The St. Andrews IHSA Hunter Seat Team traveled to Lake Waccamaw for their last regular season competition this Sunday. The Knights came home with a big win. The win secured the Knights as the 2011 IHSA Hunter Seat Zone 4, Region 3 Champions. The hunter seat regional champs will have a month off of competition to train for the zone championships held in early April.
The Knights faced tough competition today when they competed against seven other schools including the two host schools, Coastal Carolina University and the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Despite not having a home team advantage, the Knights turned in strong ride after strong ride on their way to earning 40 points throughout the day. Picking up wins for the team were Audrey Bolte, Kali Cram, Rob Jacobs, Kayla McBath, Katie Mentzel, and Miranda Wright. Bolte rode very strongly today and won both her intermediate over fences class and open flat class. She earned the most points of any rider at the competition and was awarded the high point rider award. Several riders also qualified for individual regional competition. Additionally, Cram’s win qualified her for Regionals in Novice Fences.
Jacobs also had a banner day as he climbed his way to the top of the Cacchione leaderboard. Each year, the open level rider who has accumulated the most points in their fences and flat classes throughout the competition season, qualifies to compete in the Cacchione Cup at the National competition. Jacobs is the first St. Andrews rider to earn this title since the early 2000’s. Earning a spot to compete in the Cacchione Cup is a huge accomplishment. Many riders vie for the title each year but it takes consistency and solid riding to win. Jacobs has exhibited this consistency and good horsemanship throughout the season.
The team’s win today secured the IHSA Hunter Seat Team’s first regional championship in the history of the program. During the season, teams earn points at each competition. The team with the most points at the end of the season is crowned region champions and advances to post season competition. St. Andrews riders worked tirelessly to ensure the championship. The team competed at seven regular season competitions this season. The team won four of those competitions and finished second in three. The team will continue to work hard as they prepare for Zone competition in hopes of qualifying for IHSA Nationals.
Throughout the year, several St. Andrews riders have qualified as individuals for regional finals competition. Listed below are the St. Andrews riders who have qualified :
Katie Hansen – Open Flat and Open Fences
Rob Jacobs – Open Flat and Open Fences
Audrey Bolte – Open Flat and Novice Fences
Audrey Hayden – Open Flat
Kim Graves – Intermediate Flat
Jodi Brinn – Novice Flat
Sami Cram – Novice Flat
Kali Cram – Novice Fences
Jessica Bitz-Richards – Walk, Trot, Canter Equitation
Full Results from Lake Waccamaw:
Open Flat:
Audrey Bolte – 1st, Katie Hansen – 2nd, Rob Jacobs – 1st
Open Fences:
Katie Hansen – 3rd, Rob Jacobs – 3rd
Intermediate Flat:
Sami Cram – 3rd, Kayla McBath – 1st
Intermediate Fences:
Audrey Bolte – 1st, Keli Van Den Heuvel – 3rd
Novice Flat:
Alexandra Fullerton – 4th, Karen Gruninger – 6th, Missy Hughes – 3rd, Catherine McDowell – 3rd, Katie Mentzel – 1st
Novice Fences :
Kali Cram – 1st
Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter:
Mia Dipillo – 6th, Angela Gaskins – 4th, Miranda Wright – 1st
Walk, Trot:
Alex King – 2nd, Shiloh Kozlowski – 3rd
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