Sunday, December 5, 2010

Holiday Tournament of Champions

Saturday’s Tournament of Champions was yet another example of the incredible teamwork that is St. Andrews. Can we put on a horse show? Oh yeah! The lesson barn was decorated with garland, Christmas trees, lights, snowflakes, and reindeer. A smiling inflatable nutcracker welcomed everyone at the gate and reindeer and poinsettias decorated the tents and stabling areas. The horses were for the most part body clipped and beautifully turned out. Our friends from Virginia Intermont brought six of horses to swell the ranks of the upper level horses. Thanks Eddie!

The day started with Opening Ceremonies including the National Anthem sung by Bill McConnell and members from the choir and opening remarks from IHSA founder Bob Cacchione. Mike Kryszak served as the announcer for the day and the usual cast of characters worked the paddock,, the barn and the draw table. Classes ran all day with short breaks to drag the ring. Chartwells was kept busy at the concession stand as everyone tried to stay warm. At the end of the day Delaware Valley came out on top with St. Andrews a close second.

Congratulations to all the competitors and thank you to the St. Andrews community for putting on a fabulous horse show.



Schooling on Friday


SAPC 8th placed team


Santa's helper in the paddock


Coach Duda and Jodi Brinn



Reserve Champions with their coach Ashley Duda & program director Peggy McElveen. Also in the picture organizer Gwen (left end) and IHSA founder Bob Cacchione (far right)

Monday, November 22, 2010

IHSA Western Nov 21st


Kelsey Moody and Sailor and the High Point Ribbon



IHSA Western team had a successful show Sunday beating NCSU by 2 points to take a regional lead of 9 points. SAPC first place winners were Kelsey Moody in Open Horsemanship, Andrea Velez in Intermediate 1, Blake Liljestrand in walk/jog section A and Leah Davison in walk/jog section B. (Great way to celebrate your 21st birthday Nov 22nd - Happy Birthday Leah!)

Going into the Thanksgiving break SAPC leads the region with 156 points to NCSU’s 147. In the AQHA High Point Rider SAPC’s Kelsey Moody has 50 points to NCSU’s Kody Zagmann’s 47 points.

Kelsey & Sailor


Audrey Bolte on Popsicle


Blake Liljestrand on Reagan


Andrea Velez on Timmie



Leah Davison on Timmie

Sunday, November 21, 2010

SAPC IDA Nov 20th


The Dressage Team

SAPC horses and equestrian students worked hard Sat. at the IDA show hosted by St. Andrews. The show ran very smoothly with hunt seat team members tacking up and holding horses for their team mates on the dressage team. In addition to the horses that regularly participate in dressage lessons horses were “borrowed” from hunt seat and therapeutic riding.

At first level Jake, Astaire and Danny placed 1st, 2nd & 3rd . Donna Fowble beat Erin Hudson for 4th place with a tie broken by judge Cindy Sydnor. Lindsey Agaliotis maintained her lead in upper training scoring 73.2% to win the division. Freshman Katherine Kaltenback was second with a score of 68.8%. In lower training Lauren Parker and Madison Webb were 2nd & 3rd respectively. At Intro Big John took high point ride of the day scoring 74%. Freshman Hannah Firth was 2nd on Jeb with 69%, Jenna Rash was 3rd, Kacie Myers 4th and Katelee Johnson 6th riding Skunk. SAPC Team A finished one point behind Averett. SAPC Team C was 4th and SAPC Team B 5th.

Alum Greta Friesen served as scribe, Joanne Agaliotis took care of scoring and several parents were on hand to support the SAPC riders. The dressage team has two more shows in the spring to finish the season - SAPC Feb. 5 and Averett Feb. 26.



Team A, Erin Hudson, Lindsey Agaliotis, Jenna Rash, Olivia Taylor

Katelee Johnson & Skunk


Jenna Rash & Big John


Kacie Meyers & Big John


Hannah Firth & Jeb




Team
1 - Averett Team A, 17 pts.
2 – SAPC Team A, 16 pts.
3 – Averett Team B, 13 pts.
4 – SAPC Team C, 11 pts.
5 - SAPC Team B, 10 pts.
6 – Furman Team A, 3 pts.
7 – NCSU Team A, 1 pt.

First Level Test 1
1 –Emily Henderson, AU 72.00%
2 – Laura Borges, AU 68.66%
3 - Laura Thompson, AU 66.33%
4 – Donna Fowble SAPC 63.66%
5 – Erin Hudson, SAPC 63.66%
6 – Emily Carroll, FU 56.33%

Training Level Test 4
1 – Lindsey Agaliotis, SAPC 73.2%
2 – Katherine Kaltenback, SAPC 68.8%
3 – Shannon Stone, AU 62.4%
4 – Khrystynna Hunsinger, AU 62.0%
5 - Andrea Tito, SAPC 59.2%
6 – Andrea Massa, NCSU 58.4%

Training Level Test 2
1-Christine Fiebeck AU 71.07%
2 – Lauren Parker, SAPC 65.71%
3 – Valavie Harr, AU 65.36%
4 – Madison Webb, SAPC 63.21%
5 – Allie Pedigo, FU 62.14%
6 – Katie Coleman, FU 61.78%

Introductory Level Test B
1 – Cat Rock, AU 74.0%
2 – Hannah Firth, SAPC 69.0%
3 – Jenna Rash, SAPC 68.3%
4 – Kacie Myers, SAPC 66.0%
5 - Brittany Hoffman, NCSU 66.0%
6 – Katelee Johnson, SAPC 65.0%

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Kelsey Moody at the AQHA World Show


Kelsey and Blue


This article appeared on gohorseshow.com. Congratulations to Kelsey on a fabulous show!

Our nice streak of weather is nowhere to be found on this nasty rainy and windy day in Oklahoma City. It would be my mom and sister’s luck to just miss the sun and warm breeze. Despite the gross weather outside, we all wake up, get dressed, and head out to the show. It seems while my excitement has worn off, my family has caught the World Show fever; we couldn’t be there early enough.

The show was kicked off today with five different halter classes, and then four other hunter classes. First up on the list of riding classes was the Equitation on the Flat. This class is such an elegant class to watch, especially with the ‘queen’ of the Equitation, Jessica Johnson and Royalty in Blue in it. In my opinion, not many people can compare to Jessica with that leg of steel and perfect posture.

Today, it was two black horses left standing in the middle of the pen, and who else was it but Jessica Johnson and Kelsey Moody. Kelsey has quite an inspirational story behind her pretty smile and bubbly attitude.

On the arena floor you can see Kelsey start to cry when it the announcer gets down to just two, and I look over to my right I can see her mom, Kay Moody, jumping around in her seat! She was one proud mama. Both girls look over and congratulate each other as the announcer calls Kelsey out as the Reserve World Champion. She leans over and gives her partner, Blue, a big pat on the neck. I couldn’t be happier for anyone.

I met up with Kelsey soon after she got finished with pictures and what not. When I asked Kelsey what this accomplishment meant to her, she said, “I feel like I already won, because Jessica is so good it’s almost like she’s in a league of her own.” What good sportmanship.


Kelsey goes to school at Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian College in Laurinsburg, NC where she rides on the IHSA English and Western team. Ms. Moody will graduate in May of 2011. Kelsey was no new comer to the world show scene, but this was her first year at the AQHA Amateur World Show. Back in 2006 she and Blue were 6th in the Horsemanship and finalist in the Trail, Eq, and Western Riding at the Youth World. Then in 2007 she was 8th in the Horsemanship and 7th in the Showmanship. Her last year in youth she didn’t have the chance to show Blue, but she did have a top ten finish on her pleasure horse, Hot Lil Mama. To add to Kelsey’s List of accomplishments, she was 7th in the Trail and 10th in the Horsemanship here at the Amateur World Show, along with her newly awarded Reserve World Champion in Equitation.

Blue got hurt back in 2007 after the Youth World and the Colvin team managed to get him through another year, but ended up not being able to show at the 2008 Youth World, and had to give him some time off. Kelsey said they didn’t know if he’d ever be able to show again. She smiles and says, “I’m so glad he’s alive and it’s such a blessing to get to show.” I remember showing for a few years with Kelsey in the youth, and it’s obvious this big pretty gelding had way too much heart to give up now. Seems like he’s got many years of talent left to put in the show pen.

I asked Kelsey what she thought of the pattern today, and she said, “ My favorite part to the pattern was the hand gallop. I’m glad they are making Equitation more English rather than horsemanship in English attire. The hardest part, to me, was the hand gallop to the stop.” Which might I add, she nailed it perfectly.

I also wanted to ask, for all you trying to improve your equitation, what Kelsey’s secret to a super tight equitation leg was. She laughs, and says, “I give lots of credit to my coach at school. I get to ride the crazy warmbloods without stirrups. It just takes lots of practice and riding time.” As Charlene Carter would say, “perfect practice makes perfect.”

Plans for the talented duo are just to continue showing. This true all around girl says she might want to take up some reining in the future. We don’t want to leave mama Kay out; Kelsey says she will probably show Blue some in the Select Trail.

Once again, congratulations to Double T Blue Chip and Kelsey Moody in the Amateur Equitation.

Today for the McMullen’s was quite slow. We mostly visited ALL the shops in the trade shows, watched the Amateur Classes, and then hurried back to catch the always entertaining Working Cowhorse. A class that, when I am an Amateur, and my parents have sold my horses, I might want to take up. After the Cowhorse ended, we all ordered take out at the Cheesecake Factory then sat around and visited with our good friend Julie at her trailer. It’s Friday night, so I know we are leaving Sunday morning, but I wish we could be here another week. One more full day of reporting I have left for you, so I’ll try my hardest to make it a good one!

Back Soon,

Lindsey

IHSA Hunter Seat Show - Nov 14th

All the colleges and universities in IHSA Zone 4, Region 3 competed at Jill and Rhett Taylor’s beautiful farm, Cottonwood, in Vanceboro, NC on Sunday, November 14. The weather was exquisite, the food delicious, and the hospitality was Southern at its best. The judge was Mike Rosser from Southern Pines.

Many St. Andrews alums worked together to organize and produce this show. Laura Underhill Norment and Caroline Taylor prepared the horses. Laura and Caroline teach full time at Cottonwood and coach the riding team from East Carolina University. Natalie Norwood, Morgan Worthington, Gabby Grubic, and Nikki Heath served as warm up riders. Sarah Rhymer ran the Draw Table (and was a warm up rider). Mike Kryszak was the announcer and the tack organizer. Even though the show was hosted by ECU and UNC-W we felt right at home being surrounded and cheered on by so many SAPC alums!

The riders from St. Andrews won the team championship! This win increased our lead in Zone 4, Region 3 to 16 points. Additionally, Audrey Bolte qualified for Regional Finals in Open Flat. Coach Duda had her team ready to ride their best.

Highlights:
Katie Hansen and Audrey Bolte each won their Open Flat classes. Rob Jacobs rode very consistently and placed second in his Open Flat and Open Fences classes. Audrey Hayden was fourth in Open Flat.
Kim Graves and Kayla McBath each placed second in their Intermediate Flat classes. Keli Van Den Heuvel was third in Intermediate Fences.
Jennifer Callahan was first in Novice Flat followed by Tara Algeria in second and Andrew Michael in fifth.
The Cram twins excelled in Novice Fences with Kali winning first and Sami winning second.
Miranda Wright was fourth in Walk, Trot, Canter and Shiloh Kozlowski was first in Walk, Trot.

Current Team Standings
St. Andrews 199 points
UNC-Chapel Hill 183
North Carolina State 179
Duke 145
UNC- Charlotte 138
East Carolina 81
Coastal Carolina 71
UNC-Wilmington 58

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Averett IDA

Averett University took full advantage of “home team advantage” at yesterday’s IDA show. We had a beautiful fall day at the Averett Equestrian Center with SAPC fielding 14 riders. Lindsey Agaliotis held onto her regional lead by convincingly winning the upper training division with a score of 70%. Erin Hudson rode a good test to earn 3rd place in first level and Donna Fowble was close behind her in 3rd place. Less than 5 percentage points separated the top 6 riders in first level. SAPC lower training riders Lauren Parker, Olivia Taylor and Paige Tillison were 4th, 5th and 6th behind Averett riders in the top three slots. At the introductory level freshman Kacie Meyers at her first IDA show placed 3rd with a score of 67.0% and senior Jenna Rash placed 6th .

Team Results

1st - Averett Team B
2nd – Averett Team A
3rd – Averett Team C
4th – SAPC Team A
5th – SAPC Team C
6th – NCSU Team A

Individual Results

First Level Test 1
1st - Emily Henderson AU, 69.33%
2nd – Laura Borges AU, 67.00%
3rd – Erin Hudson SAPC, 66.67%
4th – Laura Thompson AU, 65.33%
5th – Donna Fowble SAPC, 65.33%
6th – Charlotte Holt NCSU, 64.67%

Training Level Test 3
1st – Lindsey Agaliotis SAPC, 70.00%
2nd – Shannon Stone AU, 68.8%
3rd – Elizabeth Clapper AU, 68.8%
4th – William Robertson AU, 66.8%
5th - Lizzie Kennelly FU, 63.6%
6th – Andrea Massa NCSU, 62.8%

Training Level Test 1
1st – Valerie Harr AU, 72.17%
2nd – Jessie Hayes AU, 71.30%
3rd – Christina Fiebeck AU, 67.83%
4th – Lauren Parker SAPC, 65.65%
5th – Olivia Taylor SAPC, 64.35%
6th – Paige Tillison SAPC, 63.90%

Introductory Test B
1st – Cat Rock AU, 71.5%
2nd – Lindsey Baker AU, 69.0%
3rd – Kacie Meyers SAPC, 67.0%
4th – Wendeline Shea NCSU, 64.0%
5th – Ashley Farmer FU, 63.5%
6th – Jenna Rash SAPC, 63.5%

Regional Team Standings
SAPC - 11
Averett - 11
NCSU - 8
Furman - 6

Friday, November 12, 2010

November Happenings

Pebbles, Megan and four seniors just returned from the NARHA conference in Denver CO. From all accounts the conference was very educational for all attendees and allowed the seniors to make many contacts in the TH industry.

This weekend Jackie & Carla are taking 14 riders to the Averett IDA show on Saturday, Ashley and the IHSA team travel to UNC Wilmington on Sunday and Lindsey is taking a couple of rider to the hunter derby in Greensboro.

Next weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy as well with the SAPC IDA Show & Western Open House on Saturday and a Western IHSA show on Sunday.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Results of SAPC IHSA Show Oct 30th

St. Andrews team remains in 1st place in the Region by 8 points. Katie Hansen remains 1st in Cacchione Cup Standings in the region followed by Rob Jacobs in 2nd Place.

10/30/10 show results
High Point Team - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill - 41
Reserve High Point Team - St. Andrews Presbyterian College - 39

High Point Rider - Audrey Bolte - St. Andrews
Reserve High Point Rider - Marion Price - NC State

Individual Results for St. Andrews Riders:

Walk Trot Canter - Shiloh Kozlowski - 1st Place
Alex King - 2nd Place

Beginning Walk Trot Canter - Leah Davison - 2nd Place
Brittany Powell - 3rd Place

Advanced Walk Trot Canter - Angela Gaskins - 3rd Place
Sarah Jones - 3rd Place
Paula Kramer - 3rd Place

Novice Flat - Tara Algeri - 1st Place
Jodi Brinn - 1st Place
Jenn Callahan - 1st Place
Missy Hughes - 1st Place
Katie Mentzel - 2nd Place
Andrew Michael - 2nd Place
Karen Gruninger - 3rd Place
Amanda Massengale - 3rd Place
Park Hoey - 4th Place

Novice Over Fences - Audrey Bolte - 1st Place
Alie McGraw - 6th Place

Intermediate Flat - Kayla McBath - 1st Place
Kim Graves - 3rd Place

Intermediate Over Fences - Keli Van Den Heuval - 2nd Place
Andrew Michael - 3rd Place

Open Flat - Audrey Bolte - 1st Place
Rob Jacobs - 1st Place
Katie Hansen - 3rd Place
Audrey Hayden - 3rd Place

Open Over Fences - Kim Graves - 2nd Place
Katie Hansen - 4th Place
Rob Jacobs - 4th Place

Successful Weekend for IDA Team!

Intercollegiate dressage is about showing off the horse you draw to the best of his/her ability. Some horses move better than others, some are tense or nervous, some are a little lazy and some are just plain hard to figure out! The IDA team demonstrated true horsemanship at this weekend’s NCSU IDA show with every horse they drew. Each rider brought out the best in the horse they drew showing off the horse’s gaits, riding accurately and demonstrating their own solid foundation.

We were blessed with a beautiful fall day and also enjoyed the company of many parents and non-competing team members. The NCSU dressage team hosted the show at Bridgette MacNair’s Buckhorn Farm in Apex, NC. All of the horses were loaned by either Bridgett or her customers and we are truly grateful for their generosity.

At the end of the day the two SAPC teams were first and second with SAPC riders also winning each of the four divisions. Senior Jenna Rash beat out Paige Tillison for High Point rider for the day with a score of 71% to Paige’s 70.896%.





Results of NCSU IDA Oct 31st.

Team Results
1st SAPC Team A,Team Average 68.978%
2nd SAPC Team B, Team Average 67.133%
3rd Averett Team A Team Average 65.877%
4th NCSU Team B, Team Average 65.094%
5th Averett Team B, Team Average 63.795%
6th NCSU Team A, Team Average 62.92%
7th Furman Team A, Team Average 61.736%

Regional Standings
SAPC 7 pts.
Averett 5 pts.
NCSU 4 pts.
Furman 3 pts.

Individual Competition
First Level Test 1
1st Erin Hudson, SAPC 67.666%, 7 pts.
2nd Charlotte Holt, NCSU 66.000%*, 5 pts.
3rd Donna Fowble, SAPC 66.000%* 4 pts.
4th Emily Henderson, Averett, 63.666%, 3 pts.
5th Ellen Shaw, NCAU, 63.000%, 2 pts.
6th Laura Thompson, 61.333%, 1 pt.

Training Level Test 3
1st Lindsey Agaliotis, SAPC 68.4%, 7 pts.
2nd Andrea Tito, SAPC 64.4%*, 5 pts.
3rd Shannon Stone, Averett 64.4%*, 4 pts.
4th Krytynna Hunsinger, Averett 64.4%*, 3 pts.
5th Andrea Massa, NCSU 58.8%, 2 pts.
6th Elizabeth Kenelly, Furman 57.6% 1 pt.

Training Level Test 1
1st Paige Tillison, SAPC 70.869% 7 pts. Reserve High Point Rider
2nd Christina Fiebeck, Averett, 69.565%, 5 pts.
3rd Lane Daley, NCSU 66.956%, 4 pts.
4th Valerie Harr, Averett 65.652%, 3 pts.
5th Cassie Uricchio, NCSU 64.782%, 2 pts.
6th Katie Coleman, Furman 62.608%, 1 pt.

Introductory Level B
1st Jenna Rash, SAPC 71.000%, 7 pts. High Point Rider
2nd Ashley Farmer, Furman 65.000%*, 5 pts.
3rd Hannah Firth, SAPC 65.000%* 4 pts.
4th Jennifer Cooke, NCSU 64.5% 3pts.
5th Cat Rock, Averett 60.500% 2 pts.
6th Wendeline Shea 60.000% 1 pt.



* Tie broken by rider coefficient or if that was tied by the judge.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Results of IHSA Hunter Seat Show at Duke 10/24

IHSA Hunter seat attended the show at Duke University. It was a long day for everyone with our team ending up in fifth place. There was only an 8 point difference between the top 5 teams.

St. Andrews remains in the lead for the region with a 10 point lead and Katie Hansen remains is 1st place in the Cacchione Cup standings for the region. The team hopes to get back on top at the Hunter Seat show being held at St. Andrews this coming Saturday, October 30.

Complete results for St. Andrews riders are:
Leah Davison - 2nd Place Beginner Walk Trot Canter
Brittany Powell - 4th Beginner Walk Trot Canter
Angela Gaskins - 2nd Advanced Walk Trot Canter
Caitlin Karolak - 2nd Advanced Walk Trot Canter
Amanda Liguori - 4th Advanced Walk Trot Canter
Miranda Wright - 1st Advanced Walk Trot Canter
Jodi Brinn - 1st - Novice Flat
Jennifer Callahan - 2nd - Novice Flat
Karen Gruninger - 1st - Novice Flat
Aurelia Phillips - 2nd - Novice Flat
Kali Cram - 3rd - Novice Over Fences
Alie McGraw - 1st - Novice Over Fences
Kim Graves - 3rd - Intermediate Flat
Kayla McBath - 4th - Intermediate Flat
Andrew Michael - 4th - Intermediate Over Fences
Audrey Bolte - 2nd - Open Flat
Katie Hansen - 2nd - Open Flat
Audrey Hayden - 1st - Open Flat
Rob Jacobs - 4th - Open Flat
Katie Hansen - 3rd - Open Over Fences
Rob Jacobs - 2nd - Open Over Fences

Monday, October 25, 2010

More SUS Pictures






















Another Big Weekend!

Wow! Did we have a fun weekend! Showing Under the Stars was as much fun as I thought it would be. We had Batman & Joker, Little Bo-Peep, a Knight in Shining Armor, a Medic, a Spaceship, a Hummer, and Max dressed up as Santa. Amazing creativity from all participants! The pictures at the bottom are by Shannon Leggett. In addition to the costume class the community riders did a demonstration (check out the picture of Kate McDavid and Timmy), Andrea Tito did a western themed dressage freestyle, and we had the traditional western pleasure, dressage seat equitation and hunter flat and over fences classes. Thank you to Bridgett Hutchens for judging Friday night and Mike Kryszak for announcing.

On Saturday we welcomed a lot of folks to SAPC for Open House. In addition to the usual activities hunter seat and dressage riders had the opportunity to ride for the coaches. Lots of folks stayed to chat with the instructors, equestrian faculty and some even stayed to watch Ashley’s team practice. We really enjoyed meeting everyone and are looking forward to the next open house Nov 20th which will be a riding open house for western and also the same day as our SAPC IDA show.
Sunday Ashley and Carla accompanied the IHSA hunt seat team to Duke. It was a long day for everyone with our team ending up in fifth place. Complete results will be posted shortly.

Next weekend SAPC hosts IHSA Hunter Seat on Saturday and Sunday the IDA Team travels to NCSU for our first show of the season.





Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Showing Under the Stars - Halloween Edition!

Showing Under the Stars - Halloween Edition Friday at 4:00 p.m. (this bloggers favorite horse show of the year!) Come out and see some fabulous costumes, we have a very creative group of students and staff who are planning some wild and crazy costumes. After the parade we will have classes for hunt seat, western and dressage and also a class for our community program riders, its going to be a great evening!

The weekend continues with Riding Open House for Hunt Seat and Dressage on Saturday and the IHSA Hunter Seat team travelling to Duke on Sunday.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Results of IHSA show at UNC - Chapel Hill

UNC - Chapel Hill IHSA Hunter show 10/16/10 results:
High Point Team
St. Andrews Presbyterian College - 44
Reserve High Point Team
NC State - 39

High Point Rider
Lauren Bongers - UNC - Charlotte
Reserve High Point Rider
Katie Hansen - St. Andrews

St. Andrew rider results:
Blake Liljestrand - Walk Trot - 1st Place
Leah Davison - Beg. Walk Trot Canter - 3rd Place
Miranda Wright - Adv. Walk Trot Canter - 1st Place
Jennifer Callahan - Novice Flat - 2nd Place
Kali Cram - Novice Flat - 2nd Place
Alex Fullerton - Novice Flat - 3rd Place
Audrey Bolte - Novice Over Fences - 2nd Place
Sami Cram - Novice Over Fences - 1st Place
Kim Graves - Intermediate Flat - 4th Place
Andrew Michael - Intermediate Over Fences - 3rd Place
Audrey Bolte - Open Flat - 1st Place
Katie Hansen - Open Flat - 1st Place
Audrey Hayden - Open Flat - 4th Place
Rob Jacobs - Open Flat - 2nd Place
Katie Hansen - Open Over Fences - 1st Place
Rob Jacobs - Oopen Over Fences - 4th Place

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Vicki Kelley Clinic

Vicki Kelley spent Sat. morning with us sharing ideas and drilling riders on lateral suppleness. Every transition had to be balanced and connected resulting in improved performance from all the horses.

In the picture below: Donna Fowble on Astaire, Lindsey Agaliotis on Corky, Megan Ellis on Marcus and Katherine Kaltenbach on Gordon. Photo by Casey Curtis.

IHSA Team wins at UNC - Chapel Hill


IHSA Zone 4 Region 3’s Hunter Seat Show on October 16, 2010 was hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill at the beautiful and historic Quail Roost Farm in Rougemont, NC. The setting was pastoral, the horses were saintly, the food was delicious, and southern hospitality abounded on a beautiful October day.

The competition was friendly, supportive, and lively. Riders from seven of our eight schools won blue ribbons! The top four schools were within 7 points of each other when the day was done. St. Andrews was the Champion Team with 44 points, NC State University was the Reserve Champion Team with 39 points, Duke University was third with 38 points, and host school UNC-Chapel Hill was fourth with 37 points. The other schools in order of finish were UNC-Charlotte, Coastal Carolina University, UNC-Wilmington, and East Carolina University.

Special thank you to the Hill family for allowing us to visit Quail Roost Farm, Kate Gage for her endless work in managing the show, the entire UNC-Chapel Hill team and the parents of so many team riders who worked at the show.

Our next show is October 24 at Ginny Rollin’s Echo Creek Farm in Hillsborough, NC hosted by the Duke University Equestrian Team.

Monday, October 4, 2010

IHSA Western Team Leads Region After Four Shows!

Coach Carla and the Western Team travelled to NC State for 2 western shows this weekend. Coach Carla just returned from 10 days as a reining steward at the WEG. (She had a great time and represented SAPC to an international audience) Torre Edgerly stepped in to coach the team in Carla's absence and must be commended for preparing them well for the weekend.


TEAM STANDINGS

St. Andrews 122
North Carolina State 115
Virginia Tech 89
North Carolina A & T 63
Martin Community 24
Western Carolina 6
High Point University 3

AQHA High Point Standings
Kelsey Moody - SAPC 38
Kody Zaagman - NCSU 35
Maggie Gregg - VT 23
Brandon Armwood – NC A&T 16
Brittney Nelson – NC A&T 11
Ethan Hefner - NCSU 9
Blair Childress - NCSU 8
Brittany Spears - NCSU 7

Complete results from the shows this weekend:
http://www.sapc.edu/Equest/comp_ops/competitionresults.php

Results of IHSA Hunter Seat Show Oct 2nd


IHSA Hunter Seat Team Oct 2nd, 2010


St. Andrews - High Point Team 47; UNC - Chapel Hill - Reserve High Point Team 38


Audrey Bolte - SAPC - High Point Rider - 14; Alex Duffy - NC State - Reserve High Point Rider

11 St. Andrews Individual Riders:
Walk Trot - Leara Auci - 1st Place

Beg. Walk, Trot, Canter - Leah Davison - 1st Place, Brittany Powell - 2nd Place

Adv. Walk, Trot, Canter - Angela Gaskins - 2nd Place Miranda Wright - 1st Place

Novice Flat - Jodi Brinn - 1st Place, Jennifer Callahan - 2nd Place, Sami Cram - 2nd Place, Katy Hutchings - 2nd Place, Catherine McDowell - 1st Place, Katie Mentzel - 1st Place

Novice Over Fences - Audrey Bolte - 1st Place, Kali Cram - 1st Place

Intermediate Flat - Kim Graves - 1st place

Open Flat - Audrey Bolte - 1st Place, Audrey Hayden - 1st Place

Open Over Fences - Katie Hansen - 1st Place, Rob Jacobs - 1st Place

Sunday, October 3, 2010

First IHSA Hunter Seat Show for 2010 - 2011 Year


Audrey Bolte High Point Rider for SAPC

The IHSA Hunter Seat Team and Coach Ashley Duda cleaned up Saturday earning 47 out of a possible 49 points to win the Championship Ribbon and a substantial lead in our region. Audrey Bolte earned high point rider with two wins in the Open Flat and Novice over Fences divisions.

The show ran very smoothly with comfortable fall temps. and bright sunny weather. Horses who normally participate in western and dressage augmented the hunt seat string and all were impeccably behaved – even Profound! Dale and his crew had the ring prepared to perfection, Heather kept the show running from the announcer’s booth, Lindsey and Katherine had the paddock under control, Jackie and Megan worked at the draw table, Marsha tabulated the scores, Pebbles and the TH club provided concessions, Kellie and Natalie had the barn running efficiently, Riding Council and all its members had the horses beautifully prepared and ready for every class and Peggy of course was everywhere trouble shooting and problem solving.

Meanwhile, Carla and the Western IHSA team held practice and then headed to Raleigh for their own shows.

Complete results soon!

Friday, October 1, 2010

IHSA Shows

We have a busy weekend planned for our IHSA teams. Saturday is our first IHSA hunter seat show of the year. The coach’s meeting is at 9:00 and the show itself starts at 10:00. Looking forward to welcoming riders and coaches from Duke University, East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina - Charlotte, North Carolina University – Wilmington.

The IHSA western team travels to NCSU for back to back shows Saturday evening and Sunday.

Go Knights!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Bad Blogger

I have been a bad blogger lately. Since school started life has been hectic. Classes, lessons and Showing Under The Stars are just a few of the things that have kept us busy in the first few weeks of the Fall Semester. This past weekend we hosted back to back IHSA Western shows on Saturday and Sunday. Overall, the western team came out ahead and now lead the region with 4 points. The shows could not have gone more smoothly. The students and staff worked hard to put on well organized shows that ran with limited problems, well turned out horses and prepared riders. The SAPC Relay for Life Team provided concessions, Doug Glass’s Entrepreneurship class sold ribbon belts, and Mike Morton helped us out as announcer. A good weekend for everyone!

Next weekend Lindsey is taking riders to Camden to show and I think the rest of us get to take a breather. The following weekend Oct 2nd is our first IHSA Hunter Seat Show.

Results of the Western Show
SATURDAY, 09/18/10High Point School - North Carolina State Univ. - 33 Points Reserve High Point School - St. Andrews - 31 Points
High Point Rider - Kody Zaagman - NC State
Reserve High Point Rider - Kelsey Moody - St. Andrews

First Place Riders for SAPC:
Shannon Leggett - Advanced Horsemanship
Audrey Bolte - Advanced Horsemanship

Second Place Riders for SAPC:
Jake Nix - Intermediate I Horsemanship
Andrea Tito - Novice Horsemanship

SUNDAY, 09/19/10
High Point School - St. Andrews - 35
Reserve High Point - NC State - 30
High Point Rider - Kody Zaagman - NC State
Reserve High Point - Maggie Gregg - Va. Tech

First Place Riders for SAPC:
Shelley Whittemore - Beginner Horsemanship (also now qualified for Regional Show)
Amber Powell - Beginner Horsemanship (on her birthday too)
Andrea Velez - Intermediate Horsemanship I
Brittany Powell - Intermediate Horsemanship II
Andrea Tito - Novice Horsemanship
Kelsey Moody - Open Horsemanship

Second Place riders for SAPC:
Alex Meyer - Novice Horsemanship

Jake Nix on Coosa & Kelsey Moody in Reining


Thursday, August 5, 2010

FALL 2010

Today the forecast is for temperatures of 100 plus depending on where you get your weather from. I have seen as high as 106 and that is without the heat index. Needless to say it is toasty in the Burg! With temps like that Carla and Dale left at 2:00 a.m. for Camp Seafarer to bring home the first load of camp horses. Tomorrow Dale and I go to Roaring Gap to pick up the lucky ones that spent the summer in the mountains, are they in for temperature shock! The horses from Camp Rockbrook start returning this weekend and then we have one more trip to Seafarer around the 15th and the Camp Keystone horses to return.

The barns have been pressure washed and cleaned and the staff is busy getting ready for the fall semester. We are looking forward to meeting the freshmen class as well as having the upperclassmen back.

Over the summer we had some staff changes. Stephanie relocated to Raleigh to work at the NCSU Veterinary School. She took Celtic with her and we wish her all the best with her new job. Torre has also moved on although she will be coming back to help Carla with the western team. We will miss both Stephanie and Torre.

Moving forward we have reorganized a little. Lindsay has accepted additional responsibilities (in addition to serving as the show team coach, boarder liaison and instructor) she now also serves as the Barn Coordinator. This role involves ordering feed, supplies etc, scheduling the assistant barn managers, and keeping records. I will be helping her in a mentoring role. Kellie will serve as Assistant Barn Manager for the lesson barn and also oversee work study for the entire facility. We are thrilled to have hired Natalie Norwood as Assistant Barn Manager for the Boarders/TH barn. Natalie will also serve as the medical liaison and assist Dr. Kellam with horse health care. Finally, Katherine Laughlin has accepted a Riding Fellow position. She will be working closely with the Assistant Barn Managers.

As previously mentioned Liz Harris Adams has moved to Old Lyme, CT to work at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Inc. and Megan Ellis has taken over the role of the Ride-Like-A-Knight Therapeutic Riding Director.

We are all looking forward to having the students back and getting started with the fall semester.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Kelsey Moody competes in the NCAA/IHSA Reining Championship NRHA Derby

Kelsey Moody placed 9th in the NCAA/IHSA Reining Championship NRHA Derby sponsored by the National Reining Horse Association. The competition was held June 19 – 26 in Oklahoma City and coaches Carla Wennburg and Ashley Duda were onsite to support Kelsey. Carla is an FEI steward for reining and was working the event in an official capacity. Ashley took time out from her summer of studying in Kansas to attend the show. Kelsey qualified for the Derby at IHSA Nationals held this May in Lexington, Kentucky. This head to head competition is unique in that it brings students from IHSA and NCAA schools into direct competition. Western is currently the only discipline to offer this type of intercollegiate competition. “Kelsey rose to the occasion and rode great,” said Carla, “the mare was very sensitive and her stops were not the greatest, but Kelsey gave her a first class ride.”

Friday, June 4, 2010

New Leadership for RLAK program

The end of May and all the horses are safely delivered to their summer homes. The ones that remain have been consolidated to the Boarder’s Barn side and the maintenance crew has begun the task of cleaning the lesson barn. The western barn will have to wait for a few more days as we have horses and riders staying in that barn for a four day clinic. Lindsay is doing the majority of the teaching, but I was excited to teach 2 flat lessons this morning. The group is from Tally Ho Equestrian Center in Timmonsville, SC led by SAPC alum Katrina Brown Hutto.

The end of May brings a change to the TH program. Liz Harris Adams, who has been at SAPC for 13 years, first as a student and then as the Director of the Ride-Like-A-Knight TH program has accepted a position with High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Inc. in Old Lyme CT. We are sad to see Liz move on but wish her every success in her new position.

Megan Ellis will be taking over the reins of the RLAK program. Megan has served as an assistant barn manager for the last two years as well as assisting Liz with the RLAK program.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Time for Camp!

May is always a challenge with virtually all the students gone (Amber – thank you for staying!) and all the horses still in residence. This week we started shipping horses out to the various summer camps. Monday Peggy, Dale and I hauled 8 up to Roaring Gap Country Club near to Mt. Airy. Heather and Betsy are spending the summer with the horses running the riding program and staying cool in the Mountains.

Yesterday Carla and Ashley made the first of two trips to Camp Seafarer in Arapahoe, NC. They hauled 12 horses and tomorrow Lindsay and I will take another 12. Katie Lavery is heading up that program. Sarah Rhymer also works for Camp Seafarer so they will be in good hands. Jessica from Camp Keystone in Brevard NC picked up five horses on Monday and another 20 or so will shipping commercially to Camp Rockbrook in Brevard over the weekend. Cara Thompson is running the Rockbrook program as she has done for the past several summers. That should bring the numbers down to a manageable amount for the barn managers during June and July. Next project…pressure washing the barns!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

IHSA Western Final Results

Congratulations to Coach Carla Wennburg and the IHSA Western Team on their third place at IHSA Nationals. On the final day Brittany Powell placed 2nd in Intermediate Western Horsemanship and Kelsey Moody was 3rd in the Open Rail Horsemanship resulting in 18 points for SAPC and a tie for third place with Middle Tennessee State.

Individuals Megan Stiles placed second in Intermediate Western Horsemanship and Shannon Leggett placed 6th in Novice Western Horsemanship. Yesterday Kelsey placed 2nd in individual Open Western Horsemanship. Congratulations to all SAPC IHSA riders on a job well done – Go Knights!

IHSA Western Team Update

SAPC western team lies in 4th place going into the final day at IHSA Nationals. Leah Davidson placed 4th in the Team Beginner Western Horsemanship and Kelsey Moody was 9th in the open reining. This gives the Knights 9 points right behind Berry College with 10 points. Ohio State has 20 points and Findlay 22 points.

There are 3 more classes to be decided today. Good luck to Kelsey and Brittany riding for the team and Megan and Shannon riding as individuals today! Go Knights!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Graduation

The weather was kind for graduation, although it was hot there was a good breeze which helped keep things cool. Many alums, current students as well as family and friends were on site to share the joy of graduation. Pebbles was recognized as distinguished faculty for this year during the ceremony. This is an honor that is reserved for faculty members that have made a difference not only in the lives of their students, but have served as mentors and leaders for their colleagues as well as serving the college in multiple capacities. Pebbles is in good company, the other professor recognized this year was Dick Prust for his 40+ years of service and leadership.

Kelsey Moody placed 3rd in NRHA Individual Open Reining at IHSA nationals today, waiting on IHSA updates for team placings from today.

Friday, May 7, 2010

IHSA Update

Kelsey Moody placed 8th in AQHA Western High Point Rider Phase 1 with 72 points in a class of 22 riders. Megan Stiles placed 3rd in AQHA Novice Western Horsemanship and Kayla Hay was 5th in the AQHA Advanced Western Horsemanship. This gives the SAPC western team 6 points and a tie for third place with Middle TN State behind Findlay with 11 points and Ohio State with 8 points. Still to show for the team Kelsey in the Open Reining, Leah in the Beginner Western Horsemanship (they ride Sat.); Brittany in the Intermediate Western Horsemanship and Kelsey in the Open Rail Horsemanship (showing Sunday).

Good luck to all SAPC IHSA finalists, Coach Carla Wennburg and the Western Team this weekend. We’ll be thinking about you as we graduate the class of 2010!

IHSA & Graduation

Instructors, students and horses are representing SAPC at IHSA Nationals at the Kentucky Horse Park this weekend. Dill, Glenn, Happy, LJ, Tony and Sailor shipped out early this week to participate in the national championships. Heather drove out solo to meet the commercial shipper and Ashley, Peggy, Lindsay, Carla and our riders joined them the next day.

Thursday Audrey Bolte placed 3rd in the Individual Intermediate Equitation on the Flat and Jenn Callahan was 8th in the Individual Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation. Today Kelsey Moody, Megan Stiles and Kayla Hay compete in the AQHA High Point Rider Rail Phase, the AQHA Novice Western Horsemanship and the AQHA Advanced Western Horsemanship respectively. Over the weekend Kelsey will be competing in the NRHA Individual Open Reining and the AQHA Open Reining. Leah Davidson will ride in the AQHA Beginner Western Horsemanship, Brittany Powell competes in the AQHA Intermediate Western Horsemanship, Megan rides in the Individual Intermediate Western Horsemanship and Shannon Leggett will show in the Individual Novice Western Horsemanship.

Meanwhile at home we are getting ready for graduation and the end of the semester. Horses that are going home with students are shipping out, the boarders are leaving and the barn staff is down to the bare bones – barn managers and any willing volunteers that they can find! Tonight is baccalaureate and tomorrow’s graduation will be followed by a lunch for graduates involved in the equestrian program in the party palace. (One last chance to enjoy Pebble’s brownies and the staff’s cooking!)

Graduation is always bitter sweet – we are excited to celebrate our student’s success as they go out into the world, but sad to see our friends leave as they move onto the next phase of their life’s journey.

Monday, April 26, 2010

IDA Nationals Wrap Up

St. Andrews hosted the Intercollegiate Dressage Association National Championships this weekend at the Equestrian Center. Please congratulate Greta Friesen on her 5th place in First Level Test Four. Greta worked hard to qualify for Nationals at the highest level offered and she rode to the best of her ability today. Riders must qualify for these championships. IDA has 54 member schools and over 600 members. 20 schools and 70 individuals were represented at the championships with competitors traveling from all over the country from as far away as California and even two riders from Canada.


Carla says that “it takes a village” and organizing a show of this caliber certainly falls into that category. Members of the IDA team and event management interns worked tirelessly to prepare the horses and the facility. IHSA team members and the TH club supported their fellow equestrians at workdays, during the Highland Games on Friday and throughout the weekend. Our students raised nearly $1,000 in sponsorships for the show. They assisted in program design and preparation, provided entertainment, served as liaisons for vendors and competitors and worked with the caterers, the photographer, IDA officials and served as scribes for the judges. In short our students rose to the occasion and served as leaders and team players.


Thank you to everyone who helped with this weekend’s national championships. Everything ran smoothly even when the weather threatened to “rain on our parade” early this morning.


Our students were great ambassadors for SAPC this weekend, please congratulate them when you see them.


To see pictures of this weekend's events go to

http://www.fairfieldphoto.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery= 21780

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Individual Results - Introductory Level Test B

1. Averi Frederiksen, Virginia Intermont – 69.25
2. Lauren Sweezey, Otterbein College – 67.75
3. Jennifer Durden, Johnson and Wales – 64.25
4. Katie Lopresti, Averett University – 64.0
5. Allison McGee, University of New Hampshire – 63.75 – tb win
6. Sarah Pizzie, Delaware Valley- 63.75
7. Amanda Ross, Mt. Holyoke- 62.5
8. Megan Marcinkewicz, Lake Erie College – 62.0
9. Rachel Yeo, Michigan State – 59.5
10. Emily Shannon, University of Florida – 58.25
11. Diane Susdorf, University of Findlay- 57.5
12. Michelle Berry, Stanford University- 56.75

Individual Results - Training Level Test Two

1. Claire Almon, Virginia Intermont – 70.36
2. Patty Muench, University of New Hampshire – 69.11
3. Abby Zezeski, Virginia Tech – 68.21
4. Mary Applegate, Albion College – 66.43
5. Kim van Der Weijde, University of Florida – 66.25
6. Julie McNellis, Johnson and Wales – 66.07
7. Chelsea Killiner, Delaware Valley – 65.18
8. Brianna Stonick, University of Massachusetts – 64.64
9. Kaitlin Allen, University of Findlay – 63.04
10. Sarah Roney, University of Guelph – 60.36
11. Colleen Grant, Otterbein – 59.29
12. Lauren Quincy, California Polytechnic - 59.11

Individual Results - Training Level Test 4

1. Kaitlin Young, Michigan State – 72.60
2. Dylan Handy, University of Findlay - 72
3. Laura Thompson, Averett – 69.2
4. Nick Blieler, Delaware Valley - 68
5. Sarah Singleton, Central Michigan - 67
6. Casey Hoatson, University of New Hampshire – 66.6
7. Kayla Burroughs, Johnson and Wales - 65.4
8. Taylor Ruth, University of Florida – 63.4
9. Shoshana Lucich, Mt. Holyoke – 62.8
10. Emma Heald, Otterbein – 61.20
11. Brianna Husby, California Polytechnic – 60.60
12. Gigi Good, Virginia Intermont - 60.60

Individual Results - First Level Test 4

1. Jessica Forend, Johnson and Wales - 66.71
2. Lindsey Carmack, University of Findlay – 65.66
3. Eliz Mirson, Virginia Intermont – 65.26
4. Mary Evert, Otterbein – 65.13
5. Greta Friesan, St. Andrews - 64.87
6. Johanna McKeen, University of Guelph - 64.61
7. Nichole Garder, Delaware Valley – 64.34
8. Alavia Rizzi, University of Florida - 62.89
9. Choloe Cosonove, Johnson and Wales – 62.63
10. Caroline Fowler, Oberlin - 61.97
11. Meredith Baker, Mt. Holyoke -57.89
12. Katrina Faris, California Polytechnic – 57.76

Saturday, April 24, 2010

IDA Nationals Pictures

You can view pictures of IDA Nationals at Fairfield Photography.

http://www.fairfieldphoto.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery= 21780

Team Results

1. Virginia Intermont - 37
2. University of Florida – 33 * tb winner 65.37%
3. Virginia Tech. – 33 – * tb 65.26%
4. University of Findlay – 33 – 64.70%
5. Mt. Holyoke - 31
6. Johnson and Wales - 29
7. Delaware Valley - 25
8. California Polytechnic - 24
9. Otterbein - 22
10. University of New Hampshire - 21
11. Albion- 17
12. Michigan State University - 11

Team Competition - Results of Introductory Level Test B

1. Amanda Ross, Mt. Holyoke-71.5
2. Daine Susdorf, University of Findlay – 67.25
3. Kelly London,Cal Polytechnic -66.25
4. Ariel Smith, University of Florida – 65.5
5. Carra Barskey, Virginia Tech - 64.25
6. Sarah Pizzie, Delaware Valley- 64.0
7. Lauren Sweezy, Otterbein – 63.5
8. Allison McGee, University of New Hampshire – 63.00
9. Chelsea Dressler, Virginia Intermont – 62.75
10. Megan Sharalier, Michigan State – 61.5
11. Allyson Olson, Albion – 58.5
12. Jennifer Durden, Johnson and Wales – 57.0

Team Competition - Results of Training Level Test One

1. Patty Muench, University of New Hampshire – 69.78
2. Claire Almon, Virginia Intermont – 68.48
3. Kim Van Der Weigle, University of Florida – 68.04
4. Julie McNeils, Johnson and Wales – 66.09 tb winner
5. Macy Drinkhause, Otterbein – 66.09
6. Rachel Knopf, California Polytechnic-65.65
7. Mignon Johnston, Mt. Holyoke – 65.43
8. Mary Applegate, Albion - 64.35
9. Christy Jones, Virginia Tech – 63.48
10. Chelsea Killinger, Delaware Valley – 63.04
11. Kaitlin Allen, University of Findlay – 60.43
12. Jayne Bailey, Michigan State University – 58.48

Team Competition - Results of First Level Test Three

1. Dylan Handy, University of Findlay – 70.4
2. Gigi Good, Virginia Intermont – 69.0
3. Caroline Johansen, University of Florida – 68.8
4. Heather Ryan, Johnson and Wales – 67.2
5. Anna Graves, Virginia Tech – 67.0
6. Nick Bleiler, Delaware Valley – 66.2
7. Kaitlin Young, Michigan State University – 63.8
8. Allison Robins, Albion – 63.2 tb winner
9. Kaitlin Spak, Cal Poly – 63.2
10. Shoshana Lucich, Mount Holyoke – 61.0
11. Emma Heald, Otterbein – 59.4
12. Casey Hoatson, University of New Hampshire - 59.2

Team Competition - First Level Test Three Results

1 Erin Bullard, VA Tech, Benji, 66.29
2 Elizabeth Mirson, VA Intermont, Benji, 66.14
3 Jessica Forend, Johnson & Wakes, Tate, 66
4 Merideth Baker, Mt. Holyoke, Abraxis, 64.71
5 Nichole Gardner, Delaware Valley, Abraxis, 64.14
6 Lindsey Carmack, Findlay, Leggs, 60.71
7 Mary Evert, Otterbein, Tate, 59.57
8 Brittany White, Albion, Abraxis, 59.43
9 Leah Guidry, Florida, Benji, 59.14
10 Adrienne Klamt, Cal. Poly. Leggs, 58.86
11 Adriana Lafave, New Hampshire, Leggs, 55.14
12 Alex Adrian, Michigan State, Tate, 50.86

Friday, April 23, 2010

Horse Selection etc.

Horse selection went well for the team competition. We have 4 strong groups of well matched horses and several equally as strong alternates ready to go for tomorrow’s team competition!

After lunch, the teams participated in the Highland Games. Kilts, plaid shirts and sashes faced off in soccer, tug of war, sheep dog trials, caber tossing, hay throwing and designing and building their own version of the Loch Ness Monster!

After registration for the teams, folks went back to their hotels to clean up for dinner in the Party Palace. (The indoor belonging to our Ride-Like-A-Knight therapeutic horsemanship program.) Matching plaid shirts, berets, and creative outfits sat down to a variation of the Scottish staple Shepherd’s pie (a fabulous vege and cheese concoction), and traditional Carolina barbeque.

The annual meeting followed with updates on rule changes and the required election of officers. With business completed, the teams stepped out into the court yard for the team draw. A toned down duck pond (we are using the big one for the individual draw tomorrow) on the picnic table served us well.

Region I returned to the Party Palace for our Regional Awards. As well as the regional winners, we awarded the Regional Team Sportsmanship Award to East Carolina University and the regional horse of the year to Dan from Averett. Regional art contest winners were Liz Mirson from Virginia Intermont for her T – shirt design and Donna Fowble from St. Andrews for her program cover and poster design.

At 7:30 everyone met in Avinger Auditorium for Dawn Jensen’s presentation on Reining in Runaway Nerves: Understanding and Coping with Performance Anxiety.". What a great primer for the weekend!

Tomorrow the parade of horses starts at 7:30. The actual competition starts at 9:30.

IDA Nationals - Starts Today

IDA Nationals starts today with the horse selection at 9:00 a.m. This will be followed by the Highland Games at 1:00 p.m. which includes a caber toss, Gaelic dancing, and opportunities to play with Nessie the Lock Ness Monster. Registration for competitors starts at 3:00 p.m. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m. followed by the annual meeting and then everyone moves to Avinger auditorium for Dawn Jensen’s presentation "Reining in Runaway Nerves: Understanding and Coping with Performance Anxiety."

Tomorrow things get started early with the parade of team horses at 7:30, opening ceremonies, and competition beginning at 9:30 with First Level Test Three.

Results will be posted in this space during the weekend.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

First Ride - LIke - A - Knight Horse Show

This Saturday, April 17th, Ride - Like - A - Knight hosted its first horse show. The show was kicked off by a demonstration including jumping by Betsy Kaplan and her horse Tucker, Barrels by Kellie Garrabrant and her horse JJ, Vaulting with Big John and Heather Jackson and Kendall Fout as well as dressage with Greta Friesan and Leggs. Bailey also had a retirement ceremony, after 30 years service to the college and 14 years of service to the TH program he deserves it:) All riders performed a rail class and a trail class for judge Kellie Garrabrant with the guidance of announcer Mike Kryzsak (an alum working in the local school system). All the horses were the vision of perfection, receiving blue ribbons and metals for all riders they helped. Many families that had never been to the equestrian center where able to watch their children ride and enjoy the facility. Many thanks to all the volunteers and Megan Ellis who organized the event!

The ANRC team is at Sweet Briar College competing at the National Championships and those of us left at home are gearing up for IDA Nationals next week end.

Monday, March 29, 2010

SAPC Western IHSA Team Advances to Nationals in May!

Congratulations to Carla Wennburg and the IHSA Western team for placing second at this weekend’s semi finals hosted at SAPC and advancing to the National Championships, May 6 – 9 in Lexington, KY. Boy did we have a big weekend! Two full days of competition, a Pig Pickin Saturday evening and a nail biting finish placing us closely behind the current National Champions from the University of Findlay.

We also had three individuals advance to the National Championship, Kelsey Moody in both Open Horsemanship and Reining, Shannon Leggett in Novice Horsemanship and Megan Stiles in Intermediate Horsemanship. The complete results are posted on the SAPC Equestrian website.

The semi finals are held in three locations on the same weekend (the other two being in NY and CA). We had 100 riders from 22 schools competing for the opportunity to advance to Nationals. The show ran smoothly, our horses were wonderful, the students worked long hours to prepare the facility and the horses. (Two mornings with 6:00 a.m. or earlier starts makes for a long weekend!) NCSU, NC A & T, VA Tech, Jessica Rhymer Paige, and several other individuals loaned us a total of 18 horses – thank you all for your generosity with your horses. The individual classes were big with 14 riders in each class. Each rider performed a pattern as well as rail work and so these classes lasted a good hour. The team classes were smaller with one rider from each of the seven qualifying colleges representing their school.

The SAPC Equestrian team and staff really pulled together to put on a first class show. All the western team worked incredibly long hours to prepare the horses and the hunt seat and dressage teams rose to the occasion to help with clean up and horse holding. This weekend was a great example of the teamwork and peer support that SAPC is known for. As Carla likes to say, “It takes a village…”

Last big event at the Equestrian Center this semester is IDA Nationals, April 24 – 25.

Monday, March 22, 2010

March Update

Time flies in the spring! Spring break was a great catch up time for everyone involved with the Equestrian Program. March 8th the semester resumed with the Awards Convocation on Friday the 12th. Rachel Buckler was recognized by the Equine Studies department for her outstanding contributions to the equestrian program and Philip Ratchford was recognized for his leadership in the therapeutic riding program. Both these students have high GPAs and demonstrate in their daily lives what it means to be “in college”. Congratulations to our student leaders.

Scot Evans spent three days with hunt seat students and staff that weekend helping to prepare riders for IHSA Regionals and ANRC. He is always a breath of fresh air and inspires everyone to do their best. It was also parents weekend and we were delighted to host a reception at the Equestrian Center on Saturday evening. Greta Friesen’s Mom gets the award for the biggest surprise by flying in from Hawaii to be with Greta for the weekend. She arrived as the choir was preparing to sing at the Awards Convocation leaving her daughter almost speechless!

This weekend we were going in multiple directions again. Liz, Pebbles and 8 students travelled to West Virginia for the NARHA regional conference. The conference was hosted by Stonewall Resort provided excellent meals and hospitality for the participants. Speakers from all over the country including California and the Midwest presented on various subjects including recent research on human behavior and human mechanics in a therapeutic riding setting.

The dressage team went to a dressage show in Pinehurst and had a fun relaxing day, riding well and working on their Farmer’s tans! Hannah Soloway and Gordon and Jessica Cusaac and Nikkita earned good scores and ribbons at training level, Donna Fowble and Winston placed in 4th in First Level Test Two and Greta Friesen and Leggs placed 2nd in the upper level mixed division earning 65% in Fourth level Test One.

Meanwhile…back at the ranch Peggy, Ashley, Lindsay, Heather and Marsha had IHSA Hunt Seat Regionals. All the horses were superstars, the hunt seat and western teams did a fabulous job of preparing the facility and the horses; the show ran very smoothly with several riders qualifying for IHSA Zones in April. Congratulations to the following riders who will go to Virginia Tech April 11th to compete at the Zone finals to earn a spot at IHSA Nationals.

Leah Davison - 1st Place - Walk Trot
Jenn Callahan - 1st Place - Walk Trot Canter
Andrew Michael - 2nd Place - Novice over Fences
Audrey Bolte - 1st Place - Intermediate Flat
Rob Jacobs - 2nd Place - Intermediate Flat

This weekend we are hosting IHSA Western Semi Finals. This show runs for three days and is the qualifying event for IHSA Nationals in May. Carla and Torre and the western team are busily preparing the horses and Dale is getting the ring fixed for the reining horses. We also have an open house on Saturday so it should be anther busy weekend!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Spring Break is Here!

Thursday’s IDA show ran very smoothly, most of the horses behaved although Winston, Nikita and Clyde wanted to remind us that the older horses can spook with the best of them! SAPC riders had a great day and our Team B were the champions for the day!

SAPC Team B
Casey Curtis - 5th at First Level - 61.11%
Donna Fowble - 3rd Upper Training - 66.4%
Lindsay Agaliotis - 2nd Lower Training - 61.79%
Jessica Cusaac - 2nd Intro 70% and......Reserve High Point Rider!!!!!!!!!

Individual Results
Madison Webb - 3rd Lower Training - 61.43%
Lauren Parker - 6th Lower Training - 53.93%
Olivia Taylor - 5th Intro - 66%

Being the final IDA show of the regular season there was lot of pressure for those in contention for slots at Nationals. Greta Frisen from SAPC qualified for Nationals in the first level division. Virginia Intermont and Virginia Tech will represent region I in April at SAPC.

This weekend the ANRC squad is schooling at the Carolina Horse Park and the dressage team is showing in Pinehurst on Sunday. Next week is spring break which everyone is ready for! Looking forward March 13 – 14 we will be hosting a NARHA instructor workshop, a Scot Evans clinic and it is also parents weekend. The last two weekends in March will be filled with IHSA Regionals and Western Semi-Finals at SAPC.

Friday, February 19, 2010

February is Crazy!

So postings in February have not happened because we have been extremely busy! There has been at least one horse show every weekend sometimes two or three! The weather has caused shows to be postponed and times changed. In spite of that we have had a ton of competition and a lot of fun.

The IHSA hunt seat team hosted on Feb 6th, travelled to Elon on Feb 14th, and just returned from Virginia Intermont. SAPC was reserve champion at Virginia Intermont and 8 students qualified for regional finals which will be hosted at SAPC on March 20th

The IDA team travelled to Virginia Tech on Feb 8th, Averett on Feb 13th, are preparing to leave for Virginia Intermont tomorrow and are hosting on Thursday Feb 25th! The high point so far was Andrea Tito’s high point score of 74% in training level test 3 at Virginia Tech! Before leaving for Bristol tomorrow team members will ride in a clinic with Kris Hamilton in the morning. (The weather is finally going to be a tiny bit warmer – yeah!)


This next part was written by Equine Event Management Intern Karen Gruninger

Last weekend the St. Andrews Equestrian center hosted 2 regular season Western Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) shows on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday they hosted the Western Regional Finals. At all three horse shows the St. Andrews team was the High Point Team. The riders did very well and had many who qualified for Regionals and many who went on to qualify for Semi- Finals which will also be held at the St. Andrews Equestrian Center on March 26- 28. Kelsey Moody qualified in Open Horsemanship and Reining, and will represent St. Andrews in Kentucky at the National Championships for the High Point Rider Competition. Others who qualified for the Semi-Nationals by winning their classes are Shannon Leggett in Novice Horsemanship, Megan Stiles in Intermediate Horsemanship, and Kimmie Simonsen in Beginner Horsemanship.
Other highlights from the weekend include Alex Myers winning Intermediate Horsemanship II on Friday, Kimmie Simonsen winning the Intermediate Horsemanship I both Friday and Saturday, Tony Fernandez winning the Advanced Horsemanship on Friday and Megan Stiles winning the Novice Horsemanship on Friday. Also on Friday, Erica Hill won the Open Horsemanship and Kelsey Moody took third. On Saturday Kelsey Moody won both the Reining and the Open Horsemanship. In the Walk Jog class Leah Davidson took the class by storm. Many other riders from SAPC placed high as well throughout the weekend. The St. Andrews Equestrian center is proud to be able to host these events and thanks everyone who worked to make it run or came out to support and cheer on the riders.

Finally, spring break is just over a week away, I think everyone is more than ready for a breather before the craziness resumes!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Spring 2010

The first couple of weeks of spring classes have flown by. Ashley, Lindsay and six students returned from Florida on the 20th having had an educational and fun trip to Florida. The temperatures were cold and all riders except one were partnering with new horses . SAPCs Glen was champion both weeks with Audrey Bolte week one and Jodi Brinn in week two. Betsy Kaplan and her new horse Tucker were reserve in the same division. Rob Jacobs and his new ride Frankie won the 3’3” Adult Classic.

Also on that Monday many SAPC equestrians participated in the Martin Luther King day of service. This is a new event for the school and approx. 140 staff, faculty and students volunteered their time at local charities or for campus clean up. Service sites included the Red Cross, The Haven and Helping Hands Store. Students that were not involved in the day of service gave their time to their work study jobs.

The Laurinburg Exchange ran a great article summing up the long road to recovery for Focus the USERL rescue horse that was so badly hurt in a storm last May. Dr. Kellam spent many hours caring for this horse (including sleeping at the barn for many days), many other individuals have assisted in his care, area businesses donated supplies for his dressings and the best part of the story is that he has now been officially adopted by Jen Bruner. You can read the whole story at http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Horse+injured+in+storm+receives+community+support%20&id=5561562

This weekend we are hosting the first ever head-to-head competition with Duke. This is an unofficial competition for IHSA hunt seat riders and takes place on Sunday. Next weekend is the first IHSA western shows for this year. Two shows back to back on Saturday and Sunday.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

2009 Retrospective

The equestrian staff took a moment to reflect on some of the memorable events in 2009.

  • New enthusiastic and energetic staff members joined the equestrian staff in 2009.
  • Showing Under the Stars seems to be a staff favorite especially the Halloween edition where many of the staff join with students for the costume parade.
  • Rob Jacob’s win at the IHSA National Championships in the Novice Over Fences division was a moment to remember.
  • Every IHSA western team rider placed in their class at the National Championships.
  • IDA team qualified two riders (Greta Friesen and Lauren Parker) for the National Championships.
  • Restructuring saw the creation of the Equine Studies Department, chaired by Pebbles.
  • The successful creation and delivery of online classes in both Equine Business and Therapeutic Riding.


Horse wise we said goodbye to Gunsmoke (GQ), Jester, Kampari, and Tuffin. Satchmo retired to Shelby French’s farm in Sweet Briar and Wheels found a child locally in Laurinburg. (He actually lives with Mike Kryszak). Bobby Lou went to live at Ann Neal Thompson’s farm and Lucky found himself a family in the Hope Mills area and competes in dressage and jumping at local shows with his teenage owner.