Two members of the Dartmouth equestrian team will ride this weekend in the zonal horse show in hopes of earning a space to compete at the Nationals, held April 29 at Texas American Methodist University.
Christine Sandvik '97 will ride in Open Fences, the highest jumping division and Shannon Giles '96 will compete in Walk Trot at Stonely Burnham School in Massachusetts Saturday.
Sandvik was the Regional Champion in Open Equatation Over Fences at the competition Sunday and Giles was Reserve Champion in Open Walk Trot Equatation.
Sandvik was also awarded the Reserve High Point trophy in the Open division, the second highest honor for the region, placing behind Lauren Smyrl, a freshman at Colby-Sawyer College.
"I'm very excited to have these two riders go to zones. They both worked really hard this year to go this far," Coach Sally Boillotat said. "In their classes they had the best rides they could have."
The regional horse show, hosted by Tufts University in Massachusetts, showcased the top riders in Zone 1, Region 2, a group of 10 schools that includes Boston University, Colby-Sawyer, Dartmouth, Harvard University and Tufts.
The top three competitors in each regional class advance to the zonal show. Amy Hause '94 rode in the Novice Flat class but did not place in the top three.
Each class at the zonal horse show this weekend will be composed of nine riders, of which the top two will advance to the national competition.
"I think with Christine's show experience and natural ability she has an excellent chance of making it to Nationals if she pulls a good horse," Boillotat said. "The horse is going to be a big part of the competition."
Instead of bringing their own horses with them, riders draw the name of the horse they will ride from a hat before the show begins. Most times, competitors have never been on the horse before they ride in the show.
"Shannon may not have the same show experience but she has learned a lot this year," Boillotat continued. "If she keeps her cool and rides as well as she has been, she'll be in Texas too."
The entire equestrian team travelled to Harvard Saturday to compete in its last regular show of the season and give its members one last chance to qualify for the regionals the next day. Both Giles and Hause qualified that day, but Sandvik had already secured her spot at Tufts.
Dartmouth placed fifth out of the 10 schools that competed. Mount Ida College took Champion and Colby-Sawyer was Reserve Champion.
