Triangle Farms Spring Indoor "C" Show - March 6, 7 & 8

by Coach Kelsi Peterson

Katy Hutchings and St. Andrews' "Landano" improved by leaps and bounds this weekend in their preparation for ANRC. On Saturday, they placed 4th in the NCHJA Adult medal and won the class on Sunday. They also picked up a 6th over fences and a 3rd in the Adult Amateur under saddle on Saturday. Sunday, they placed 2nd and 4th over fences and won the under saddle class, bringing home the reserve championship in the Adult hunters. Katy commented on how the show team ladies were full of support and encouragement and came together as a family this weekend.

Zoe Cluck and her own "Lord Gandolph" placed 2nd in the Junior/Amateur equitation on Saturday and brought home 5ths in the Junior/Amateur hunters and a 4th in the equitation flat. On Sunday, Zoe was 4th in the equitation and 3rd on the flat, and was 6th and 2nd in the Junior/Amateur over fences and 2nd on the flat, also ending up reserve champion in her division. Zoe enjoyed the team support and helping each other out throughout the weekend, and loved that she and Moe put the pieces together and ended with a fabulous over fences round on Sunday.

Taylor Westover showed St. Andrews' "Obi-Wan" in the long stirrup on Saturday and the Schooling hunters on Sunday, bringing home two 2nds in the hunter over fences and a 4th in the equitation over fences, along with a 5th and a 4th in the hunter and equitation flats on Saturday. Sunday, Taylor received a pair of 3rd places over the fences, and improved immensely in the smoothness of her rounds. Taylor felt like she and Obi connected and understood each other, and is very excited to show him in the future.

Janie Malott brought her own "Hug Me Tighter" to the show and worked hard to overcome her young horse's green moments in the show. Her Pre-Adult division on Saturday was large, and despite not winning ribbons in her rounds, Janie maintained a candid attitude and rode as well as possible. Janie took away a valuable learning experience that horse shows do not always go as planned, and looks forward to her and Finn's improvement in the show ring.

I was very impressed with this group of ladies last weekend. I love taking these young horsewomen to the shows and watching them learn, improve, and work as a team to help each other get to the show ring and make each ride better than the last.

Equestrian Program Reviews - Hunter Seat

Jessica Story and Ellen Tobin reported on the first ever win at the IHSA Zone Finals for the Hunter Seat team. They included a brief bio of new coach Matt Arrigon. Read about the team's successes here.

IHSA Nationals 2014 - Day 5

We had an early start to our last day at the Farm Show Complex. The first draw was scheduled for 7:15. We left the hotel at 6:30 but were still behind Carla, Lindsey and Kara who had horses to school even earlier.

With the hunter seat competition complete the focus was on western. Our day started with the NRHA High Point Reining with the 26 riders being split into two sections. Kara’s lovely horse Vinnie ran the pattern a total of 3 times, the last time with Michelle Hustad which helped Michelle earn her overall 3rd place in that competition. Up next were Mark Mowbray for the team Advanced, Erin Hudson in Individual Intermediate, Dugan McDermott in Team Intermediate and Vicki Weise in Individual Beginner. All of the riders followed the team’s motto of, “practice like you've never won and ride like you've won everything,” putting in solid rides to earn good placings (see below).

The horses that travelled with us represented St. Andrews very well. Zoey was voted Western Horsemanship horse of the show (Carla was interviewed by the AQHA Journal for an article on Zoey), Reggie helped several riders earn good placings and Ziggy was so fabulous the western horse selection committee elevated him to the status of St. Ziggy. Michelle drew Benji for the last class of her collegiate career for the Team Open Flat earning the yellow ribbon and valuable points for the team. Austin was also interviewed for an article on his success in the Team Walk/Trot. The story of how Carla converted lacrosse players to riders starting with Dugan two years ago is likely to go public!

At the end of a very exciting couple of days the western team earned 3rd place with 24 points behind Ohio State (29) and Findlay University (25).

As the last class of the show was going on (we had no horses or riders) we scrambled to get the barn packed up, the horses ready for shipping, the 2 rental cars returned and everyone’s stuff stowed into the bus. Parents and students helped to get the horses loaded and on the road for the long ride back to NC. Following the western team awards the bus was ready to leave at 7:00 p.m. arriving in Laurinburg at 3:30 a.m. The horses took a little longer as the driver was dropping one in VA on the way.


Hunter Seat – 7th
Jessica Story 1st Team Walk, Trot, Canter
Jake Hobson 6th Team Walk, Trot Equitation
Kelsey Kocher 9th Team Open Equitation on the Flat

Western – 3rd
Michelle Hustad  - 3rd Team Reining and 4th Individual Open Horsemanship,  3rd Team Open Flat Horsemanship, 3rd NRHA High Point Rider,
Logan Teeter - 3rd Team Novice Horsemanship
Austin Trockenbrot – Champion Team Walk/Trot
Mark Mowbray – 3rd Team Advanced Horsemanship
Dugan McDermott – 5th Team Intermediate Horsemanship

Erin Hudson – 4th Individual Intermediate Horsemanship
Vicki Weise – 6th Individual Beginner Horsemanship

IHSA Nationals 2014 - Day 4

Our day started with Team Open Over Fences, Kelsey Kocher earned 9th place. After the Cacchione Cup ride off IHSA recognized Eddie Federwisch with the IHSA Lifetime Achievement award for his contribution to IHSA and the collegiate equestrian world. A break in the ring followed for schooling before we rolled into the rest of our day.

Kelsey Kocher started off our day in the Team Open Equitation for the team. She won 9th place. Not bad for a college freshmen competing at her first IHSA Nationals! The hunter seat team ended the competition with a total of 8 points putting them in a tie with Mt. Holyoke for 7th place.

The awards ceremony is an opportunity to recognize the many people that have worked to make IHSA and the National Championships possible. Some awards are voted on my committee others by the membership. One award is the volunteer award for someone that has gone above and beyond. This year the Bob Cacchione was caught by surprise when he was awarded the volunteer award. After tearing up he rose to the occasion saluting the crowd to a standing ovation. With hunter seat over the focus turned to western.

Michelle Hustad rode in the NRHA High Point Rider Horsemanship Flat phase. Tomorrow she will compete in the Reining phase of this competition. Coach Carla Wennberg was very pleased with her rider’s performance. Last up for St. Andrews for today was Austin Trokenbrot riding in Team Walk/Trot. Austin who came to St. Andrews to play Lacrosse marched into the ring like he had done this many times before and walked off with the Champion Trophy and ribbon. “A year ago he had been on a horse but knew absolutely nothing. It has been fun to see him turn into a show rider,” said Carla.

St. Andrews leads the competition with 15 points followed closely by Findlay and Ohio State with 14 and 13 points. “My strategy will be the same that it has been at every competition. I want my riders continue to ride their personal best, make as few mistakes as possible, and be very confident. If they stay consistent that way, more times than not we stay in the hunt. Always proud of how well they work together, taking care of the horses and looking after each other,” said Carla.

After the show ended we had our graduation ceremony for the 4 Seniors who are competing on the western team. This has become a St. Andrews tradition at IHSA Nationals which almost always falls on graduation weekend. Peggy has developed the ceremony over the years to include bagpipe music over the PA system. The graduates process in with an escort that they have chosen. Peggy introduced the ceremony and read a beautiful post from last year’s graduate Kali Cram. Carla had asked Katie Mosca to write her speech which was perfect moving all of us to tears. We made the ceremony official with their diplomas and Peggy pronounced them college graduates. This was followed by lots of hugs, congratulations and photos.

Tomorrow is our last day in PA, wishing good luck to the Western Team. We will be packing up our stuff and loading the 5 wonderful western horses to make the long drive back to NC.

IHSA Nationals 2014 - Day 3

As predicted the afternoon was super busy. Before we knew what had happened it was 7:15 p.m. and the last class of the day had just finished. After a few phone calls Liz found an Applebees willing to take our party of about 35 people which included many parents.

Kelsey Kocher made the cut for the Cacchione Cup and came back to ride in the flat section of that class. Team wise we had a great afternoon of showing. Michelle Hustad kicked it off with a 3rd place in Team Reining and followed that up with a 4th place in the Individual Open Horsemanship. Up next was Jake Hobson who turned in a very respectable 6th place in the Team Walk, Trot Equitation. Jessica Story rocked the St. Andrew’s bench with a beautiful ride to earn the Champion ribbon in Team Walk, Trot, Canter Equitation. To end the day Logan Teeter rode beautifully in the Novice Horsemanship to 4 more points for the Western Team.

Both teams end the day with 8 points. Tomorrow the first bus load heads to the Farm Show Complex at 6:45 a.m. The first class of the day is the Team Open Equitation Over Fences, Kelsey Kocher riding for St. Andrews.

Jessica Story Team Walk/Trot/Canter Champion!

Logan Teeter waiting for her pattern in Team Novice Horsemanship

Michelle Hustad waiting for her Open Horsemanship pattern

IHSA Nationals 2014 - Day Two

Today started with jumping classes. My day started and continued with plinko. My job is to attend to stray pucks and help them if they get stuck, Liz types everything into Google Docs so all the officials know who has drawn which horse. Peggy instructs the students on the rules of plinko and organizes every draw. There are of course the usual difficulties with technology that so far have been overcome by some very smart people.

Kelsey Kocher was our first rider of the day having a great ride in Individual Open Equitation over Fences She missed one flying change putting her in the lower end of the class. Caitlyn Woychik was our next rider with the last ride in Novice Equitation Over Fences. Caitlyn was thrilled with her ride earning 7th place. Emilee Wilson and Madison Edwards represented St. Andrews in the Team Novice Hunter Seat and Individual Walk, Trot, Canter Equitation classes and Cami Glaff ended the day for hunter seat with a 7th place in the Intermediate Equitation. The hunter seat team members headed to dinner in small groups with the many parents that had arrived while Liz and I had command of the charter bus to take us to dinner.

As the hunter seat classes ended for the day the western horses started their schooling and horse selection. Carla met with the horse selection committee while Lindsey and the western team schooled the horses and took care of them for the night. Around 9:00 the bus took us back to the horse show to pick up the western team who where by this time very hungry. Tomorrow will be another early start for the teams and volunteers.

The plinko demonstration prior to every draw

Cami Glaff

IHSA National Championships 2014 - Day One

The five western horse arrived this morning having traveled all night from NC. They were happy to settle into their stalls and rest after the long ride. While the western team was caring for the horses the hunter seat team watched the schooling of the hunter seat horses and made notes on each ride. Liz and I helped Peggy and Carla with whatever they needed and learned that we would be playing plinko all weekend at the draw table. A Dad of one of the St. Lawrence students has built a giant plinko board that 4 riders at a time will drop discs down to determine which horse they ride. We are looking forward to this new twist on the draw table!

Late afternoon the western horses were happy to school a little in the warm up arena and when the hunter seat schooling had finished were happy to experience the atmosphere in the arena. They took everything in their stride and marched around like the pros they are. Carla, Lindsey and Kara stayed to school Vinnie with some of the other reiners while the rest of us went to dinner.

Tomorrow the first class starts at 8:30 so will be an early start for everyone. Go Knights! 

Western Reserve Champions in 2013

Peggy, Liz and I enjoyed picking up a few home comforts for the barn. Carla was ready for a comfy chair!

Logan and Benji and Erin and Zoey checking out the competition arena

IHSA National Championships 2014

A total of 21 students and staff left from campus at 11:00 a.m. for the IHSA National Championships in Harrisburg, PA. The hunter seat and western IHSA teams and coaches, individual riders, warm up riders, draw table crew and of course Peggy. We arrived at the Hampton Inn in rain and cooler weather about the same time the commercial shipper was picking up the 5 western horses in the Burg. They should be here early tomorrow morning. Carla and the western team will be at the barn early to prepare the horse’s stalls and get them settled in. Schooling and horse selection starts tomorrow.

The Hunter Seat Team Joins the Western Team Moving onto IHSA Nationals

Congratulations to both our IHSA teams for qualifying for the National Championships, May 1 – 4 in Harrisburg, PA. The hunter seat team traveled to Hollins University this past weekend to compete in their Zone Championships riding against some of the strongest schools in the country to earn their ride to the National Championships. Congratulations also to Madison Edwards and Kelsey Kocher for qualifying as Individuals in Walk-Trot-Canter and Open Fences respectively.

Coaches Wennberg and Arrigon will be working their riders hard in the next few weeks to prepare for the National Championships. Overall fitness as well as time in the saddle will be part of the preparation.