Equitation team headed to nationals next month
The equitation team won the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Zone I Finals on April 5 at the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center.
This is the first time in 12 years that the UMass IHSA team, led by coach Jerry Schurink, has qualified them for the national championships, scheduled for next month at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.
Riders scoring points included sophomore Kate Lawrence (open flat and fences), sophomore Elena Serkin (intermediate fences), first-year student Stefanie Van der Kaaij (intermediate flat), sophomore Molly Bettencourt (novice flat and fences), sophomore Ariel Spuzzillo (walk-trot-canter), and senior Hannah Deutsch (walk-trot).
In addition to team qualifiers, UMass also had riders qualify individually for the nationals. Sophomore Kate Lawrence qualified as the Cacchione Cup Rider of Region III, earning the most points in the open division this year. Junior Amy Donahue qualified for the Novice Flat division, Senior point secretary Lisa Risso qualified for the Intermediate Flat division, and senior captain Ariel Weisman qualified for the Intermediate Fences division. They will go on to compete against the top riders from each of 9 Zones across the country.
The UMass IHSA Equitation team is neither a varsity sport nor a club sport, and thus receives no funding from the University. All costs are covered by the student athletes. The team is seeking for tax-deductible support to help get to the nationals in California.
Photo by Mary Schneider
April 24, 2008.
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