Hollins Freshman Katie Furches (right, with Coach Sandy Gerald) won a three-way ride-off for high point at the November 4th Bridgewater College show. Was Furches's effort enough to give Hollins high point team honors for the day?

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MAKES IT A RACE

Weyers Cave, VA - Between 1998 and 2005 the Zone 4, Region 2 race for high point team was usually one of the best nationwide, but in the end, the same school prevailed every time. Hollins University not only won the region back in 1998, they went on to easily claim the IHSA National Championship in Port Jervis, New York that May. Hollins then made their way to the next seven IHSA National shows, with varying degrees of success in the post-season.

However in 2005-06 something quite different happenned. Hollins went into the final show trailing Bridgewater College, and even though the Region 2 finale was held at Hollins the Eagles increased their lead to snap the Hollins streak of region titles and trips to the post-season with a full team.

Fast-forward to the Fall of 2006 and Hollins is off and running. The school from Roanoke, Virginia won the season opener hosted by Radford with 41 points while only one other school even hit the 30's. Through three shows Hollins held a 101-90 lead on Sweet Briar (which moved over from Region 1 where they had been 2006 Region Champions) with the University of Virginia at 88 points and Bridgewater at 87 points, respectively (the Eagles had been very good at both Hollins and Randolph-Macon Woman's College, but were feeling the effects of ninth place on opening day).

Seen here with Head Coach Jon Conyers, Sweet Briar College freshman Kristin Dillon would win both of her intermediate classes for the Vixens on November 4th. Dillon would capture reserve high point rider honors.

The final fall Region 2 show of 2006-07 took place at Oak Manor on November 4th, and was the first ever hosted solely by Bridgewater College. As is usually the case within Region 2, the show was limited, as no more than two sections of any division were held. The classes themselves were not large, with no more than ten riders in a section, and frequently only eight. With the limited entries it was often easy to spot who a point rider was, as many schools had only one rider in a given division (though this region does in fact post point sheets for simple checking). The shows at Oak Manor are among the most efficiently run in the country, and with the limited entries the show was over in only a minute over four hours.

Scheduled to start at 10:00AM, the first open fences classes commenced at 10:08. Eight rides later Hollins would have the first blue ribbon of the day courtesy of Katie Furches. A freshman from Oley, Pennsylvania, Furches has the unusual destinction of being a third generation Hollins student! Whitney Roper of the University of Virginia was second, while Cody Lambert of Randolph-Macon Woman's College was sixth, relinqishing the Region 2 Cacchione/Open Rider Standings lead to Roper by a 25-24 margin if only temporarily. Roper had enterred the day tied with Lambert's teammate Betsy Christianson for second, both with 20 points at that time. The second section of open fences went to Patti Ann Thornton of host Bridgewater. From Ringoes, New Jersey, Thornton would end the day closer to the top of the open rider standings than when she came in. Christianson took the red ribbon, creating a tie for first with Roper atop the Region 2 Cacchione standings, again perhaps only temporarily.

A rider actually from the state of Virginia captured the first blue ribbon over intermediate fences. Kirkland Brown, a junior from Virginia Beach won the section for the University of Virginia. Randolph-Macon Woman's College freshman Gillian Baird earned the red ribbon, starting what would be a hot streak for the WildCats. The second section of intermediate fences went to Kristin Dillon of Sweet Briar. It was the second blue ribbon this season for the freshman from Middleburg, Virginia, the first having come at Radford in intermediate flat. Dillon would earn her third IHSA blue ribbon before the day was out. Second went to Washington & Lee sophomore Sarah Bujtas. From Parsippany, New Jersey, Bujtas (pronounced "Butahs") had earned what would turn out to be the highest ribbon of the day for Washington & Lee. Yet the Generals would go on to score 25 points, more than four other teams enterred at today's show.

Katherine Peters of Longwood University (with red ribbon) had at least one roommate and several friends in attendance to pose with her after placing second in intermediate flat.

Novice fences saw yet two more schools claim their first blue ribbons of the day. James Madison sophomore Danielle Parkinson had only jumped in one prior IHSA show, yet she became the second rider from the state of New Jersey to win a class by virtue of her first here. From Westfield, New Jersey, Parkinson would find herself in the winner's circle again a short time later. The official Bridgewater College website lists Carmalee Lihas as an advanced walk-trot-canter rider, yet the official Bridgewater College horse show program lists Carmalee Lihos as a novice fences rider. Regardless of the spelling, Lihas/Lihos was second to Parkinson in the first novice fences section. The second section was won by Kristen Ackerson of the WildCats. The junior from Concord, New Hampshire would not be the last Randolph-Macon Woman's College rider to win a blue on this day. University of Virginia junior Kathryn Clapp took the red in section B, giving the Cavaliers a blue ribbon and two red ones through the jumping divisions.

After less than a 15 minute stoppage to remove the jumps and drag the ring, the open riders were at it again. Furches won for the second time today, temporarily giving the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia two blue ribbons each! Roper gave the garden state the edge in red ribbons as the Rumson, New Jersey resident was again second while Christianson (from Seattle, Washington) was third. The results of this section assured that Furches would take a one point lead over Roper, a two point lead over Christainson and a four point lead over Lambert (who was fourth) within the Region 2 Cacchione/Open Rider Standings until the next show on February 9th. The second section of open flat was won by Ashley Lovegrove of Randolph-Macon Woman's College. The sophomore from Moneta, Virginia would have the honor of being the final rider on the WildCat team ever to win a blue ribbon before the school changed names. Known since 1891 as a Woman's College, Randolph-Macon Woman's College went co-ed this year, and though at least one high-ranking IHSA official thought the school should be known as 'Randolph-Macon College of Gender Equality," the new name turned out to be simply Randolph College. Lynchburg College went on a mini-hot streak, started by freshman Jessica Elliot, a New Englander who was second to Lovegrove in open flat.

James Madison seniors Lee St. Clair (left) and Kari Kilgore both did the Dukes proud in the fall of 2006. Kilgore, riding in advanced walk-trot-canter, placed second three times and fifth once while St. Clair, who is the James Madison walk-trot rider, placed first three times and third once. The duo are seen here after earning 12 of the Dukes' 26 points on November 4th.

Clapp made it yet another blue ribbon for New Jersey residents as the Cavalier junior improved on her novice jumping round with a first in section A of intermediate flat. Erin Skog of Lynchburg College, who started the year in novice flat before pointing up, earned the red ribbon. Dillon made certain a ride-off would be necessary by winning the second section while Katherine Peters of Longwood earned second. A junior from Chesterfield, Virginia, Peters finished the day needing two points on the flat and seven in intermediate fences to qualify for Regionals on February 25th.

Parkinson won the first section of novice flat to create a three-way ride-off while Kristen Banks of Bridgewater was second. Brodie Lower, a freshman from Charlottesville, VA gave Longwood their lone blue ribbon of the day in novice flat section B, doubling the Lancers' point total from seven to fourteen in the process. University of Virginia senior Stephanie Bednarek (who says her name means "Barrel Maker" in Polish!) earned the red ribbon, which put the Cavaliers ahead with 34 points at the time.

The ride-off was next, with Furches the winner and Dillon reserve. This writer saw 20 IHSA hunter seat shows this fall and Furches was one of the two most outstanding open level freshmen he saw compete in that span. Though one show does not a season make, this writer also feels the riding at today's show was among the best he saw at any of these 20 IHSA shows. A very relaxed, confident group (and no one fell off out of 115 rides!).

While the Virginia versus New Jersey battle for blue ribbon supremicy continued, Krystal Darville of Lynchburg really stretched the geographic limits. From Nassau, the Bahamas, Darville won the first section of advanced walk-trot-canter, finishing one place ahead of University of Virginia sophomore Lauren Kenworthy. However Kenworthy's red ribbon assured the Cavaliers that they would finish no worse than second, and that they would gain ground on Hollins overall. Up until this point, nearly all the Hollins headlines belonged to Furches. However Inga Mitchell-Dimiccio would change that. A freshman from Morrisville, Pennsylvania (almost in New Jersey, as the state capitol of Trenton is just across the Delaware from Morrisville), Mitchell-Dimiccio won section B of advanced walk-trot-canter for Hollins, giving them 29 points with a drop. James Madison senior Kari Kilgore was riding in that same division. It was the final ride before graduation for last season's fifth-place finisher at Regionals in the walk-trot. Kilgore went out with a red ribbon, bringing the Dukes' point total up to 19 with a drop.

It was a Virginia versus New Jersey battle all day! Kathryn Clapp (left) is from Madison, New Jersey. Kirkland Brown (right) is from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Both compete for the University of Virginia, both won blue ribbons on November 4th, and both could claim to be on the high point team for the day. The Cavaliers won by a 39-33 score over what is now known simply as Randolph College.

The final class of the day was the only section of walk-trot. Only seven of the ten teams had riders in the division, and in the end it was a Virginia resident prevailing for James Madison. Lee St. Clair, a senior from Seaford, Virginia, gave the Dukes seven more points for a total of 26. Victoria Monds of Bridgewater was second, giving the Eagles 26 as well. Kathryn George of Washington & Lee was third, nearly bringing the Generals even with the Dukes and the Eagles but not quite. Stephanie Ostericher was fourth, bringing the Hollins score to 32. Ashley Self may have only been fifth, but the final rider to be announced as from 'Randolph-Macon Woman's College' put the WildCats into reserve for the day with 33 points (their high score so far this season). James Fukuda was sixth for the University of Virginia, but it was the Cavalier's day nonetheless. Virginia scored a season-high 39 points to pull within six points overall of Hollins. The outcome brought back memories of two seasons ago, when a Cavalier victory at Oak Manor created a tie with Hollins atop the Region 2 team standings through the winter break. Hollins prevailed that season, helped in part by a strong showing the final day ironically at the Barracks to advance to Zone 4 Zones and ultimately 2005 IHSA Nationals.

Plenty of time left: The team race would seem to be only a two-way affair, but for the first time this decade Region 2 will attempt to hold more regular season shows after the winter break than before it. Between Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 24th Region 2 will hold five hunter seat shows (weather permitting), including the first show hosted by Sweet Briar in two seasons (a snowstorm TKO'd their final Region 1-hosted competition last February). With so many shows remaining, Bridgewater, Sweet Briar, James Madison and the school known until recently as Randolph-Macon Woman's College are all in it. Randolph will in fact host the next show on a Friday afternoon in early February. Hollins will have home field advantage for the finale on February 24th, where ironically they have not won since October of 2005 (Sweet Briar won there with 35 in the 2006-07 season's second regular season show).

The last word: The final breakdown by state for the blue ribbons given out at the Bridgewater show - Virginia 6, New Jersey 4, Pennsylvania 3, New Hampshire 1 and the Bahamas 1. Yes, a large number of people from North of the Potomic go to school in this region.

--Steve Maxwell

Show Incidentals: Sunny skies but windy, with temperatures climbing into the low '50's. Entire show held indoors. Start time: 10:08AM. Finish: 2:09PM. Coaches and Captains Meeting held prior to start of show. Point Cards posted in this Region? Yes. Alumni Classes held in this region? No. Judge: Meredith Mclaughlin, Keswick, VA. Stewards: Hearn/Longwood University, Crist/James Madison University and Cornwell/Radford University.

Team Totals: University of Virginia (High Point Team) 39; Randolph-Macon Woman's College (Reserve) 33; Hollins College 32; Bridgewater College 26; James Madison University 26; Washington & Lee University 25; Lynchburg College 23; Longwood University 16; Sweet Briar College 15 and Radford University 6.

High Point Rider - Katie Furches, Hollins University
Reserve High Point Rider - Kristin Dillon, Sweet Briar College