Beckett Run Inc.              

BECKETT RUN MAKES A STRONG START TO NEW SEASON

     Beckett Run riders found much success and brought home lots of blue in the Fall of 2009.  The high school and middle school teams both won championships at both Morehead State and Stonegate Farm.  Beckett Run riders to win Champion or Reserve Champion rider included Mollie Kowalchik, Olivia Sehlhorst, Justice Filamonuk, and Kelsey Williamson. 

BECKETT RUN NATIONAL CHAMPS! 

   Nine members of the Beckett Run Equestrian Team, 

, brought home the National Champion Varsity Team trophy from the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (www.RideIEA.com) National Championship Horse Show April 30 through May 3 at Lake Erie College’s George

Coach Jim Arrigon commented, “We set our goal last summer to win it all, and kept our eyes on the goal throughout the year.  I knew we were ready to win this – we had all the right riders coming together at just the right time of year.  We preached for two months about being unemotional – controlling the nerves and excitement that could only get in the way of winning the National Championship.  They all rode great!”

Over 200 teams began the year of competition in September, along with more than 2500 riders competing from coast to coast.  Beckett Run was the Regional Champion of a region that includes teams from

In addition to the Team Championship, Beckett Run also had individual National Championships from...

• Emily Kowalchik, senior at Loveland High School - Team Open Fences
• Allison Carey, freshman at Lakota East - Individual Novice Equitation; AND Team Novice Equitation – she won twice.

They received outstanding individual performances from:

• Kelsey Williamson, junior at Lakota East - Reserve Champion in team Intermediate Fences
• Kayla Akers, sophomore at Lakota West - 4th Place in BOTH individual and team Intermediate Equitation.
• Meredith Finch, Talawanda senior - 4th Place in the Open Championship Medal class.
• Laura Smith, freshman, Troy High School - 8th Place in Team Novice Fences 

...with solid rides from Lakota East senior Brooke Barnhill,

Beckett Run competes in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association, with membership from coast to coast.  The Beckett Run team is comprised of outstanding high school aged riders from all across the Cincinnati-Dayton corridor. 

Beckett Run is the first barn team in the ten-year history of IEA to win the varsity National Championship - all the others have been boarding school teams!  They are also the first winner from the Midwest - all other National Champs have been from New England or Virginia, save one from Colorado.   Beckett Run is coached by Jim Arrigon, longtime Miami University equestrian coach, and a Lifetime Achievement Award winning coach in collegiate riding.   Arrigon coached over two dozen National Champion collegiate riders over a 25-year career at

Finishing second place to Beckett Run was Knight’s Equestrian from Virginia, and North Alpharetta High School of Georgia came home with the 3^rd place.  Complete results will be available on the IEA website. 

The 2009 Nationals was judged by US Equestrian Federation judges Sue Ashe of North Carolina

, and Eddie Federwisch of Virginia.  Sue had judged the collegiate National Championships last year, and Eddie is a leading collegiate coach at Virginia Intermont College

. 

BECKETT RUN QUALIFIES FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

     Thirteen members of the Beckett Run Equestrian Team competed at the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (www.RideIEA.com) Zone 5 Championship Horse Show April 4-5 at Albion College’s Nancy Hurd

     Beckett Run won 3^rd Place in the Varsity Team Championship, just one point shy of the Reserve Champion spot, but safely qualifying them for the team competition at the National Championships, April 30 thru May 3 at Lake Erie College in Cleveland. 

.  Beckett Run also managed more individual qualifiers – seven – than any other team in the zone; and had more Zone Champions – four – than any other team.  Beckett Run has placed as high as 4^th place previously in the National Championships. 

     Key winners for Beckett Run – all qualifying individually for the National Finals – included…

• Emily Kowalchik, senior from Loveland High School, Reserve Champion in the Open Equitation on the flat, and Zone Champion in Equitation over Fences.  Emily was the ONLY varsity rider in the zone that qualified for two individual classes!
• Talawanda High School senior Meredith Finch, was 3^rd Place in the Varsity Open Fences Championship and Reserve Champion in the Varsity Team Open Equitation.   
• Kelsey Williamson, junior at Lakota East High School, Champion in the Varsity Intermediate Fences.
• Lakota West sophomore Kayla Akers won a Championship in the Intermediate Equitation on the Flat division, and also won the Team Intermediate Flat championship  

      Other Beckett Run varsity riders who scored high enough to qualify individually for the National Finals included Lakota East freshman Allison Carey; and Madeline Davis, a 6^th grader from Troy Middle School in Troy, Ohio. 

      Additionally, freshman Laura Smith from Troy High School in Troy , Ohio won several low ribbons in classes; but failed to qualify individually for Nationals, as did Emily O’Bryan, Princeton High School senior.  Reading High School freshman Maile Spencer brought home a 5^th Place ribbon in novice flat – one place shy of qualifying for Nationals.  Brooke Barnhill, senior from Lakota East, also competed for Beckett Run. 

     The Beckett Run futures (middle school) team narrowly missed qualifying for Nationals.  Loveland Middle School 7^th-grader Mollie Kowalchik brought home ribbons in all four classes in which she competed – her highest was a 3^rd  place ribbon in team intermediate fences, but neither she nor her team was able to qualify for Nationals.  Madeline Davis, 6^th- grader from Troy Middle School

in Troy, Ohio , won 3^rd Place to qualify for Nationals in her individual novice flat class.  Talawanda’s Julie Frymier also rode for Beckett Run.

     In addition to the individual qualifiers, the Beckett Run Varsity team qualified for the team competition at Nationals.  The following will be representing Beckett Run in the team competition at the IEA National Championships at Lake Erie College, Ohio, April 30 through May 3. 

Varsity Team:

Open Fences – Emily Kowalchik, Senior, Loveland High

     School

Open Flat – Meredith Finch, Senior, Talawanda High

     School

Intermediate Fences – Kelsey Williamson, Junior,

      Lakota East High School

Intermediate Flat – Kayla Akers, Sophomore,

Novice Fences – Laura Smith, Freshman,

Novice Flat – Allison Carey, Freshman,

Beginner – Brooke Barnhill, Senior,

     Zone Champion team was Limerick Lane from Columbus, a team Beckett Run had beaten at Regional Finals.  Second Place team was The Andrews Osborne Academy of Cleveland.  The final Nationals qualifying team was Cooper High School (Burlington, Kentucky), also from the Beckett Run region.  The four teams are now qualified to compete at the IEA National Championships.

     Beckett Run competes in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association, with membership from coast to coast.  Beckett Run recruits riders from all over the greater Cincinnati / Dayton corridor, currently having about 20 members, from Loveland on the east side of Cincinnati to Troy, north of Dayton, and everywhere in between.  The team trains at Beckett Run Farm, northwest of

.  The coaches, Jim and Gwen Arrigon, are best known for producing a nationally ranked collegiate team for nearly two decades at Miami University of Ohio.  Jim has coached over two dozen National Champion collegiate riders over a 25-year career, at Murray State , Miami of Ohio, Ohio State, and now Xavier University

.     For more information about Beckett Run riding, contact coaches Jim and Gwen Arrigon at 513/839-5619 or garrigon@hotmail.com .  They are always seeking new riders for the team.  More info is available at www.BeckettRunEquestrian.com and www.RideIEA.com

.BECKETT RUN EQUESTRIAN REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!

     Beckett Run high school and middle school students found success at the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) Regional Championship Horse Show March 14-15 at Stonegate Farm near Athens, Ohio, home of the Ohio University equestrian team.  Fourteen members of the Beckett Run Equestrian Team, based in

Hamilton, Ohio qualified to compete at the Finals by winning qualifying points at shows throughout the school year.  They rode against seven other qualifying teams from their region in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.  Beckett Run won the Varsity Team Championship, followed by Cooper (Burlington, Kentucky) and Olentangy (Delaware, Ohio).  They are now qualified to compete at the IEA Zone 5 Championships, April 4-5 at Albion College in Michigan,

 for the right to compete at the 2009 IEA National Championships, the first weekend of May in Cleveland

. 

     Big winners for Beckett Run – all qualifying individually for the Zone Finals - included Talawanda High School

senior Meredith Finch, who won the Varsity Open Fences Championship and the Varsity Team Open Equitation.  Emily Kowalchik, senior open rider from Loveland High School, was Reserve Champion in the Open Fences division, and 3^rd Place in Open Equitation.  Emily O’Brien, senior at Princeton High School  won the Varsity Intermediate Fences championship, and secured

      Other Beckett Run varsity riders who scored high enough to qualify individually for the Zone Finals included Lakota East freshman Allison Carey; freshman Laura Smith from Troy High School in Troy, Ohio; and Reading High School freshman Maile Spencer.  Additional Beckett Run competitors at Regionals were Maggie Olthaus and Thea Bartlett, both from Talawanda High School; Danielle King from Sycamore High School; and Lakota East’s Brooke Barnhill.

     The Beckett Run futures (middle school) team also earned the right to advance to Zones, with a 3^rd Place

finish behind Childress Rogers Stable (Milford,

in Troy, Ohio was able to win her class late in the weekend to secure team qualification for Zones.  Talawanda’s Julie Frymier added a 3^rd place.

     In addition to the individual Zone qualifiers, the Beckett Run Varsity and Futures teams both qualified for the Zones.  The following will be representing Beckett Run in the team competition at the IEA Zone 5 Championships at

, April 4-5:

            Varsity Team:

            Open Fences – Emily Kowalchik, Senior,

            Open Flat – Meredith Finch, Senior,

            Intermediate Fences – Emily O’Brien, Senior,

            Intermediate Flat – Kayla Akers, Sophomore,

            Novice Fences – Maile Spencer, Freshman,

            Novice Flat – Laura Smith, Freshman,

            Beginner – Brooke Barnhill, Senior,

            Futures Team:

            Intermediate Fences – Mollie Kowalchik, 7^th grade,

            Intermediate Flat – Mollie Kowalchik, 7^th grade,

            Novice Fences – Madeline Davis, 6^th grade,

            Novice Flat – Madeline Davis, 6^th grade,

            Beginner – Julie Frymier, 6^th grade,

       For more information about Beckett Run riding, contact coaches Jim and Gwen Arrigon at 513/839-5619 or garrigon@hotmail.com .  They are always seeking new riders for the team.

BECKETT RUN MIDDLE SCHOOL EQUESTRIAN TEAM scored a PERFECT SCORE at the IEA show at Stonegate Farm in Athens, Ohio, December 12, 2009.  Mollie Kowalchik won Intermediate Fences, Madeline Davis won Intermeiate flat, Olivia Sehlhorst won both novice flat and fences, and Julie Frymer won the Beginning class to give BRET five straight blues and a perfect score of 35 points!   

WE WELCOME some new horses that we have leased for Beckett Run riders this summer, including

Marcos, owned by Midway College in Kentucky.

MEREDITH FINCH signs her Kansas State University riding scholarship in a ceremony at her high school reecently.  Her parents - Byron Finch and Kim Suella are with her, and coach Jim Arrigon stands.

PHOTO:

From left to right:

Coach Jim Arrigon, Laura Smith, Emily Kowalchik, Allison Carey, Maggie Olthaus, Emily O’Brien, Madeline Davis, Kelsey Williamson, Mollie Kowalchik, Meredith Finch, Thea Bartlett, Coach Gwen Arrigon.  (Hidden is Maile Spencer)