Campus Equestrian: Zone 4, Region 4 Home Page

IHSA ZONE 4 - REGION 4

In recent seasons at IHSA Nationals the lone individual hunter seat class held on day two of the event (not counting the Cacchione Cup) is the individual introductory equitation. And Sweet Briar College had a rider entered in Kendel Wickline (on right). Previously Wickline won the individual intro class when Goucher College hosted Zone 4 Zones on April 4th which sent the junior from Frederick, Maryland through to Nationals. On May 2nd Vixens head coach Lizzie Fisch (on left) posed with Wickline within the Tryon International Equestrian Center indoor in Mill Spring, North Carolina after the latter claimed fourth place in the individual intro in what was the final ride for any Zone 4, Region 4 rider during the 2025-26 season. Who will have the first Region 4 ride of 2026-27? Everyone will find out when Sweet Briar hosts the Region 4 season opener on September 27th.

Until recently we had a photo at the top of this page of Aliyah Hardesty of Liberty University (on right) with Flames head coach Suzanne Flaig. We talked about how Hardesty was one of seven Liberty riders qualified for Regionals and one of 14 novice equitation riders to qualify within the entire region. But since that time Hardesty was second in the individual novice equitation class at Zone 4 Zones on April 4th to advance to Nationals in the division. And at Nationals on May 1st Hardesty posed with Flames Assistant Coach Kimi Counts (on left) prior to learning that she placed ninth overall in the division to close out her senior year. The Flames will host the second Region 4 hunter seat show of the season on October 31st.

The University of Richmond missed at least one IHSA season in the past three seasons but the Spiders appear to have a bright future. Alexandra Campbell, who goes by "Sasha" is seen here between her parents at the February 14th Liberty show. A junior from Culpepper, Virginia, Campbell won both of her intermediate classes that day to qualify for Regionals each time and also claimed Reserve High Point Rider honors this day.

One other rider won twice on February 14th and that rider is Emily Viger of Sweet Briar College (on right). Seen here with head coach Lizzie Fisch, Viger (pronounced "Vy-ger") won both of her limit classes. To the best of our knowledge the sophomore from Fairfax, Virginia won a question-off for the high point rider ribbon. The Vixens will host Regionals at their Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center on February 21st.

She needed five points and she received five points! This allowed Karsyn Mason of Randolph - Macon College (on right) to qualify for Regionals in the open flat division. The senior from Montpelier, Virginia became a double-qualifier, having also done so in open fences. Yellowjackets head coach John West (on left) has three double-qualifiers in 2025-26 along with six others with one ride each at Regionals. Mason finished fifth in the Region 4 open rider standings. Remarkably eight different Region 4 open riders are qualified to ride at least once at Regionals.

From Richmond, Virginia, Lola Bender of the University of Mary Washington (on left) is qualified for Regionals in both limit divisions. After five seasons as head coach of the Eagles, Erin Grampp (on right) is planning to re-locate to Florida after the 2025-26 season. A graduate of the school when it was known as Mary Washington College, Grampp has six riders qualified for Regionals. Hopefully they keep Grampp's season going through to Zones on April 4th at Goucher College and even to Nationals in Mill Spring, North Carolina May 1st through 3rd.

Christopher Newport University finished fourth in the region in 2025-26 behind Randolph - Macon, Sweet Briar and Liberty. The Captains sent three riders to Regionals including Keelin Mielke (pictured). A sophomore from Raleigh, North Carolina, Mielke is one of the 14 Region 4 riders slated to compete in the novice division at Regionals hosted by Sweet Briar on February 21st.

Would you believe there are two riders in Region 4 this season whose last names sound like "Clapper?" While Juliana Klapper (with a "K") rides for Liberty, Peyton Clapper (pictured) competes for Longwood University. A junior from Yorktown, Virginia, Klapper is - you guessed it - headed to Regionals in novice equitation. The novice division will likely be set up in two 'heats' of seven riders each at Regionals, with six or more being called back to test. The Lancers qualified five riders (eight rides) for 2026 Regionals, five more than a year ago!

The University of Mary Washington hosted back-to-back shows on February 7th and 8th and during one of them Catherine Zavela of the College of William & Mary (pictured) reached the magic number of 36 points to qualify for Regionals. A senior from McLean, Virginia, Zavela will be joined by teammates Maria Enriquez and Charlotte Jordan. All three will be competing in that large Novice Equitation division.

Sweet Briar College watched Liberty slowly catch up with them in the overall yearly points on February 14th. One rider who slowed Liberty's momentum was Natalia Alvini-Moore of the Vixens (pictured). A sophomore from Middletown, Delaware, Alvini-Moore is seen here after winning her novice equitation class. At this moment the pressure went back on Liberty to equal the ribbon, but the Flames would in fact match the ribbon in the Pre-Novice class and later create a tie with a first in the Introductory class.

Liberty got off to a fast start on February 14th, with Anna Pemble (pictured) winning the second section of open flat. Juliana Klapper was the second rider to go for the Flames and she was a winner in intermediate flat. Save for the open fences and limit fences divisions Liberty gained ground on Sweet Briar or broke even in every division. Other riders to win blue ribbons for the Flames were Sophia Battin (in limit flat), Kate Love (novice equitation), Alexandra Dixon (pre-novice equitation) and Anna Talmadge (in introductory equitation). Love, Dixon and Talmadge won the final three classes of the day, with the scoreboard showing Liberty with 42 and both Sweet Briar and Randolph - Macon with 35. More importantly the Flames tied the Vixens at 286-all for the season, and the IHSA tiebreaker series eventually went in favor of the Flames! This means Liberty won their second Region Title in three seasons and will send a full team to Zones on April 4th. But the results of the past two seasons almost went the other way. In 2024-25 Liberty led all season long going into the final regular season show at Sweet Briar, only to watch the hosts win and take the Region Title. This time Sweet Briar led all season long, only to visit Liberty and witness the Flames take the title.

Click on the map to get information and results from IHSA shows.

Contact Info
editor@campusequestrian.com

FEATURED LINKS

IHSAinc.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

The Zone 4, Region 4 Smorgasbord

Schools which competed in Zone 4, Region 4 during the 2025-2026 school year: Christopher Newport University, College of William & Mary, Liberty University, Longwood University, Randolph - Macon College, Sweet Briar College, University of Mary Washington and University of Richmond.

Fall 2026 Show Schedule for Zone 4, Region 4:

Saturday, September 26 Clemson University (Host) at T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena, Pendleton, SC 10:30AM WESTERN ONLY

Sunday, September 27 Sweet Briar College (Host) on campus at the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center, Sweet Briar, VA 10:00AM ENGLISH ONLY

Sunday, September 27 Clemson University (Host) at T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena, Pendleton, SC 9:30AM WESTERN ONLY

Saturday, October 31 Liberty University (Host) at the Liberty University Equestrian Center, Lynchburg, VA 10:00AM ENGLISH ONLY

Sunday, November 1 Christopher Newport University (Host) at Foxtail Farm, Smithfield, VA Time TBA ENGLISH ONLY

Saturday, November 7 Virginia Tech (Host) at the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Arena, Blacksburg, VA Time TBA WESTERN ONLY

Sunday, November 8 Virginia Tech (Host) at the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Arena, Blacksburg, VA Time TBA WESTERN ONLY

Saturday, November 14 Randolph-Macon College (Host) at the Randolph-Macon College Equestrian Center, Ashland, VA Time TBA ENGLISH ONLY

Sunday, November 15 College of William & Mary (Host) at Willow Pond Farm, Toano, VA Time TBA ENGLISH ONLY

Liberty University shows Western with schools from other regions. Show Schedule subject to change.

Recent Zone 4, Region 4 Team Champions (Most of this region was part of Zone 4, Region 1 prior to Region 4's creation in mid-2013):

Hunter Seat:

1997 - University of Virginia
1998 - University of Virginia
1999 - Randolph-Macon Womans' College
2000 - Mary Washington College
2001 - Mary Washington College
2002 - Mary Washington College
2003 - Goucher College
2004 - Mary Washington College
2005 - Goucher College
2006 - Sweet Briar College
2007 - Goucher College
2008 - University of Mary Washington
2009 - University of Mary Washington
2010 - Goucher College
2011 - University of Mary Washington
2012 - Goucher College
2013 - Goucher College
2014 - University of Mary Washington
2015 - University of Mary Washington
2016 - University of Mary Washington
2017 - Liberty University
2018 - Sweet Briar College
2019 - Sweet Briar College
2020 - Sweet Briar College
2022 - Sweet Briar College
2023 - Sweet Briar College
2024 - Liberty University
2025 - Sweet Briar College
2026 - Liberty University

Regional Qualifiers

Open Level Rider Standings

Team Standings

Zone 4 NEIGHBORS

Region 1 Homepage

Region 2 Homepage

Region 3 Homepage

Region 5 Homepage