Monday, December 7, 2009

IHSA Hunter Seat Update

From Ashley Duda IHSA Coach.

On November 16th, members of the IHSA Hunter Seat Team traveled north to compete at Virginia Intermont. Heading into this competition, the team was tied for the lead in the region with Virginia Intermont and was one point in front of Virginia Tech. Competing against Virginia Intermont at home is always difficult because the school has a very talented team. However, the Knights were ready to compete when they traveled to the farm in Bristol, Virginia on November 17th.

Usually the weather is cold, icy, and windy when St. Andrews travels to VI. Fortunately, the weather for this IHSA show was warm and delightful. Even the riders from Laurinburg stayed warm throughout the day! The morning started off with strong performances over fences. Audrey Hayden debuted in Open Equitation Over Fences and placed third. Rob Jacobs and Alie McGraw had strong performances and both earned second place ribbons in Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and Novice Equitation Over Fences, respectively.

As the flat classes began, the riding stayed strong. Katie Hansen, Rob Jacobs, Brittany Calderwood, and Blake Liljestrand all won flat classes. Rob and Blake remained undefeated on the flat for the 2009-2010 season. One highlight of the day was Brittany’s ride. VI was Brittany’s first riding competition. She drew Prima, one of Ashley’s favorite IHSA horses, and rode her beautifully! The entire team was very proud of Brittany’s great ride.

The team rode very well against tough competition and ended up Reserve Champion for the day. The team did lose a little of their lead to VI. The IHSA Hunter Seat Team now is ten points behind VI but three points ahead of Virginia Tech. Peggy and Ashley are making plans to help riders prepare for an intense IHSA spring show schedule. The next show IHSA Hunter Seat Show will be held on February 6th at St. Andrews. Go KNIGHTS!

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