This season the team qualified an impressive five riders with a total of seven rides to Zone 1, Region 2 Regionals at Dartmouth College. Bates Equestrian Team is proud to have 45% of our team qualified, the highest percentage of any team in our region.
The team grew significantly, adding six new members to our team with a wide range of previous riding abilities. Molly Lodigiani joined the team as a junior, after retiring from soccer she found that she finally had the time to pick up her old passion of riding. She competed this fall in Walk-Trot-Canter and is currently abroad at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
Five first years also joined the team, a record number for the Bates Equestrian Team. Rosie Mulholland came to the team with a strong background in Hunters and Jumpers, showing for many years around the East Coast and Florida. She competes in the IHSA in Intermediate Fences and Flat with great success in both. Zoe Moss also came to Bates College with extensive show experience especially in jumpers, competing around the Midwest. She rides in Novice Fences and Flat showing consistently throughout the season. Cecilia Edeline joined the team competing in the Walk-Trot-Canter. She is known for her smile and team enthusiasm! She decided to move back to Spain at the end of last semester but we appreciated her presence on the team. She plans to continue riding when she is back home! Ella Livesay joined the team with previous experience in western riding and decided to give equitation a try. She rides as a Walk-Trot-Canter rider. Our final new rider is Caroline Best, who competes at Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter. She previously worked at the Rock Creek Park Horse Center in Washington, DC.
Our senior rider, Tess Ferguson qualified in Intermediate Flat. Katie Kirwin qualified for Intermediate Fences and Intermediate Flat, moving her up to an Open rider in both. Hannah Kiesler qualified for both Novice Fences and Flat. Will Bryer qualified for Novice Fences after having an incredibly successful ride at Endicott College horse show. Sarah Ungar moved up from being a Walk, Trot, Canter rider to Novice Fences and Flat. The University of New Hampshire spring show was her first opportunity to compete over fences! We are incredibly proud of everyone for their success in the fall season and their improvement throughout the winter, clearly seen at the spring show.
At the first show this spring, the UNH Spring show, Bates Equestrian was High Point Team, the first time for Bates ever! All riders contributed to this win with five first places and three seconds. We beat the home team (UNH) by a point (37-36). Five of our riders, Tess Ferguson, Hannah Kiesler, Katie Kirwin, Will Bryer, and Sarah Ungar, will represent Bates at 2014 Regionals at Dartmouth College. Katie Kirwin, currently ranked 7th in our region, will be competing in the USEF Cacchione class for open riders. This is the first time Bates has had a USEF Cacchione rider at Regionals. The improvements and successes that Bates Equestrian has had are due to the dedication of our team members and excellent instruction from coach Ginger Klingenstein-Albert.
Bates Team photo courtesy Bates College IHSA Equestrian Team