IHSA National Championships 2014 - Day One

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

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

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

Western Reserve Champions in 2013

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

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

IHSA National Championships 2014

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

The Semester is Almost Over

The last week of classes flew by! Friday evening we had a pizza party for everyone that worked so hard at Western Semi-Finals. That event certainly required a lot of extra effort from everyone and the weather was not at all cooperative – Many thanks to all how made that huge weekend possible. Exams started Saturday and last night was the annual Rider’s Roast sponsored by Riding Council. This is a fun event that which gives everyone a break from studying. Exams continue all this week with the baccalaureate service on Friday at 4:00 and graduation on Saturday.

Kelsi and the ANRC team spent the weekend at Sweet Briar at the American National Riding Commission National Championships. This competition is very competitive and requires excellence in all areas. Neither the National or Novice team placed this year but both teams had good placings in the written phase which is part of this multi phase competition. Sophomore Kirsten Farley had this to say about the competition. "ANRC was definitely an intensely competitive show. There were 36 riders in Novice and 30 riders for the National teams. All of them brought their A game and it was a fun and new experience to go through. We rode our hearts out and had fun in the process."

Regi Barasch 8th in the National Team Medal Individually
Katy Hutchings 10th in the Written Phase Individually
Novice Team 4th in the Written Phase
National Team 6th in the Written Phase

Looking Forward to This Week
Tuesday the Hunter Seat and Western teams travel to Harrisburg, VA to compete in the IHSA National Championships. Liz Dulski and I are traveling with the teams to work the draw table so will be reporting on these events at the end of this week and over the week end.

Good luck to all our students with exams and to all competitors at IHSA.

Novice Team - Amy Wrozek, Katy Hutchings and Kirsten Farley

Written Phase Ribbons

Regi Barasch and Kemosabi

IDA National Championships 2014

I had the pleasure of travelling to Chatham, VA this weekend with five horses that we loaned to Averett University for IDA Nationals, which was hosted at the Olde Dominion Agricultural Center. We narrowly missed qualifying two of our riders and were beaten out of the wild card slot by higher scoring regions so were supporting Averett and IDA with our horses and students. 

Astaire, Alibaba, Jake, JB and Scot loaded up early Thursday morning with Abi, Claire, Megan, and Bridget to make the three hour drive. Lindsey and Elizabethe left a little later to do a circular tour to pick up one horse in Southern Pines and one in Raleigh. Thursday afternoon was dedicated to schooling and Friday was the horse selection. Our settled right into the horse show routine. Lindsey took charge of the barn routine and braiding while I took care of my duties as IDA Secretary/Treasurer. The five students worked together very well, sharing all the duties and assisting one another with stalls, hand grazing and grooming. 

By Saturday morning Astaire and Scot had been excused from the show. With almost 40 horses there were many that traveled and did not compete. This strategy paid off very well on Sunday for the team competition with so many to choose from to make the horse groups as fair as possible. 

Saturday the remaining three were braided and groomed beautifully for individual day. The horses were paraded by level prior to their division. The SAU team had JB and Alibaba  gleaming for upper training and Jake looked fabulous for the lower training division. On Sunday JB dropped down to lower training to help even out the horse groups. 

Averett put on a wonderful National competition with a rodeo theme, including cowboy boot center pieces at the Friday dinner and boot shaped name tags for the horses. Congratulations to Virginia Intermont on claiming the team championship for 2014. 

I was very happy with our horses and students all weekend. Everyone worked hard to support one another in what can be a tiring and thankless task – the life of a groom is not an easy one. The horses received excellent care and our team looked great all weekend in their SAU blue shirts. 

For me it was a wonderful opportunity to see my friends from the IDA Board and coaches from all over the country including California, New England, Louisiana and the Midwest as well as those that are closer. The competition is what brings us together each year, but it is the connection I have with like-minded people that makes this annual competition so enjoyable. Having the show in our region this year and taking horses was a wonderful experience for everyone involved. Next year Otterbein University takes on the challenge of hosting at their brand new facility.

Bridget and Alibaba

Jake with Abi and JB with Claire

Megan and Astaire

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

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

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