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SKIDMORE FINALLY WINS BIG Morrisville, NY - Through the first three shows of the 2007-08 season it seemed as though the upstarts were going to make a race of it in Zone 2, Region 3. Skidmore College, which has won the region every season since it was created prior to the 2000-01 season, had their hands full with the likes of Hartwick and the State University of New York at Albany not to mention annual Region 3 reserve high point team Cornell. However if you had not seen those first three shows and instead waited until November 18th to see what all the fuss was about you would think the status quo was in order. Every Skidmore rider who was pointed from open to walk-trot-canter won their class, and all eight pointed riders might have won save for the walk-trotter being pulled at the eleventh hour to be preserved for the next show (a wise maneuver not uncommon among the elite IHSA programs). Though some argue that a "Perfect 49" score is when all eight pointed riders receive a blue ribbon, the low score is always dropped, meaning that it is impossible to score more than 49 except at Zones, Nationals and invitational shows, when all eight placings count. Therefore 49 is perfect as far as the points go, and on this day Skidmore joined Penn State, Virginia Intermont and St. Lawrence as schools with a 49 score so far in 2007-08 (St. Lawrence also received their 49 score on November 18th). The Thoroughbreds even caught a break as none of their opponents scored more than 33, with Cornell the runner-up for the day.
Skidmore came out of the weekend with a 29-point lead over Cornell, with half the season still ahead. Kendle Handtmann (open flat and fences), Jennifer Wilkins (open flat and intermediate fences), Megan Martin (open fences), Andrea Hippeau (intermediate flat), Grier Filley (novice flat and fences), Martyna Michalik (novice flat), Amanda Werner (novice fences), Laura Roberts (advanced walk-trot-canter), Billie Taft (same) and Rebecca Rawling (walk-trot) each left Morrisville with at least one blue ribbon, while overall Skidmore had 13 blue ribbons in 32 total undergraduate classes. Cornell did very well on an individual basis, with six riders winning blue ribbons in six different divisions. Open rider Caroline Shulman won twice while Laura Lavo (advanced walk-trot-canter), Kaitlyn Stanmeyer (novice fences), Alysa Mizia (intermediate flat) and Brooke Cagwin (intermediate fences) also won for the Big Red. In addition Cornell received five second-place ribbons. It was Big Red Head Coach Chris Mitchell's birthday, and though his team did not win Cornell is still only 29 points out of first and have the Region 3 USEF Cacchione/open rider leader in Shulman, who finished the afternoon with a 44-42 lead over Martin of Skidmore. Binghamton University had the third-highest team score of the day, capturing 29 points. The Bearcats were led by Kelly Palmer, who won her intermediate fences while finishing second in intermediate flat. Palmer was the only Binghamton rider to win a class, though three other Bearcats won red ribbons. Open rider Alison Levy added only five points to her overall total but still finished the weekend seven points behind Shulman in the open rider standings. Hartwick College was fourth with 28 points. Two Hawks were blue ribbon winners, as Emily Masuch won over the novice fences while Ariana Bray came out on top in the first of two walk-trot classes. Masuch, whose name is pronounced "Mah-sitch" is a freshman who won her first IHSA blue ribbon here. Bray, a senior who joined the team this fall, was also a winner at the Hartwick show on opening day. Hartwick riders earned five red ribbons. The Hawks finished the day 40 points behind Skidmore but in sole possession of fourth place with 124 points.
Though they were fifth today with 27 points, The State University of New York at Albany is third overall through four shows with 130 points. This is a remarkable feat in that two years ago at this time the team did not yet exist! The Great Danes competed in IHSA shows for the first time during the spring of 2006 and tied Skidmore for first on opening day at Hartwick with 35 points. Albany was only 12 points behind Skidmore headed into today's show, but there is only so much a team can do when the leader scores 49. Nonetheless the Great Danes received firsts from Rebecca Danz (open fences), Danielle Hutchinson (novice fences) and Mary Winans (novice flat). It will be interesting to see if Albany can maintain third place against such a difficult field. Despite their short history the Great Danes can in fact fill their card, giving hope that even second is not out of the question, if not this season then perhaps sometime soon. The State University of New York at Cobleskill was the second of three SUNY-related schools to break the 20 point threshold, finishing with 23. Though four Cobleskill riders earned seconds, it was not until their final rider competed in the second section of beginner walk-trot-canter that judge Sue Kantz thought they were the best. Freshman Alicia Turkington won that section, which was not her first time with an IHSA blue ribbon. Turkington will likely turn up in advanced walk-trot-canter soon. Three schools earned 22 points, including host Morrisville State College. The Mustangs were led by freshman Brooke Torruella, who won the fourth of five sections of novice flat. Morrisville also won three red ribbons. Cornell Head Coach Mitchell was not the only one with a birthday. Morrisville's Kaelya Sommer celebrated her birthday, and also collected a third in open fences in the day's second class. Colgate earned 22 points and still claim a top five position with 120 points. Michelle Simon, who is qualified for Regionals in both novice divisions, won her intermediate flat class while Casey Easley was a winner in open flat. Easley was a winner in open fences a day earlier. Siena College also earned 22 points. The Saints were at their best in the walk-trot-canter divisions, where freshman Stacie Mihok won her first IHSA blue ribbon in advanced walk-trot-canter while Amanda Kohle was a winner in beginner walk-trot-canter. In between Christa Cardish was second to Lavo in another section of advanced walk-trot-canter. Freshman Mariel McGuire was second in her section of open flat. Ithaca College scored 19 points. Stefanie Goldberg, a freshman from Short Hills, New Jersey earned the Bombers their lone blue ribbon of the day with a first in novice flat while Sarah Hartman (in novice fences) and Alicia Blanchard (in beginner walk-trot-canter) were red ribbon winners for Ithaca.
Elmira College scored eight points, which was not bad considering they had only three divisions filled on their point card. Elmira walk-trot rider Hideo Ueda was second in the final class of the day to earn five points. Hamilton College and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute rounded out the scoring with three points each. Hamilton was led by Hathaway Burden, who was fourth in open fences while Christianna Bennet was fourth in novice flat for RPI. Both schools had only two riders competing on this day, with Hamilton made up solely of open riders and RPI of novice. There were four alumni showing on this day, including 2007 Wesleyan University graduate Amanda Bon-Keen, who won the alumni flat. Ithaca graduate Audra Ravo was the alumni fences winner while Pace graduate Angela Netoskie was second over fences and fourth on the flat. Another Ithaca graduate, Autumn Greenberg, was third on the flat and fourth over fences. To make this a complete list of alumni placings, Ravo was second in alumni flat while Bon-Keen, whose brother attends Hartwick, was third over fences. The Ride-Off: Shulman of Cornell went up against three Skidmore riders with two firsts each. When it was over Shulman had the Reserve High Point Rider Ribbon, giving Cornell both the team and individual red ribbons awarded on the 18th. Though Handtmann and Filley (what a great last name for a rider!) were good it was Wilkins who had prevailed. A junior from Lincoln, Pennsylvania, Wilkins saw to it that Skidmore had both of the big blue ribbons given out at today's show. No reason to stew about it?: The weather both days was very cold in Central New York State, never getting out of the low 40's. Rather than travel back to the various campuses, several teams stayed in the area overnight between shows, with the Cornell team treated to some of Brooke Cogwin's mother's home-made stew. "After all day in the cold, that stew was goooood" said Mitchell. Though it might not go over well in warmer parts of the country, both food consessions and food trucks in northern locales might want to consider serving beef stew on days like this. Picture-Perfect. Not!: There are only four photos within this story instead of the customary five we usually post, as our camera was not working properly. Nearly all the photos taken indoors came out extremely dark, while photos taken outdoors were overexposed or the victims of a color-error problem (if all the photos had been taken at sunset, such as the Skidmore point card photo, more of them might have been useable). 80 percent of the photos taken at today's show will be scrapped, so if we took your picture don't be surprised if we ask to take another one this spring. ---Steve Maxwell Show Incidentals: Sunny but cold, with temperatures in the upper 30's. Entire show held indoors. Start time: 8:35AM. Finish: 3:43PM - includes 33 minute lunch break & removal of jumps. Point cards posted in this region? Yes. Alumni Classes held in this region? Yes. Judge: Sue Kantz. Stewards: Hanlon/Siena College, Sawyer/Ithaca College and Hackney/Colgate University. Team Totals: Skidmore College (High Point Team) 49; Cornell University (Reserve) 33; Binghamton University 29; Hartwick College 28; State University of New York at Albany 27; State University of New York at Cobleskill 23; Colgate University 22; Morrisville State College 22; Siena College 22; Ithaca College 19; Elmira College 8, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 3 and Hamilton College 3. High Point Rider - Jennifer Wilkins, Skidmore College
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