March 3, 2009

BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College equestrian team had a successful start to their spring season as the Gulls took home Reserve Champion out of 11 competitors at the Point Riders Show held at Holloway Brook Farm in Lakeville, Mass. With their finish, Endicott further cemented a second place finish in Zone One, Region Four of the IHSA.

The show on Sunday was the first Point Rider Show held in the Region. The event took place at Holloway Brook Farm, but was organized by the President School (Endicott) with positions necessary for the conduct of the show coming from every school participating. The cost was also shared by the participating schools.

Open riders Katherine Noyes (Morristown, N.J.) improved her Caccione Cup standing to fifth place while Lauren Horth (Dalton, Mass.) is in seventh.

First place ribbons were brought home by Intermediate riders Kate Selig (Groveland, Mass.) and Novice rider Alisha Phipps (Cotuit, Mass.), while Walk-Trot-Canter rider Michelle DeCata (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Walk-Trot rider Stephanie Carlisle (Franklin, Mass.) won red ribbons. Carlisle pointed out and has qualified for the Regional Finals.

At a Point Rider show, each school sends one rider for each level, making each rider a point rider. The advantage of such a show is that it can be completed in about 3 hours and requires fewer horses. The hope is that this will allow schools with smaller teams to host shows, thus increasing the number of competitions each year. This will allow more riders to earn points to qualify for Regional Finals.

Endicott's next show will be this weekend on Sunday, March 8th at Rising Start Equestrian Center, 145 Summer Street in Medway, MA.

Results:

Open:
Fences: Lauren Horth - 5th
Flat: Katherine Noyes - 2nd

Intermediate:
Fences: Mia Finkelstein - 3rd
Flat: Kate Selig - 1st

Novice:
Fences: Alisha Phipps - 4th
Flat: Alisha Phipps - 1st

Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter:
Michelle DeCata - 2nd

Walk-Trot:
Stephanie Carlisle - 2nd