vermont. 2. Megan Bowers, University of Connecticut. 3. Katie Stewart, Tufts University. 4. Bailey Sheran, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 5. Tessa LeCuyer, Tufts University. 6. Giorgio Mosoni, Williams College. 7. Heather Paulsen, Mount Ida College. 8. Indy Buttenweiser, Connecticut College.

Team intermediate equitation over fences: 1. B.R. King, Dartmouth College. 2. Sara Goldstein, University of Connecticut. 3. Karin Corbett, Mount Holyoke College. 4. Elizabeth Ryan, Stonehill College.

Alumni equitation over fences: 1. Shay Meisinger, University of Connecticut. 2. Katie Schaaf, Tufts University. 3. Jen Corti, University of Connecticut. 4. Anne Meade, Mount Holyoke College. 5. Sandra Walsh, Worcester State College.

Individual novice equitation over fences: 1. Megan Piermarini, Endicott College. 2. Grace Peloquin, Brown University. 3. Heather Marban, Stonehill College. 4. Abigail Donahue, Dartmouth College. 5. Erin Horrigan, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 6. Ashley Hannebrink, Dartmouth College. 7. Lindsay Ahl, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 8. Jennifer Wall, Post University.

Team novice equitation over fences: 1. Kristina Grossman, Stonehill College. 2. Hillary Anderson, University of Connecticut. 3. Kate Wooler, Dartmouth College. 4. Christine Gunn, Mount Holyoke College.

Individual intermediate equitation on the flat: 1. Catherine Tauscher, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Rachel Bertsch, University of Vermont. 3. Elizabeth Perry, Wesleyan University. 4. Bailey Sheran, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 5. Jody Moore, Colby-Sawyer College. 6. Katie Stewart, Tufts University. 7. Amanda Bon-Keen, Wesleyan University. 8. Tessa LeCuyer, Tufts University.

Team intermediate equitation on the flat: 1. Jennifer Palmadessa, University of Connecticut. 2. Elizabeth Bissell, Dartmouth College. 3. Shannon Tibbits, Stonehill College. 4. Diana Rosenbaum, Mount Holyoke College.

Alumni equitation on the flat: 1. Lora Abbott, University of Connecticut. 2. Katie Schaaf, Tufts University. 3. Anne Meade, Mount Holyoke College. 4. Dana Stark, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 5. Sandra Walsh, Worcester State College.

Individual novice equitation on the flat: 1. Becky Osinga, Mount Ida College. 2. Christine Gunn, Mount Holyoke College. 3. Katie Jenkins, University of Rhode Island. 4. Ariel Weisman, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 5. Caitlin Pilch, Endicott College. 6. Meghan Graves, Johnson and Wales University. 7. Orissa Moulton, Wheaton College. 8. Tammi Martin, Dartmouth College.

Team novice equitation on the flat: 1. Amber Garland, University of Connecticut. 2. Janelle Moerlein, Dartmouth College. 3. Sarah Muller, Stonehill College. 4. Marie Hilliard, Mount Holyoke College.

Individual walk-trot-canter equitation: 1. Meghan Sorel, Wheaton College. 2. Marie Hilliard, Mount Holyoke College. 3. Sara Smith, Mount Ida College. 4. Katrina Brewer, Connecticut College. 5. Darcy Broughton, Mount Holyoke College. 6. Kelly Gaumond, Mount Ida College. 7. Sarah Muller, Stonehill College. 8. Robyn O’Toole, University of Connecticut.

Team advanced walk-trot-canter equitation: 1. Caroline Nobo, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Kim Foley, Stonehill College. 3. Caroline Gottschalk, University of Connecticut. 4. Mitzi Huang, Dartmouth College.

Individual walk-trot equitation: 1. Caroline Gottschalk, University of Connecticut. 2. Kim Foley, Stonehill College. 3. Christine Verdolino, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 4. Elinor Haplau, University of Connecticut. 5. Jessica Libbey, Wheaton College. 6. Jackie Parsons, University of Vermont. 7. Katie Connelly, Mount Ida College. 8. Yvonne Li, Smith College.

Team walk-trot equitation: 1. Danielle Johnson, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Laura Bredehorst, University of Connecticut. 3. Sara Zerany, Stonehill College. 4. Shayan Ghosh, Dartmouth College.

Individual open equitation on the flat: 1. Kyla Makhloghi, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Kelsey Amedeo, Stonehill College. 3. Whitney Keefe, Brown University. 4. Katie Estes, Tufts University. 5. Tim Malone, Dartmouth College. 6. Whitney Smith, Trinity College. 7. Alicyn Roy, Mount Holyoke College. 8. Elizabeth Pemmerl, Bates College.

Team open equitation on the flat: 1. Kyla Makhloghi, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Daisy Freund, Dartmouth College. 3. Kelsey Amedeo, Stonehill College. 4. Meghann Jones, University of Connecticut.

Zone 1 Cacchione Cup/high point open rider championship: 1. Daisy Freund, Dartmouth College. 2. Kyla Makhloghi, Mount Holyoke College. 3. Kelsey Amedeo, Stonehill College. 4. Jamie Peddy, Brown University.

Team Totals: 1. Mount Holyoke College 41. 2. University of Connecticut 40. 3. Stonehill College 36. 4. Dartmouth College 35.