Pick-a-Horse and Ride!
Thacher’s Equestrian Team recently hosted—and won—its 4th annual
Interscholastic Equestrian Association Horse Show. Over the two weekend
days, fifteen Toads went boot-to-boot with riders from St. Andrew’s
School (OH) and Santa Catalina (CA) on the flat and over fences in
courses set up in the shiny new Polo Arena, above the Gymkhana Field.
What’s tricky about riding in the IEA shows is that competitors go into the ring with very little warm-up—only two jumps—on an unfamiliar horse. “They have to figure out how to ride that particular mount right then and there,” attests former Nationals champ and Thacher’s coach Elizabeth Reynolds Mahoney CdeP 1988. “The home team certainly has an advantage, knowing the horses, but still, the kids can draw one they’ve ridden only once or twice. It’s a great way to test true riding ability.”
Results for Thacher riders, who competed in both categories each day:
Varsity Open Division
Deirdre Herbert: 2nd and 2nd over fences, 4th and 4th on the flat.
Varsity Intermediate Division
Kelly Singco: 4th on the flat, 4th over fences
Talal Gedeon Achi: 1st and 1st over fences, 3rd on the flat
Adri Ryberg: 3rd and 4th on the flat
Leandra Cooper: 3rd and 6th over fences, 2nd and 3rd on the flat
Leslie Sligh: 4th over fences, 6th on the flat
JV Novice Division:
Kendall Cannon: 1st on the flat both days; 4th and 1st over fences
Martha Gregory: 5th over fences; 8th on the flat
Nick Hubbard: 3rd and 6th on the flat, 3rd and 4th over fences
Brigid McCarthy: 2nd on the flat, 3rd and 5th over fences
Lindsay Oliver: 3rd and 5th on the flat, 1st and 2nd over fences
Lesley Sun: 2nd over fences, 4th and 5th on the flat
Rita Walton: 2nd on the flat
JV Beginner Division
Alex Dotson: 1st and 3rd on the flat
Brooke Wharton: 2nd and 3rd place on the flat
Deirdre Herbert (with Kelly Singco, the Equestrian Team’s Co-Captain) took 3rd in the Champion Class. Sarah Winters, Robin Walter, and Amanda Grumman CdeP 2000 rode warm-up for the two days of competition.
Next stops for the team: another show at Stanford mid-February, followed by other qualifiers, then--fingers crossed--off to the Nationals in Wilmington, OH in late April.
To check out the IEA website, go to www.rideiea.com.
Back
What’s tricky about riding in the IEA shows is that competitors go into the ring with very little warm-up—only two jumps—on an unfamiliar horse. “They have to figure out how to ride that particular mount right then and there,” attests former Nationals champ and Thacher’s coach Elizabeth Reynolds Mahoney CdeP 1988. “The home team certainly has an advantage, knowing the horses, but still, the kids can draw one they’ve ridden only once or twice. It’s a great way to test true riding ability.”
Results for Thacher riders, who competed in both categories each day:
Varsity Open Division
Deirdre Herbert: 2nd and 2nd over fences, 4th and 4th on the flat.
Varsity Intermediate Division
Kelly Singco: 4th on the flat, 4th over fences
Talal Gedeon Achi: 1st and 1st over fences, 3rd on the flat
Adri Ryberg: 3rd and 4th on the flat
Leandra Cooper: 3rd and 6th over fences, 2nd and 3rd on the flat
Leslie Sligh: 4th over fences, 6th on the flat
JV Novice Division:
Kendall Cannon: 1st on the flat both days; 4th and 1st over fences
Martha Gregory: 5th over fences; 8th on the flat
Nick Hubbard: 3rd and 6th on the flat, 3rd and 4th over fences
Brigid McCarthy: 2nd on the flat, 3rd and 5th over fences
Lindsay Oliver: 3rd and 5th on the flat, 1st and 2nd over fences
Lesley Sun: 2nd over fences, 4th and 5th on the flat
Rita Walton: 2nd on the flat
JV Beginner Division
Alex Dotson: 1st and 3rd on the flat
Brooke Wharton: 2nd and 3rd place on the flat
Deirdre Herbert (with Kelly Singco, the Equestrian Team’s Co-Captain) took 3rd in the Champion Class. Sarah Winters, Robin Walter, and Amanda Grumman CdeP 2000 rode warm-up for the two days of competition.
Next stops for the team: another show at Stanford mid-February, followed by other qualifiers, then--fingers crossed--off to the Nationals in Wilmington, OH in late April.
To check out the IEA website, go to www.rideiea.com.
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A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.