Dartmouth equestrian rode to a close third on Saturday at Colby Sawyer College, finishing only three points behind the region-leading University of Vermont team and a single point behind Mount Ida College. Ten of the 13 schools in the region competed in the meet. "Overall, the team rode well on Saturday," co-captain Janelle Moerlein '06 said. "We had some tough draws, but people rode really well and placed well on horses that people from other teams had not been able to ride."
After three of seven fall season shows, Dartmouth currently sits second in the regional standings, 11 points behind perennial powerhouse Vermont and eight points ahead of Mount Ida. Dartmouth's two victories on the day came from Tim Malone '07 in Open Fences and Karelle Hall '08 in Walk/Trot/Canter. Second-place finishers included Daisy Freund '08 in both Open Flat and Open Fences, Elyssa Gelmann '06 in Intermediate Flat and Jane Park '06 in Walk/Trot.
Due to limitations on the number of entries imposed by the host school, only eight of Dartmouth's 20 riders competed. For Hall, the win on Saturday marked her first victory in intercollegiate competition.
"It was a surprise to win my class," Hall said. "I feel that my riding has greatly improved since I've come to Dartmouth and have had the opportunity to work with different instructors and horses."
Moerlein joined the growing list of Dartmouth riders earning enough points to advance to new divisions this fall, rising from Novice to Intermediate Fences. "I am excited to have pointed up, but nervous at the same time," Moerlein said. "When you move from one division to the next, the level of riding seems to increase exponentially."
Riders who move up throughout the year earn a chance to compete at Regionals in the spring for an opportunity to move on to Zones and from there to Nationals. "Many of our riders have moved up to a higher level than they competed when we won our region last year, but I think once we adjust we have the talent to be just as successful," Malone said.
Also released this past weekend were the point totals thus far for the Cacchione Cup, a special division that takes into account points which riders earn in both Open Fences and Open Flat in the region. Currently, Freund and Malone sit atop the regional standings. "It's an honor to have the top two riders in the Cacchione standings, but it's really too early in the season to say much," Malone said. "But it does say a lot about the strength of our program."
