Jill Douglass (left) and Rebecca Resnick made it a clean sweep for Lehigh in the open flat at the September 24th East Stroudsburg show. The mountain hawks finished the day tied with Princeton for high point team.

LEHIGH AND PRINCETON SHARE LEAD AFTER ONE SHOW

Readington, NJ - On a day where no team managed more than four blue ribbons in offical classes, Lehigh and Princeton ended up in a low-scoring tie for high point team, both earning 29 points. Jill Douglas and Rebecca Resnick won open flat classes for Lehigh, while teammates Regina MacBarb (novice fences) and Leigh Gilsenon (advanced walk-trot-canter) also scored blue ribbons. Cate Adams, a sophomore from Nashville, Tennessee, won both of her intermediate classes for Princeton and would earn reserve high point rider honors. Tiger teammate Shayla Mulvey would win her section of novice flat. Neither Lehigh nor Princeton had ever been on top of the Region 4 team standings prior to the conclusion of todays' show.

Though temperatures had been above normal most of September, the high temperature of 75 degrees made conditions more than comfortable for most of the day. The season opener got underway at exactly 8:30AM, with Ellen Levitian of Rutgers first into the ring for a ride over the open fences. When the section was complete, the Mountainside, New Jersey resident would be on top, followed by teammate and defending Region 4 high point open rider Erica Bello in reserve. Levitian would later place second to Douglass in open flat, thus securing the early lead in the 2005-06 Region 4 open rider standings. The scarlet knights were just as successful in the second section of open fences, as Alicia Morgan (from Little Silver, New Jersey) and Gemma Garlick would place one-two for Rutgers.

Intermediate fences followed, with blue ribbons going to Adams and Kutztown freshman Lauren Casale. The last fences division held in the 'lower ring' was for the alumni. University of Connecticut graduate Chrissy Seelaus (listed as 'Christina' in today's program) won the division, followed by Scranton alum Sabrina King, Kutztown graduate Abby Tymchak (in her first alumni appearance), Virginia Intermont graduate Ashton Phillips, University of Findlay alumni Erika Bender and East Stroudsburg graduate Meredith Reinhart (who was the busiest alumni as her alma matter was hosting which required her involvement in several places, including the in-gate and the Briarwood office). The surprise to many was that Phillips received only a fourth, marking perhaps only the third time since the region was formed that Phillips has placed below third in a Region 4 alumni class.

Up to this point the highest ribbon that Lehigh could claim was a fourth awarded to freshman Erika McEneny in open fences (from Colts Neck, New Jersey, McEneny was one of four open riders making their IHSA debuts on this day). This changed when Douglass and Resnick won the next two classes, likely providing Lehigh with seven points on their point sheet. Adams and Casale were just as successful in the intermediate flat as they had been over fences, and both would prove to be the only riders with two firsts when all divisions novice and up were completed.

As far as placings go, the alumni flat barely resembled the alumni fences. 2005 East Stroudsburg graduate Sarah Toepfer, who had been the lone alumni rider out of the ribbons earlier, won the division, with Phillips second, King third, Bender fourth, Tymchak fifth and Reinhart sixth. Through one show both Toepfer and Seelaus can claim to lead one alumni division and still be looking for their first point in the other.

What a start! Rutgers Head Coach Kelly Lamont-Francfort stands between Erica Bello (left, who placed second) and Ellen Levitian (right, who placed first) after the scarlet knights ruled in the first class of the day. Moments later, the second section of open fences produced similar results, as Alicia Morgan and Gemma Garlick placed one-two for Rutgers. The scarlett knights would end the day with the top three open riders in the Region 4 open rider standings.

Following the Coaches and Captains meeting came three sections of novice fences. Lauren Nelson would win the first of two undergradute blue ribbons for host East Stroudsburg in the first section. MacBarb won the second section, while Lauren Timpson of Lafayette won the final section of novice fences, earning what would be the first of four blue ribbons on this day for the leopards. Though the class is not official, Megan Morse of Lehigh won the final over fences division of the day, winning the maiden crossrails.

Then came the remaining flat classes. Erin Zimmerman of Lafayette won section 3A of novice flat. Class 1A, the first walk-trot section, went to Mary Heffner of Rutgers. Though Bloomsburg would go on to tie for second, Emily Johnson's first in section 3B would be the lone blue ribbon on this day for the huskies. Section 1B would be the only time that Moravian would win a blue ribbon, as Nicole Kovolenko won the division for the greyhounds. Mulvey won section 3C, while Mary Kate Schneider of Kutztown won class 2A, the lone section of beginner walk-trot-canter held on this day. The final section of novice flat (3D) would also go to a Kutztown rider, as Heather Scales came up a winner.

All that remained were four Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter sections. Lafayette riders won two of the four, with Katie McDonough on top in section 2B-B and Emily Cholak victorious in section 2B-D. Gilsenon won 2B-C while Melissa Tsouhnikas gave East Stroudsburg a second blue ribbon in 2B-A. Despite having riders in only three of eight divisions, East Stroudsburg scored 19 points, helped in part by Fischer earning 12 of them at the novice level.

While the team points were being calculated in the office, Casale and Adams went head-to-head for the ride-off. Following thorough testing which included the counter-canter, Judge Michelle Morosky gave high point to Casale. The freshman from New Tripoli, Pennsylvania remained undefeated, providing the high point of the day for the golden bears.

Kutztown freshman Lauren Casale (right, with Head Coach Bruce Lachiusa) was high point rider at her first IHSA show. Casales' mother Susan (not pictured) once held Lachiusa's title, as she was the Kutztown Head Coach from 1986 to 1991.

Though it was Casale's first time competing in an IHSA show, it was not necessarily her first time in attendance at one. Her mother, Susan Casale, was Kutztown Head Coach from 1986 through 1991. The younger Casale was likely around four when her Mother relinquished the title, but may have been at some shows back when Zone 3 was simply 'Region V' and contained Princeton, Rutgers, Penn State, Delaware Valley College, Bucks County Community College, Beaver College, Dickinson College and Wilson College among others.

Early and Often: Today's Region 4 season opener marked the fourth consecutive season that East Stroudsburg has hosted the first show, with each taking place before October 1st. Though they have seldom fielded a large team during that time (six riders entered today), the current group of ESU riders and Head Coach Pat Speziale put on as professional an IHSA show as any other Region 4 team has done at Briarwood in recent memory. Help was also received from the warrior alumni, as former ESU standouts Dana DesGarennes and Nicole Sproferra joined Toepfer and Reinhart (who was Meredith Frable back in the day) to contribute to the team effort.

Coming soon to a stable near you: At the moment it appears Region 4 will stage half of their hunter seat shows in the fall and half in the spring. Lafayette will host the next show back at Briarwood (October 8th), with the Alumni hosting at Centenary two weeks later. Rutgers will host on Saturday, November 5th while Kutztown will host the first Region 4 hunter seat show outside the state of New Jersey since last October 17th, when Passport Farms in Oley, Pennsylvania welcomes the region on Sunday, November 13th. Tentative spring dates are coming to light, with Bloomsburg looking at a date over the final weekend in February (at Centenary), Princeton and Moravian co-hosting (at Briarwood) on March 4th, Scranton hosting March 12th (at Passport), Cedar Crest hosting on March 18th (at Briarwood) and Lehigh ending the regular season on March 26th (at Briarwood). While these spring dates are only 51 to 99 percent set in stone, all indications are that Zone 3 Hunter Seat Zones will be held at C-Line Stables in Townsend, Delaware on Sunday, April 9th, which will mark the first time Zone 3 Hunter Seat Zones will be held in the state of Delaware.

--Steve Maxwell

Show Incidentals: Mostly sunny, with temperatures rising to the mid '70's. Start time: 8:30AM. Finish: 2:47PM - includes 34 minute lunch break/Coaches & Captains meeting. Point cards posted in this region? No. Alumni classes held in this Region? Yes. Judge: Michelle Morosky. Stewards: Lamont-Francfort/Rutgers University, Lachiusa/Kutztown University, Kalmar/Lehigh University and Clark/Lafayette College.

Team Totals: Princeton University (TIE-High Point Team) 29; Lehigh University (TIE-High Point Team) 29; Bloomsburg University 22; Lafayette College 22; Rutgers University 20; East Stroudsburg University 19; Kutztown University 17; Cedar Crest College 12; Moravian College 9 and University of Scranton 8.

High Point Rider - Lauren Casale, Kutztown University
Reserve High Point Rider - Cate Adams, Princeton University