Syracuse Sun

Cazenovia College issued the following announcement on Dec. 16.

Cazenovia College Equestrian Team riders took a number of honors in the December 2020 Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association's (IHSA) inaugural online show.

Among top winners were two Cazenovia College students. Sophomore Sara Eveleigh, with a score of 88, tied for the World Equestrian Center Limit Hunter Seat Equitation on the Flat. Senior Meghan Marsh rode to the win with a 79 in the Level I Western Horsemanship class. Eveleigh won both classes she entered and took home her second Reserve High-Score Rider honor of the show and was awarded the top call in the Level II Horsemanship, according to the IHSA.

The College team is made up of riders from all academic programs and is a varsity sport at Cazenovia, explains Amy Sherrick-von Schiller, head equestrian team coach. She said this year’s show was open to all schools nationally, rather than being regional in nature, as is usually the case for in-person event.

The IHSA event was hosted online this year as a digital competition due to COVID-19 restrictions on the traditional gathering format. To accommodate COVID restrictions, IHSA provided patterns for western riders. For hunter seat riders, IHSA provided jumping courses and a list of required elements for demonstration rides on the flat. Team competitors completed their rides at individual facilities, and videotaped them, submitting their videos for IHSA judging.

Hunter Seat

Among category winners in Hunter Seat categories were the following Cazenovia students:

Class 2 - Novice Hunter Seat Equitation, Section 1: first place, Regan Barnes; second place, Lexie Zaugg; third place, Bernetta Crombie

Class 2 - Novice Hunter Seat Equitation, Section 2: first place, Christa Bailey; second, Nora Allen; fifth place, Kimberly Gibson

Class 3 - World Equestrian Center Limit Hunter Seat Equitation on the Flat, Section 1: first place, Sara Eveleigh; fourth place, Olivia Brown

Class 3 - World Equestrian Center Limit Hunter Seat Equitation on the Flat, Section 2: first place, Sydni Therrien; second, Kira Hazelwood; third, Kayla Walker

Class 4 - World Equestrian Center Limit Hunter Seat Equitation Over Fences, Section 2: first place, Grace Yeary; third place, Kira Hazelwood

Class 5 - Intermediate Hunter Seat Equitation on the Flat: first place, Grace Yeary; second place, Michelle Davis

Class 6 - Intermediate Hunter Seat Equitation Over Fences: third place, Sara Eveleigh; fourth place, Kayla Walker

Western Classes

Cazenovia students took these honors in Western Class competitions:

Class 12 - Rookie Western Horsemanship, Section 1: fourth place, Nora Allen

Class 12 - Rookie Western Horsemanship, Section 2: first place, Kira Hazlewood; second place, Catie Poppen-Eagan; third place, Allison Williams; sixth place, Morgan Marl

Class 13 - Level 1 Western Horsemanship: first place: Meghan Marsh

Class 14 - Level II Western Horsemanship: first place, Sara Eveleigh; third place, Lily Germano; fourth place, Emily DeJong Class 15 - Level II Ranch Riding: 2nd place, Kevin Schneck; third place, Sara Eveleigh; fourth place, Lily Germano; fifth place, Emily DeJong

A New Challenge

“I am so proud of the Cazenovia College equestrian team riders; they all did an amazing job. We were fortunate to be able to compete in this format since we did not have any regular competitions through the fall semester due to COVID,” Coach Sherrick-von Schiller says.

“The hunter seat flat classes were a bit more challenging, as we had to create our own demonstration rides and determine exactly what to showcase without knowing what other schools were doing,” Sherrick-von Schiller explained. “At a regular show, we are watching all the riders and that helps us determine what risks we might need to take to have a competitive advantage in certain classes. We wanted to create flat rides that would impress the judge and show off riders' skills where possible, but at the same not go overboard trying to get too fancy, since flawless execution is what matters, not the attempted difficulty level. Our plan seemed to work, as the riders did very well!”

Assisting the team in its entries were Assistant Coach Liz Pinto and Head Wester Coach Dawn Bolson.

Original source can be found here.