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.

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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!

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

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.

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.”

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

End of the Semester

Its exam week and things are winding down at the Equestrian Center. Monday evening several of us joined Carla’s Form to Function class for a presentation by Rob Jacobs. Rob recently did an internship with the Washington International Horse Show. He had a busy week in Washington updating the show’s webpage, facebook and twitter pages, taking video footage of the first horse arriving in the city, assisting with the organization of hospitality for sponsors, and even appearing on ABC News Channel 8 – live!

Tuesday evening a group spent a couple of hours packing about 200 boxes to be shipped overseas to soldiers. This tradition started 4 years ago and has become a highlight of the Christmas season. Carla’s Mom sponsors the project and collects tons of boxes. SAPC equestrians purchase useful items for the boxes – things like toiletries, snacks, cards and games. This year we ran out of stuff before we ran out of boxes. Peggy came to the rescue making two trips into town to purchase more stuff. Everything was loaded into Carla’s horse trailer to be delivered to the VFW Post in Southern Pines. Thursday lunchtime Jake Nix, Shannon Leggett, Rachel Buckler & Anne Neal Thompson accompanied Carla to drop off the stuff. Thank you to Nancy Wennberg, Peggy, Carla and everyone who helped with this project. As Carla says, “This is Christmas!”

Wednesday evening Riding Council hosted their annual Christmas party at the farm house. The barn staff decorated the farm house (including inflatables on the front lawn). Rank testing certificates were handed out and Lindsay, Heather and Ashley cooked for the hordes.

Next week things will be quieter as students finish up exams and head home for Christmas break. Those of us with academic classes will be scrambling to get grades turned in and all equestrian staff members will be pitching in with horse care.

IDA Update

IDA has had a slow start in Region I this semester with several shows being cancelled for one reason or another. Saturday Dec 5th was wet and cold but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the teams that gathered at Buckhorn Farm in Apex, NC. Bridget and the Wolf Pack Dressage team put an a first rate show with a tent for the horses to stand in between rides and horse trailers for coaches and riders to shelter in. I personally want to thank all the owners (and there were many) who so kindly allowed their horses to be used for the show. Your generosity made the show possible.

Competition was intense in every division with Virginia Tech winning 3 or the 4 divisions and ending up with 21 points (the max. possible at a show). St. Andrews riders had a good showing with Greta Friesen placing 2nd at first level and Jessica Cusaac placing 3rd in the intro division. For Lenior Rhyne and East Carolina University this was their first IDA show. Beth Bengala the coach for ECU summed up the atmosphere that we all enjoy at IDA shows, “I personally enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and look forward to upcoming shows!”

The IDA team is preparing for dressage month (Feb) when we have 4 shows!

IHSA Hunter Seat Update

From Ashley Duda IHSA Coach.

On November 16th, members of the IHSA Hunter Seat Team traveled north to compete at Virginia Intermont. Heading into this competition, the team was tied for the lead in the region with Virginia Intermont and was one point in front of Virginia Tech. Competing against Virginia Intermont at home is always difficult because the school has a very talented team. However, the Knights were ready to compete when they traveled to the farm in Bristol, Virginia on November 17th.

Usually the weather is cold, icy, and windy when St. Andrews travels to VI. Fortunately, the weather for this IHSA show was warm and delightful. Even the riders from Laurinburg stayed warm throughout the day! The morning started off with strong performances over fences. Audrey Hayden debuted in Open Equitation Over Fences and placed third. Rob Jacobs and Alie McGraw had strong performances and both earned second place ribbons in Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and Novice Equitation Over Fences, respectively.

As the flat classes began, the riding stayed strong. Katie Hansen, Rob Jacobs, Brittany Calderwood, and Blake Liljestrand all won flat classes. Rob and Blake remained undefeated on the flat for the 2009-2010 season. One highlight of the day was Brittany’s ride. VI was Brittany’s first riding competition. She drew Prima, one of Ashley’s favorite IHSA horses, and rode her beautifully! The entire team was very proud of Brittany’s great ride.

The team rode very well against tough competition and ended up Reserve Champion for the day. The team did lose a little of their lead to VI. The IHSA Hunter Seat Team now is ten points behind VI but three points ahead of Virginia Tech. Peggy and Ashley are making plans to help riders prepare for an intense IHSA spring show schedule. The next show IHSA Hunter Seat Show will be held on February 6th at St. Andrews. Go KNIGHTS!

Horse Shows and Equitrial

Its been a busy couple of weeks at SAPC! Lindsay contributed the Raleigh results and Peggy the Equitrial report.

Triangle Raleigh Oct 30th-Nov 1st
Allie McGraw rode Glenn to Res Champion in the Pre-Ch/Ad Hunter Division

Sara Warren rode Dill to several top ribbons (2nds, 3rds) in the Pre-Ch/Ad Hunter and Eq Divisions

Kali Cram rode Busy to 4th out of 47 in the TRiangle Farms Eq Cup and two 1sts in Pre-Ch/Ad Eq over fences

Karen Gruninger rode Quincey to Res Champion in Long Stirrup and won both under saddle classes both days

Katherine Laughlin rode Spike to Champion in Long stirrup winning all over fences classes on Sunday

Both Sami and Katy H showed in NCHJA Adult Medal Finals which they had to qualify for over the previous season

Sami Cram rode Happy to 7th in the NCHJA Adult Medal Finals and Res Ch in the Adult Hunter Divisions Happy thought she was back doing grand prix...)

Katy Hutchings rode Easy to 4th place in the NCHJA Adult Medal Finals
Duke AA Raleigh Nov 4th-8th

Katelyn Lang rode Ava to good ribbonns in the LG Jr Hunters against top hunters from around the country

Rob Jacobs rode Glenn to top ribbons out of over 15 in the Pre-Adult Hunters against tough competition

Tricia James rode Nick at her first AA show and won her first Pre-Childrens Hunter over fences and other top ribbons out of 19 top horse/rider combos


American National Riding Commission

St. Andrews hosted an ANRC Equitrial on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Ten students participated in the Equitrial and received a National Rider Rating. The testing for the ratings included a hunter seat equitation flat test that included movements from the USEF equitation tests and a hunter seat equitation medal course over fences. Riders tested for either Level 1 (the introductory level) or Level 2 (the intermediate level). The testing was judged by Laura Norment from New Bern, NC an ANRC and USEF judge.

Congratulations to these St. Andrews riders!

Level One

Audrey Bolte
Jenn Callahan
Karen Gruninger
Katy Hutchings
Betsy Kaplan
Katherine Laughlin – High Point Rider Level One

Level Two

Kim Graves
Katie Hansen – High Point Rider Level Two
Audrey Hayden
Caroline Taylor

Horse shows etc...

Pictures "borrowed" from Shannon Legget's facebook page

Showing Under the Stars last Friday was spectacular! We started off with freestyle reining followed by dressage musical freestyles and the annual costume parade. Must have been 20+ entries for the costume parade everyone of them was fabulous. After that craziness the evening settled down to western pleasure and hunt seat classes. Some students were showing at their first ever horse show – what a great way to start your show career!

Saturday was open house where we met a ton of people and the hunt seat seniors rode for Heather and Lindsay. Open house is always fun and we had lots of interest in the equestrian program from enthusiastic students and parents. Peggy and Lindsay travelled to Duke for a hunt seat IHSA show on Sunday and the rest of us had an easy day gearing up for the next week.

This weekend the western team is hosting IHSA shows on Saturday and Sunday. Lindsay is taking a group to Raleigh for a NCHJA show, I believe Ashley is meeting her there as soon as she lands at the airport on her way back from Australia! I am headed to Michelle Hargreaves Hidden K stables for an IDA show hosted by WFU – a new venue for us! Just a normal weekend for the equestrian program!

SAPC Student at Washington International Horse Show

Contributed by Kim Graves

Last weekend while the IHSA Hunt Seat team was making their way up to the chilly weather of Blacksburg, Virginia, another St. Andrews Equestrian was feeling the 30 degree weather and constant rain in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. SAPC Sophomore Kimberly Graves of Monroe, NC and her mount “Hand It Over”, lovingly known as “Bubba” accepted their letter of invitation to compete in the 2009 USEF Zone 3 Finals, held at the Washington International Horse show Local weekend. Approximately the top 20 horses in each division of the Zone, based on total USEF points, were invited. Kimberly and her horse were ranked 12th in the USEF Adult Amateur Hunter 18-35 standings. But that’s not going to last long. After a late night warm –up class, a 4:00 wakeup call, and a last place spot in the order of go it was finally the moment Kimberly had been waiting for. As soon as she stepped out of the ring to finish her second over fences class, Kimberly and Hand It Over were trotting right back into the ring for the top call in the jog. With a blue ribbon in the first class and a reserve call for the second, it all came down to the under saddle class to determine the Champion for the younger Adults. But Hand It Over stepped out of the line up where he lived up to his name and was once again handed over the blue rosette. With an accumulated total of 20 points Kimberly Graves and Hand It Over were once again invited back in to the ring to claim the Champion title. Not only were they crowned champion but they were now given the title of the 2009 Adult Amateur 18-35 USEF Zone 3 Finals Champion. “I could not have done it without the help of my wonderful professors who were willing to take time out to allow me to complete my tests and assignments early so that I could compete in this prestigious event. And to the Equestrian staff and Center for allowing me to stay in the saddle and keep my composure enough to where I can still be able to compete in such prominent events” commented Kimberly. A Tri color ribbon was not the only thing Kimberly brought back to St. Andrews, but a Champion Cooler to show her newly acquired accomplishment.

IHSA Hunt Seat Team at VA Tech

From Peggy:

Fifteen St. Andrews riders, Peggy, and Heather boarded a bus Sunday morning at 3:45 a.m. for the trip to Blacksburg, VA to compete in the Virginia Tech IHSA Hunter Seat Show. It was 53 degrees when we left Laurinburg and 37 degrees when we arrived in Blacksburg. Quite a shock to our “Southern thin blood”!

Our riders continued to dominate the Intermediate Division. Rob Jacobs and Audrey Bolte each won their Intermediate Equitation on the Flat classes and Rob won the Intermediate Equitation over Fences. Additionally, Sarah Rafferty won the Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter Equitation on the Flat and Blake Liljestrand won the Walk, Trot Equitation on the Flat class. Way to go Knight Riders!

One of the best parts of our day in the mountains was having so many parents of our riders come to the show. Katie Hansen’s parents won the award for the farthest distance travelled (dad had come from Wisconsin!). Rob Jacob’s mom and dad were there and Rob left with them to return to Maryland for his week long internship at the Washington International Horse Show. Audrey Hayden’s (Northern Virginia) and Audrey Bolte’s (Ohio) parents were there to cheer us on.

It is always fun to go to Virginia Tech and to ride in their lovely indoor arena and to get to spend time with Teresa McDonald who is their Director and a great friend of all the St. Andrews family. The leaves were changing colors – something we have not even seen a hint of yet in Laurinburg – so we know that Fall is on its way even though it is still in the high 70’s here.

Our next trip is Sunday, October 25 to Ginny Rollins’ farm, Echo Creek, in Hillsborough, NC for a show hosted by Duke University.

Its not all bad – finally some stability at SAPC

The Elephant in the room finally got noticed a week ago last Thursday when we learned that the judge in GA ruled in favor of the Southern Association (SACS) in the long standing lawsuit between us and the accrediting agency. Not a great start to fall break for students, staff or faculty. By the time fall break was over we learned that our programmatic accreditation with the American Academy of Liberal Education (AALE) had been upgraded to institutional preaccreditation effective for the 09-10 academic year with a site visit planned for Spring 2010 for admission to AALE for ten years. Meaning no matter what happens with the appeal process we are fully accredited and will not lose financial aid and other privileges that come with accreditation.

These announcements have created waves of tsunami size throughout the SAPC community. Rumors have been flying and although changes of this sort bring about uncertainty, rumors do not help what is already a stressful situation. Rumors that are unfounded help even less. President Baldasare is addressing the SGA and all students on Monday evening to give students a direct opportunity to ask questions and understand the real implications of the situation. If there was ever a time for the SAPC community to pull together and embrace a new era I would say that it is now!

The legal details and some thought provoking comments are available at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/12/accreditation#

Western Team Wins Double Header!

The western team pulled off two wins at the double header IHSA show this weekend. Saturday the show seemed to go on forever and Sunday the final result hinged on a ride off between Kelsey Moody from SAPC and Kody Zaagman from NCSU (Kody transferred to NCSU this semester after spending his freshmen year at SAPC.) The ride off was to break the tie for high point rider. Both competitors rode their best but at the end of the day Kelsey’s performance tipped the scale and SAPC was champion. Three riders qualified for western regionals at this weekend’s shows. Full results at http://www.sapc.edu/Equest/comp_ops/competitionresults.php

The dressage team had a fun trip to Virginia Intermont. We stopped at the Highland Games in Laurinburg on the way out of town to research some ideas for the National competition in April for which we want a Scottish theme. The competition at VI was very stiff. Greta Friesen placed 5th in the first level division, Rob Jacobs was 6th in upper training and Jessica Cusaac was 6th in the Introductory division. The team ended up 8th overall. Greta coached all day and did a fabulous job of setting everyone up for a consistent accurate test. Everyone rode to the best of their ability and I feel that we are close to being very competitive in a region that fields riders that regularly ride in USDF recognized shows at 2nd level and above.


Lindsay and Ashley had a good weekend at the NC State Fair Show. For freshmen Tricia James this was her first experience riding at an “A” rated show. Tricia and her horse Freedom Way (Nick) showed in the Pre Childrens/Adult Equitation and Hunter divisions and earned several 5th and 6th placings in stiff competition. Both Lindsay and Ashley reported that Tricia was very excited with her first outing at an “A” rated show. Katelyn Lang rode her horse Octavian in the Junior Jumpers and although she did not place had a great learning experience. Ashley had Ozzie, who is a recent donation to the program, at the show and had a good first outing. Ashley said it was great to catch up with many old friends at the horse show that she had not seen since returning to the east coast.

Pictures: Donna Fowble at VI & Kelsey and Carla with Popsicle and ribbons!

Oct 2 - 4

This weekend’s activities include the first in the SAPC Dressage Show Series at 3:00 p.m. today. Marsha Bryant from Southern Pines is coming to judge. Every rider will ride their test and then have 15 minutes with Marsha to work on some aspect of the test. Should be fun - show and clinic in one! Sat. we are practicing in the morning, taking a team trip to the Highland Games at the John Blue House and then heading out to Bristol for an IDA show at Virginia Intermont on Sunday.

Lindsay and Ashley are in Raleigh with several students showing for the weekend. Carla and the western team have their first western IHSA shows at SAPC and I don’t think Liz and Pebbles have anything scheduled this weekend other than helping out with the western show!