St. Andrews University Support - Part 3

Prior to committing to host Nationals McElveen had to garner the support of the University . She went straight to the top of the University to see if it was something that could be made possible. She first approached University President Paul Baldasare and Dean Robert Hopkins with the idea and discussed with them the benefits to St. Andrews and its students. “It’s a value for our current students. Most people will never be able to experience an opportunity like this one. What our students will learn, experience and the contacts that they will make will be invaluable to them,” McElveen remembers saying as part of her presentation to the administrators. “Putting on this event will be putting a feather in St. Andrews cap.” The Administration was supportive of the idea and gave her the go ahead to proceed with planning for the event. In addition to eliciting their support McElveen also had to ask a favor concerning the academic calendar for the spring of 2012. Traditionally, IHSA Nationals has conflicted with exam week and graduation, if St. Andrews was to host then the academic calendar would need to be adjusted to avoid this conflict. 1


Although McElveen received the go ahead from the administrators, it was up to the faculty at St. Andrews to make the final decision. St. Andrews is unique in that the faculty makes the decisions on the academic schedule. Several of McElveen’s colleagues from the administration and the faculty shared her enthusiasm and understood the experiential benefits available to the students.3 Over the course of the semester they openly discussed and educated their colleagues on the benefits of taking on such a huge endeavor. 3 As the time for a decision came closer McElveen sent an email to the faculty explaining what she would be presenting in the next faculty meeting so that the discussion could continue and the professors would have sufficient time to prepare questions and voice any concerns. The time spent in preparing the faculty to be amenable to adjusting the academic calendar paid off. At the meeting, Dean Hopkins called the vote for the date changes to finals week and graduation to accommodate the IHSA National Championships (in effect pushing the academic calendar back a week) and everyone was in favor. “It was amazing!” expressed McElveen, “It was fabulous and says a lot about our school and how supportive they really are.” McElveen was especially touched when several members of the faculty and staff were able to attend this special event including several from the administration including the President and Dean. “It really gave the administration of the college an inside view of what hosting this national championship entailed,” said McElveen. 1 With approval of St. Andrews and Cacchione it was made official in early January of 2010 that the Governor James B. Hunt Horse Complex would be the home of the 2012 IHSA National Championships.

Social Media Intern, Kimberly Graves, took on the challenge of documenting the planning and organization of the IHSA National Championships that we hosted in Raleigh, NC last May.


Part Two discussed the selection of the hosting facility. Next week Part Four - The Real Planning Begins!

IHSA Nationals 2013 - Part Two

A Hosting Facility

The facility was not the major concern for McElveen. She knew having spent the past decade in Laurinburg, North Carolina that the little town with a population of a mere 15,000 was not capable of providing adequate accommodations for the expected 3,000 people involved in the national competition.  McElveen suggested that St. Andrews host the competition but at a more suitable facility that was also travel friendly. McElveen called up Dale Barnett, a friend of hers who was the Manager of the Governor James B. Hunt Horse complex and a former IHSA rider, to schedule a meeting to see if the dates for the 2012 nationals were available.  Days before the July 4^th holiday, McElveen and Barnett met to discuss the actuality of the national competition being held at the Hunt Horse Complex. With extreme enthusiasm the two spread out their three-year planners and began discussing the timeline.  Barnett’s ability to move other horse show dates around sealed the deal in guaranteeing the facility’s availability to host Nationals. ¹

Social Media Intern, Kimberly Graves, took on the challenge of documenting the planning and organization of the IHSA National Championships that we hosted in Raleigh, NC last May.

Part One posted last week explained the vision of IHSA CEO Bob Cacchione. Next week Part Three - St. Andrews Universty Support.

2012 IHSA Nationals - Part One, The Vision of Robert "Bob" Cacchione

Social Media Intern, Kimberly Graves, took on the challenge of documenting the planning and organization of the IHSA National Championships that we hosted in Raleigh, NC last May. To say hosting an event of that size was a large undertaking would be a major understatement. Over the summer I will be sharing the story behind the event starting back as far as June 2009. Today we start at the beginning with the man behind IHSA Bob Cacchione.

The Planning and Organization of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association 2012 National Championships

Part One - The Vision of Robert ‘Bob’ Cacchione


The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) is the largest organization in the United States (and probably the world) to provide a competitive forum for horseback riders in college. Founded in 1967 by then sophomore Robert Cacchione at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, IHSA currently boasts 376+ college members, and approximately 8,700+ student members in the United States and Canada. Competition is offered in hunter seat and western with over 300 shows a year across the country. The country is divided into 8 zones which each contain several regions. Colleges are a member of the zone and region that fits them geographically. Competitions are hosted by member colleges and lead up to regional competitions which qualify individual riders for zone championships. The zone championships decide which teams and individuals advance to the National Championships in early May. Somewhere around 200 individuals qualify to represent their schools at Nationals either as a member of the team, as an individual or both.2

The National Championship competition moves around the country, usually being hosted by a region or zone. Previous venues include the prestigious Kentucky Horse Park, Tennessee Miller Coliseum and The Los Angeles Equestrian Center Around 200 horses are needed for the event to cover the many classes that are offered and to create a competition that is as fair as possible.

The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association IHSA Board of Directors meets twice a year to discuss all matters associated with the association. At the end of the June 2009 meeting, IHSA CEO Bob Cacchione approached Peggy McElveen the St. Andrews University, Equestrian Program Director and informed her that he wanted St. Andrews to be the host of the prestigious Nationals competition. “The first thing I said was “When?” said McElveen. Cacchione had a vision that St. Andrews could host the 2012 IHSA Nationals at the Equestrian Center. The National competition would have to split if it were to be hosted at the equestrian center. With one side of the property dedicated to the hunter seat portion of nationals and the other side to western nationals, it could be done.

Coming next time the reasons behind the move to Raleigh, NC in Part Two - A Hosting Facility.

The Whirlwind After Graduation

It has been a busy couple of weeks since graduation! Bobby Holt and I were recognized for 15 years of service to St. Andrews. This is a lovely tradition that the school has of recognizing employees who have served for many years. 15 years seems like a lot but there were 3 employees being recognized for 45 years of service this year which puts it all into perspective! The long-serving folks are Ron Bayes, Rooney Coffman and George Melton. For 30 years Sylvester Moody has worked in maintenance and Carolyn Oxendine was honored for 25 years in House Keeping.


We have shipped over 60 horses to summer camp and a few have gone home with students and alums. We moved most of the remaining equines to the Boarder/TH barns so that the Lesson and Western barns can be pressured washed and cleaned. Summer classes are under way online and we are enjoying the prolonged spring weather that has been delightful for the last couple of weeks. No doubt June will bring the long awaited summer heat.

Faculty and Staff Recognition: Pictured, from left, Stevan Hernandez, Sylvester Moody, Glenn Batten, Carolyn Oxendine, Melissa Hopkins, Bobby Holt, Jackie Dwelle, George Melton, Sandra Johnson, Joe Bunting, Tom Waage and Rooney Coffman. Not pictured, Larry Kelly, Jim Lankford, Ellen Wright and Ron Bayes.

IHSA Nationals 2012 (No, that is not a typo!)

Its been just over a year since many students, alumni and friends of St. Andrews came to Raleigh in one capacity or another for IHSA Nationals. We are preparing a report to go in the Library Archives about this event. The section titles are, The Facility, Southern Hospitality, Management, St. Andrews Students and Challenges (of course we can add more sections if we have the data). So far we have the logistical, staffing and planning data from Peggy, but we need your input!


If you volunteered in any capacity would you please share with us? What did you do? Who did you work with? Did you take vacation from work or how did you make the time to be involved? Why did you do it? And anything else you think would be important in a historical document. Post here or send me an email. dwellejm@sapc.edu. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks! Jackie

Day 5 IHSA by Kali Cram

IHSA Blog Day 5

And that's a wrap! 2013 IHSA Nationals is officially over. What a crazy week! It was full of ups and downs for sure but my teammates are incredible and the support we give each other is amazing!

The western team had a rider in almost every one of the remaining classes today and we ALL finished in Top 10 in the Nation in our respectable classes. We had Pre and post class celebrations that kept our team spirit up no matter where everyone finished.

The team brought home a very strong finish- ending up 2013 RESERVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!! I am so incredibly proud of this team and beyond blessed to have been a part of it for the last 3 years!

This weekend we laughed, we cried and we celebrated. We not only celebrated our amazing results but we celebrated the graduation of 5 seniors and the time we have all been able to spend together as friends, as teammates and as fellow St.Andrews Knights!!

We are all loaded onto our bus now and headed back to North Carolina. Several are already sound asleep.

It was great blogging for you all this week!

Xx

-Kali

Full Results:

Brittany: 3rd Team Advanced Horsemanship

Brittany: 2nd Individual Novice Horsemanship

Logan: 3rd Team Intermediate Horsemanship

Kali: 8th Individual Advanced Horsemanship

Katie Mosca: 7th Individual Intermediate Horsemanship

Dugan: 2nd Individual Beginner Horsemanship

Michelle Hustad: 4th Team Open Horsemanship

As posted on the IHSA facebook page;
Reserve AQHA High Point Team Champions St. Andrews flex their new muscle. "This group worked really hard," said coach Carla Wennberg. "It's like life, you work hard to reap the benefits. This has truly been a team together."

IHSA Day 4 by Kali Cram

IHSA Blog Day 4

It was such a fun day today with so many amazing things happening. Of course it was fun watching everyone show today.

But the biggest part was the fact that as of now, Me, Sami, Brittany, Katie and Kim are all St. Andrews Graduates. Peggy organized a beautiful graduation ceremony for us after the last class of the day where we received our diplomas, heard speeches from our classmates and shed many tears. And what better place to hold a ceremony for equestrian graduates than in the Ring at the Pennsylvania Farm Complex? It was amazing sitting next to 4 other girls who have walked beside me in our St. Andrews journey and to receive my diploma from two of the most influential people in my life; Carla and Peggy.

We may have missed our graduation at SAU but we didn't miss out on a St. Andrews graduation. It was a special day shared with family, friends and teammates and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day.
Our hunt seat team is done with 2013 IHSA Nationals, finishing in 8th and our Western Team is headed into tomorrow tied for the lead!!!!!
Xx
-Kali

Full Results:
Sami: Honorable Mention in Team Open Flat
Katie: 7th Team Open Fences
Michelle: 8th Individual Open Horsemanship
Ella: 8th Individual Reining
Vicky: 3rd Team Walk/Jog

IHSA Day 3 by Kali Cram

Just received this from Kali, so a little late posting about Friday's activities. There are gremlins in cyber space!

IHSA Blog Day 3

It was another long day at IHSA Nationals. There were a lot of classes and A TON of re-rides. We restarted the final class of the day three different times before we got to the pattern. Sami brought home another Reserve Champion in the Team Novice Horsemanship and added 5 more points to our western score card, adding to Ella's 3 points earned earlier that day in the team Reining. 

It's 10:00 now and we are just getting back to our hotel from getting dinner with our parents. Going to get some sleep and do it all again tomorrow. 

Full Results:

Sami: team intermediate o/f: 3rd

Sami: team novice horsemanship: 2nd

Ella: Team Reining : 4th

Jake: Team walk-trot: 10th

Madison: Team WTC: honorable mention

Shiloh: individual w/t: 6th 

Kim: scored a 71 in Cacchione o/f 

Day 2, IHSA Nationals by Kali Cram

IHSA Blog Day 2

Wow!!!! What a longggg day for an IHSA show!! The show started close to 2 hours late so we knew it would be a long day. It's 7:30 now and we're on the bus, headed back to the hotel for the night.
I woke up this morning to several snapchats from my teammates with various forms of 'Day 2- lets goooo!'  And 'first day of showinggggg!' We're ready to get this competition rolling!

It's no secret that our team can find fun wherever we go! We're a group of St. Androids and weird is our middle name.  It was an entertaining breakfast filled with quotes from "Always Sunny" and various Collegehumor videos. Cami, Sami and Kim left with the Peggy Shuttle around 7:00 to get to the course walk and the rest of us slept in and left around 8:30 to meet them at the coliseum.

When we arrived, the first three to go were ready to get the showing started. The day was fun with some great ribbons and amazing team support and dynamics. One of my favorite parts of IHSA is getting to know riders from other teams. When we all get to see each other it's so fun and to receive congratulations from other teams feels great! It's such a fun experience!

Sami brought home the Reserve Championship in her individual class and Cami matched those results in her Team over fences class. Cami, Kim and myself brought home top 10 placings in our respectable classes. The horses were getting a bit snarky toward the end of the day and I don't blame them. It was way past their dinner time and some had been showing all day. They're all wonderful. I drew a fun draw from Centenary college who was a bit over the day  but a blast to ride.

It was a good first day if showing. Hunt Seat continues in the morning and Western starts tomorrow afternoon.

Xx
-Kali

Full Results from Day 1 of Competition
Cami Glaff: 2nd Team Novice O/F
Cami Glaff: 9th Team Novice Flat
Kali Cram: 10th Team Int Flat
Sami Cram: 2nd Individual Novice O/F
Kim Graves: 10th Individual Open O/F
Kim Graves: Honorable Mention Individual Open Flat

IHSA National Championships - Guest Blogger!

I am very excited to announce a guest blogger for the duration of IHSA Nationals 2013 in Harrisburg, PA. Senior Kali Cram is representing St. Andrews in both western and hunter seat and asked if she could blog about the experience – of course I said yes! Sit back and enjoy Kali’s reports!

IHSA Blog Day 1 by Kali Cram

It's been a fun, fairly uneventful first full day here in PA. The hunter seat team met for breakfast in the lobby at 6:30 while the western team slept in before their trip to Hershey park for the day. We headed to the coliseum to watch all the horses school. As we watched what felt like eleventy hundred rounds at 2'9" we began to find things to further our entertainment. As veterans to these long schooling days, seniors Katie Hansen, Sami Cram and myself brought things to keep us busy. Katie supplied two GameBoys (and yes she brought Pokemon), I brought a deck of cards that doubled roles as a game of headbandz as well as a normal deck and Sami brought the ever entertaining Harry Potter Jelly Beans. Our coach, Matt successfully picked almost every bad one: Canned Dog Food, Moldy Cheese and Skunk Spray. His expressions were priceless.

Around 11:00 a few of us began to get Hangry ( for those who have never been there that's Hungry+Angry) and its not an enjoyable place when our team has made it to that point. So knowing how we get,  Madison and Matt ordered us a few pizzas from a local restaurant. It was phenomenal. I'm not sure if it was really that good or we were all really just that hungry.

After lunch we all took turns taking naps in the chairs and a few of us went shopping. Personally I spent way too much but I'm graduating so that's a good enough excuse, right?

Once the hunterseat horses were done schooling, the rest of the team left to the hotel and me and Sami stayed with the western team (who were now back from Hershey) to watch the western horses school. Even though it was a long day, we both feel so blessed to be a part of two amazing teams.

Once back at the hotel, me and Sami told stories for a few hours to Cami's mom, Barb and their friend Holly. I HAD to tell the story of getting lost in England, driving a stick shift, turning a 7 minute drive into almost 2 hours. It's a classic at this point. It's so great to have family and friends here to cheer us on. Can't wait to see my mom tomorrow and Dad and DJ (stepmom) on Saturday!

Our first huge team dinner of the trip was to Ruby Tuesdays (always one of Peggy's top picks).
Unfortunately for the waiter he forgot to ask us about the shrimp fondue before he asked our drink borders and Sami didn't let that slip. So we got a free order of that and passed it around the table.

We're now back at the hotel for the evening- all settled in, watching NCIS! We're ready for the first day of competition tomorrow. Kim, Sami, Cami and myself will kick it off all with classes tomorrow.

What a great first day! My cheeks literally hurt from laughing so much!
Xx
-Kali

IDA National Championships!

We had a lovely weekend in MA with good weather, wonderful people and time to renew our acquaintance with old friends that we only see once a year. The IDA is made up of volunteers who work for colleges or work for themselves in the horse industry, who all come together to provide a competitive forum for student athletes interested in the sport of dressage. I have friends from New England, Virginia, Florida, the mid-west and California who all met up at Mt. Holyoke this weekend for our annual meetings and National Championships. This year was all the more special as my Dad who came to visit us in NC to see the spring flowers traveled with me to support the riders and see a part of my life that he has never experienced before. To sum up the competitive side of the weekend I sent this email to the faculty and staff. For complete results of the National Championships click here.

Please congratulate Lindsey Agaliotis and Kristen Parker on a very successful weekend at the Intercollegiate Dressage Association National Championships held this weekend at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley MA. Lindsey placed third in the First Level division which was a great end to her intercollegiate riding career as she will be graduating this weekend and Kristen placed seventh in the Introductory division. As we waited for our flight last night I asked Lindsey to give me a few words about her experience with the equestrian program. I would like to share her response with you. 

 “Riding for and representing St. Andrews these past four years has been such a privilege. To be part of such a great team with great instructors has really shaped me as a rider and prepared me for my future in the equine industry. I could not think of a better way to end such a wonderful four years as a St. Andrews equestrian.” 

Both Lindsey and Kristen were wonderful representatives for St. Andrews and I am very proud of both of them for working hard to qualify for the National Championships this year. Thank you to all the faculty who were willing to work with these girls to make this opportunity possible, I very much appreciate your flexibility!

RLAK Show, Alumni Weekend, and Open House

The RLAK horse show was a hit for all concerned this Saturday. Four members of the dressage team started off the show with a drill team ride to the theme from Indiana Jones. The horses were great and the riders put on a good display for the audience. The RLAK show followed with all riders winning a blue ribbon for completing the obstacle course set in the covered arena. Kate Sorgenfrei serving as judge and announcer awarded blue ribbons “for sitting in the middle”, “keeping heels down”, “2-point position” and a myriad of other accomplishments demonstrated by the riders. The RLAK community was well represented covering the ages of around 5 to 55.


Alumni weekend was in full swing on campus and many folks came back to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. Pebbles, Peggy and I enjoyed visiting with the class of 2003 (plus a few from 2002). At lunch time ten of them set off on a guided trail ride of the Equestrian Center followed by 3 more on Peggy’s golf cart. With a couple of exceptions many of these folks have not been on a horse in many years so it was really fun to see them warming up in the covered arena before heading out with Carla and Andrew as their escorts.

Once the trail ride had departed the participants of Open House arrived to talk about the program, meet the staff and tour the facility. Lots of great questions were asked and we enjoyed meeting these future students and their families.

In other news our colleague Heather Wile Lee had her baby this weekend. Baby Jase is doing well but Heather suffered complications following delivery and is now in ICU at Moore Regional Hospital. Her husband Philip and both their families are with her at the hospital staying at the Clara McQueen house in Pinehurst. We are keeping Heather, Philip, Jase and the families in our prayers and hoping for a complete recovery.

The ANRC competed for the National Championship this weekend finishing in 6th place. I'll have more information on that in a later post.

Volunteers and Instructors at the RLAK Show

The Drill Team; Bridget on Corky, Kristen on Jake, Elizabethe on Chico and Claire on Windsong

Special and his rider with Morgan, and Spenser



Big John with is rider and Hallie, Megan and Stephanie



Before the Alumni trail rider

Enjoying the facility!

Alumni, ANRC, and RLAK Show

Meg Donahue, Frank Bria, Jennifer James & Howard Morrison were the National Championship team winning riders in 2002. Debbie White and Peggy McElveen coached. The gray horse on the left is Peter and the liver chestnut 3rd from left is JC both of who are retired at the Equestrian Center.

This weekend is Alumni weekend. We are excited to welcome the class of 2003 back to campus. The photo is of the 2002 ANRC National Championship team, many of who will be here this weekend. Click here for the schedule of Alumni events. These events include the annual Ride-Like-A-Knight horse show which starts at 10:30 on Saturday with demonstrations by the equestrain team followed by classes for participants in the program.  

Josh Dazey, Red Ted and Philip Radford at the 2012 RLAK show.

Meanwhile this year's ANRC team is competing in Baltimore at the 2013 National Championships in both the Open and Novice divisions. Good luck to all our riders, coaches and horses.

Don’t forget to support the 2013 Nationals teams by eating at Jersey Mikes in Lbg. tomorrow between 4 & 9 p.m. or shopping at our online store .

Spring Stuff!

With the end of the semester looming we are busy wrapping up classes, practicing our teams for Nationals and enjoying the traditional end of semester activities. Yesterday the RLAK club held their spring picnic. Everyone enjoyed great food, fun games and an opportunity to let loose before the start of a busy academic week.


Riders on all of the intercollegiate teams are busy with practices. The ANRC team leaves on Wednesday for the drive to Baltimore for their National Championships. Coach Kelsi Peterson will be traveling with five riders. Kim Graves, Katie Hansen, Abigail Skillman, Alexandra Fullerton and Keli van den Heuvel will be representing St. Andrews at this four phase equitation competition. They will be competing in the written test, program ride, cross country course and medal course all phases are judged on equitation apart from the written test of course which is judged on knowledge of horse care including basic veterinary care. Good luck to these riders, their horses and Coach Peterson.

We are still busy with fund raising. Our Queensboro store sends a commission on every item of clothing sold and this Friday from 4 – 9 p.m. Jersey Mikes in Laurinburg will be contributing 15% of all proceeds to the Equestrian Team. Please support these stores if you can.

TH Seniors & Ice-Cream!

Saturday the St. Andrews Hunter Seat Team won the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Zone 4 Championship for the first time in school history!

by Equestrian Program Director Peggy McElveen

Having clinched the Regional Championship in March, St. Andrews moved forward in post-season competition to the IHSA Zone Finals which were hosted today at the SAU Equestrian Center. The top riders from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina as well as the Regional Champion Teams from each of the four regions in Zone 4 competed today for the right to move forward to the National Championship in May.


The St. Andrews team competed against Goucher College from Region 1, the University of Virginia from Region 2, and Drexel University from Region 4 (St. Andrews was the representative of the Region 3 conference). These four teams were the teams that won each of their Regional Championships. Our team riders - Katie Hansen, Sami Cram, Kali Cram, Cami Glaff, Madison Edwards, and Jake Hobson won a total of 46 points to best second place Goucher College (42 points); third place University of Virginia (40 points) and fourth place Drexel University (21 points). The top three teams battled throughout the day with the lead changing several times. It all came down to the final class of the day which had veteran team rider Kali Cram representing St. Andrews. When Kali was announced as the winner, the rafters of the arena shook with the excitement. St. Andrews had won their first Zone Championship!

Senior Kim Graves who already had secured her place at IHSA Nationals by winning the Regional Cacchione Cup punched her ticket today for two more classes. Kim will be competing in Open Flat and Open Fences as well as in the multi-phase Cacchione Cup.

Junior Shiloh Kozlowski and Senior Sami Cram will be repeat competitors at Nationals for the third year in a row. Shiloh qualified in the Walk, Trot class and Sami in Novice Fences.

IHSA Hunter Seat Zones on Saturday!

Look who is coming to our house this weekend to compete for slots for the IHSA National Championships!

Goucher College
University of Richmond
Hollins University
St. Andrews University
University of Pennsylvania
Drexel University
Christopher Newport University
Bridgewater College
Lynchburg College
University of North Carolina
University of Pennsylvania
University of Delaware
North Carolina State University
Washington College
Temple University
George Washington University
Sweet Briar College
Duke University
Salisbury University
Randolph College
University of Virginia
East Carolina University
Towson University
University of Mary Washington

Sarah Lawrence College - Alumni
Longwood University - Alumni
Burlington County College - Alumni
Virginia Tech - Alumni

Our First Annual Easter Egg Hunt!

We hosted the first Annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Equestrian Center yesterday. It all started 3 or 4 years ago when Barn Manager Kellie Garrabrant did a small event for the barn staff and students that stayed to help with horse care over the Easter Break. Equestrian Program Director Peggy McElveen took the event to the next level, inviting all members of the St. Andrews community to participate in the fun. Eggs were hidden all around the courtyard outside of the TH building, in the covered and indoor, in the back schooling field and the dressage arena. Two classes were offered 11 and under and over 11. Kids, college students and adults raced to retrieve their eggs. Eventual winners in both divisions collected over 60 eggs a piece!

Counting the loot!

Winner of the 11 and under division

Lauren Gunther winner of the 11 and over division

Hurry get more eggs Kelsey!

Western IHSA Team Qualifies for National Championships!

Congratulations to the IHSA Western team qualifying for the National Championships by winning at Semi-Finals. The following report was written by Peggy McElveen, Equestrian Program Director

The 27 teams from across the country who won their regional championships were split among three National Semi-Finals sites to compete this weekend. The top six teams are seeded according to their finish in IHSA Nationals the prior year. Our team was seeded second in our bracket in Kentucky behind Berry College. Only nine teams advance from the Semi-Finals - top three from each Semi-Finals site - to the National Championship.

The final team placings from the Kentucky National Semi-Finals were:

1st St. Andrews University with 27 points
Team riders are Ella Brave, Michelle Hustad, Brittany Powell, Sami Cram, Logan Teeter, and Vickie Wiese
2nd Middle Tennessee State University with 22 points
3rd University of Kentucky with 18 points
4th North Dakota State University with 16 points
5th Berry College with 15 points
6th West Virginia University with 10 points
7th College of the Sequoias with 9 points
8th Utah State University with 8 points
9th Delaware Valley with 7 points

Individual St. Andrews students advancing to Nationals were:
Michelle Hustad in Open Horsemanship
Ella Brave in Reining
Kali Cram in Advanced Horsemanship
Brittany Powell in Novice Horsemanship
Katie Mosca in Intermediate Horsemanship
Dugan McDermott in Beginner Horsemanship

Congratulations to all these students and Coach Carla Wennberg for bringing this Championship to St. Andrews.

The 2013 Semi-Finals Championship Team!

Congratulations to the Zone 4, Region 3 IHSA Zone Qualifiers

Our regional IHSA hunter seat show ran smoothly today with representatives from nearly all of the 12 membership colleges present. Regionals is similar to a playoff game in a ball sport with the purpose of recognizing qualified riders and to determine who moves onto the Zones which is the final stepping stone before the National Championships. Team qualification is determined from cumulative points at the regular season shows with St. Andrews as Regional Champions for 2013 and already preparing for Zones in a couple of weeks. Today is all about individual qualifiers and St. Andrews students came through showing off their equitation skills and advancing to the next round. Congratulations to everyone who qualified for regionals!

Sami Cram - Intermediate Flat & Novice Fences

Kim Graves - Open Over Fences & Open Flat
Katie Hansen – Open Over Fences
Alexandra Fullerton - Novice Flat & Novice Fences
Shiloh Kozlowski – Walk Trot
Cami Glaff – Walk, Trot, Canter

Cacchione Cup

1^st Kim Graves
2^nd Katie Hansen

 

Showing today but not advancing to Zones
Catherine McDowell – Honorable Mention in Novice Flat
Park Hoey – 3^rd in Novice Flat
Kali Cram – 3^rd Intermediate Fences and 3^rd Novice Flat
Tori Burkey – Honorable Mention Walk, Trot, Canter

During the awards lunch Equestrian Program Director Peggy McElveen recognized her staff for their help with the 14 intercollegiate shows hosted at the equestrian center in 2012-2013. The Zone Chair awards selected by the Zone Chair (Peggy) went to Jenny Rollins from Duke for all her help and support during the year, and the Coach of the Year was Laura Underhill Norment from ECU, who previously coached and taught at St. Andrews.

 Awards voted on by the coaches in the region.

Horse of the Year

Reagan belonging to St. Andrews who participates in hunter seat, western and dressage intercollegiate shows.

Student Leadership

Senior Kathryn Hall of ECU who has above and beyond as a student leader.

Team Placings 2012 – 2013

1.      St. Andrews
2.      UNC – Chapel Hill
3.      East Carolina
4.      North Carolina State
5.      UNC – Charlotte
6.      UNC – Wilmington
7.      Duke
8.      Virginia Commonwealth
9.      Coastal Carolina University
10.   Campbell University

The Seniors on the IHSA Hunter Seat Team accepting the Regional Trophy!

 

Spring Break is Over!

Spring break is over and we are ready to take on the remainder of the semester. This Friday we have IHSA Hunter Seat Regionals at home. Thursday Carla and the IHSA Western team leave for Semi-Finals in Kentucky this weekend and Scot Evans will be doing a clinic Saturday and Sunday.


Over break I connected with Kate McAlinn from Sun Chaser Farm in Raleigh and she now has Marcus and Nikitta at her barn for her lesson program. These horses have worked hard for us and will now be great teachers for the kids that ride with Kate. We are still looking to place some of our horses who have served us so well, but are now ready for an easier life. If you are interested in any of these drop me an email.

Please contact Jackie Dwelle dwellejm@sapc.edu 910-277-5217 for more information and pictures.

Smudge - 1987 FB Grey TB Gelding 16.2h. Used in the St. Andrews and the CCCC lesson programs.

Robbie - Dk Bay gelding 15.3 h. Used in St. Andrews dressage program and therapeutic riding program and summer camp in Brevard, NC. Great at camp, loves small children and TH, not sure how old this one is.

Ben - 1989 Bay WB/xx Gelding 16.3h. Can be mean in stall but fine on crossties. Must be ridden in a hackamore or halter because he has TMJ. Would make a good trail/weekend horse.

Happy - 1988 Bay Swedish WB Mare 16.2h. Worked in the St. Andrews hunter seat program and been to camp several summers. This special lady deserves an excellent retirement home.

***Several others that cannot be ridden are also available as companions or pasture ornaments!***