The equestrian team had a strong showing from all four of its riders at the Zonal championship this weekend in Saratoga Springs, NY. Though none of the four riders placed high enough to move onto nationals, all gave a solid effort.
“We are very proud of these girls, they all rode great. All the classes were very competitive as expected. To not get your dues for the show is very tough, but getting there is not an easy feat. They are all winners in the fact that they got this far,” said head coach Chris Mitchell.
Requirements
Very few riders accomplish the feat of reaching zones.
First, the rider must earn a certain amount of points during the year to qualify, then she must finish in the top three in her division at Regionals to move on to Zones.
Senior captain Julie Canter led off the day, competing in the Open flat. Though she rode well, she placed ninth in her class, much to the surprise of the coaching staff.
“We thought she should have been placed higher,” explained Mitchell.
This trend of Cornell riders placing lower than expected continued throughout the day.
Sophomore Jeannette Pettit showed next in the Intermediate flat. Though she took fourth place in her division with a solid effort, it wasn’t enough to qualify her for Nationals.
Classmate Alaina Hoffman, who had been riding phenomenally of late, gave another solid performance, yet finished eighth in the Novice flat.
Sophomore Erin Goodrich took seventh place in her walk-trot class.
Alumna Success
The Red did, however, have one alumna move on to Nationals. Christie Schneckner ’01 was the Zones Reserve Champion in one of the jumping classes held earlier in the day.
The Red has two more competitions remaining this year. Next weekend, it will compete in the Varsity Equestrian championship in Newberry, FL.
The following week the Red will head to Dartmouth to compete in the Ivy Invitational.
Archived article by Chris Callanan