Four riders will represent the equestrian team in the upcoming Zonal Championship, which will be held tomorrow in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Senior captain Julie Canter will compete in the Open flat. She will be joined by sophomores Jeannette Pettit in the Intermediate flat, Alaina Hoffman in the Novice flat, and Erin Goodrich in the walk-trot.
“All of the riders have worked very hard to get here,” said head coach Chris Mitchell.
Canter is looking to cap off a strong senior campaign with a trip to Nationals. Though she got off to a bit of a rocky start early in the season, she quickly turned it around, earning four first-place finishes in the flat and three times in the fences. She also earned the high point rider honors for the second Morrisville show and the high point reserve honors for the second Cornell show. She finished the season third among all Open riders in the region. Canter finished Regional Reserve Champion at Regionals two weeks ago.
“She has had a great year. She has a good chance on moving on,” said Mitchell.
Pettit had a strong showing in the Intermediate flat two weeks ago, making it to the final round where she advanced to Zones finishing as Regional Reserve Champion.
“Her riding has improved throughout the year. She has been working on the flat recently and has a lot of confidence in her abilities,” commented Mitchell.
During the year Pettit had three first-place finishes including two at the first Skidmore show, where she competed in the ride off for high point honors. She qualified for Regionals midway through the season. Before moving to the Open division, she claimed two first-place finishes, both in fences.
Hoffman came back from a disappointing performance in fences to win the Regional Championship in the Novice flat, the only Cornell rider of the day to win her division outright. She took first place in eight different classes this year (five in fences, three in flat), including winning each of her fence classes in her last three shows to qualify. She is coming off an illness from last week, yet she seems to be back to one hundred percent.
“She is coming back full blast, not missing a beat. She’s ready,” Mitchell stated.
Erin Goodrich will compete in the walk-trot.
“She has been a great rider for her level and has a good head on her shoulders,” said Mitchell.
The top two finishers in each division move on to Nationals.
“We are extremely excited and looking for the ladies to get to Nationals. We are confident they can get there,” said Mitchell.
Archived article by Chris Callanan