Beckett Run Inc.                 

2012-13 SERIES SHOWS

Septmber 22 - Preseason Classic at Goucher College,

           Baltimore, Md

December 1 - Holiday Tournament - location TBA

January 26, 2013 Winter Classic at Chatham Hall,

           Chatham, Virginia

Mount Holyoke Wins 2012 SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

CENTENARY RULES AT 2OTH ANNIVERSARY HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT!

Tournament of Champions collegiate team tournaments celebrated their 20^th Anniversary event in December 2011, and the carefully selected host site turned quickly into a home team advantage as Centenary College squeaked out the victory over Mount Holyoke College, 37-35.  Centenary and Holyoke were tied with 15 points apiece after three jumping classes, a huge lead over everyone else.  Centenary – the 2011 IHSA National Champion - and Mount Holyoke led the pack from the start, but others closed the gap later in the day, including the 2010 Tournament Champion Delaware Valley College, who finished with 31.  Also in the hunt were the Goucher Gophers, who won both the Walk Trot and Walk Trot Canter to quietly pull up to 4^th Place with 28 points.  The scores bounced back and forth all day, and Mount Holyoke held the lead going into the final team class of the show.  Holyoke was finished with all their point riders and sitting on their 35 points, while Centenary had 33 points with a rider in the final class.  Centenary needed a 4^th Place to win the show.  They got a 3^rd from Jessica Pabst to ice the lead, to go along with two blue ribbons from Cori Reich, and blues from Brooke Nestor and Amy Priest for the White Team, in addition to Beth Scovetti for the Blue Team. 

As impressive as was Centenary’s team championship, the story behind the story was more impressive.  As the host of the event, Centenary was the only college allowed a Team B – they competed under Team White and Team Blue.  Coach Michael Dowling’s Team Blue was actually tied for 1^st Place after the three jumping classes, and had a strong enough showing to finish 7^th Place out of 25 very good teams in the Tournament.  Even more impressive, Centenary claimed 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Places in the collegiate Medal, in which each team presents their best rider for a medal format class.  As the host, Centenary had extra entries and used them wisely. 

While Cori Reich had won both flat and fences classes for her team, Katie Haley led the way for Centenary’s medal contingent.  The Orchard Park, New York sophomore led from start to finish, tallying the high flat phase score, then called back to test last, and retaining the top spot to the awards ceremony.  Cory Reich was Reserve Champion in the Tournament Medal, and Kelsey Bernini took 3^rd Place.  The other rider in the final test, finishing in 4^th Place, was Ciara Menkens, who had won the Medal for her Del Val team a year ago at the 19^th Annual Tournament.  Mount Holyoke finished 6^th place in the Medal with senior Margaret Swanson.

The Equestrian Talent Search high school aged Medal hosted 24 riders that were selected out of the Equestrian Talent Search clinics.  The top spot went to Samantha Genise, a senior from Freehold, New Jersey.  Sam had placed lower in the ribbons in the previous two Tournaments, and finally had the breakout performance that coaches were anticipating.  Among her awards, Samantha won a $5000 scholarship to Virginia Intermont College, although she is now entertaining several options. 

The Tournament Judge was Heide Casciaro, USEF R from Chicago area.  Heide was carefully selected to judge the anniversary Tournament because of her close historical ties to IHSA.  Riding for Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, Heide is remembered as one of only a handful to win the IHSA’s Cacchione Cup (national medal championship) twice, in 1985 and 1987.  Her name appears on the perpetual trophy right between Beezie Patton Madden and Peter Wylde… not too shabby. 

Centenary was hosting the Holiday Tournament for a record 5^th time.  Tournament of Champions Producer Jim Arrigon reminisced that, “…Centenary hosted the 2^nd Annual Tournament – the first that was truly a national level event.  I remember the old indoor arena was decked out with Christmas decorations, trees and wreathes, all the way up the stairs and the length of the balcony that runs all the way down one side of the indoor arena.  I can picture the students lining the balcony from one end to the other, leaning on the railing and watching the show from above.  Centenary won that year too, riding for Coach Kerry OConnell.”

The Tournament of Champions circuit continues January 28 at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Prior to Centenary, the Tournament had begun the season with the Preseason Classic at Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio in September.  The final award of the season, at Mary Washington, will be the 2012 Series Championship, awarded to the top scoring team for the series.  Current leaders for the Series Championship are Mount Holyoke with 58 points, followed by Virginia Intermont with 48 and UMass with 43. Other leaders may emerge following the final show, as the championship is earned by the top total of the best two or three show scores. 

For more information about Tournament of Champions or Equestrian Talent Search, contact IHSA National Secretary Jim Arrigon, jimarrigon@hotmail.com

Photos are attached – all photo credits to

 Steve Maxwell, Edtor – www.campusequestrian.com .

• Samantha Genise Wins Medal – ETS Medal winner Sammy Genise, with Virginia Intermont Coach Eddie Federwisch, and Tournament of Champions’ Gwen Arrigon.
• Team White Wins ’11 Tourney – Centenary Team White will take home the Tournament of Champions Perpetual Trophy, the tri-colored ribbons, the custom duffle bags, and you can see Coach Clark holding a trophy clock in team colors.  (left to right) Assistant Coach Heather Clark, Amy Priest, Beth Jonas, Brooke Nester, Trevor Hawthorne, Cori Reich, Debbie Smith, Jess Pabst, and Coach Michael Dowling.
• Bernini, Reich, Arrigon, Haley – the Top Three Medal riders, with Tournament Producer Jim Arrigon. 
• Arrigon, Haley 1^st in Medal – Centenary’s Katie Haley, with Tournament Producer Jim Arrigon.

Team Placings

Champion – Centenary College, Team White                        37 points

Reserve Champion – Mount Holyoke College                       35

3^rd – Delaware Valley College                                                31

4^th – Goucher College                                                             28

5^th – Skidmore College                                                           24

6^th – Savannah College of Art and Design                             24

7^th – Centenary Team Blue                                                     23

8^th – Penn State                                                                       20

            Virginia Intermont                                                      20

            UMass                                                                         17

            Cornell                                                                                    17

            Lynchburg                                                                   13

            Bridgewater                                                                13

            St. Andrews                                                                12

            Sacred Heart                                                               9

            Virginia Tech                                                              9

            Stonehill                                                                      7

            Kentucky                                                                    6

            New Hampshire                                                          6

            Lafayette                                                                     6

            University of the South                                              5

            Delaware                                                                     5

West Virginia                                                              5

            Tufts                                                                            1

            Rutgers                                                                        0

Tournament of Champions (college) Medal

Champion – Katie Haley, Centenary College

Res. Champion – Cori Reich, Centenary College

3^rd – Kelsey Bernini, Centenary College

4^th – Ciara Menkens, Delaware Valley

5^th – Kelly Sullivan, Tufts

6^th – Margaret Swanson, Mount Holyoke

7^th – Casey Larusso, Stonehill

8^th – Kelly Campbell, Skidmore

9^th – Rebekah Schrafe, Lafayette

10^th – Danielle Clark, Virginia Intermont

Equestrian Talent Search (high school) Medal

Champion – Samantha Genise, Freehold, NJ

Res. Champion – Skylar Laasko, Medfield, Massachusetts

3^rd – Lucy Hart, Lexington, Kentucky

4^th – Kate Krolick, Sharon, MA

5^th – Morgan Schneider, Hillsborough, NJ

6^th – Ryan Wilson, Colts Neck NJ

7^th – Molllie Kowalchik, Loveland Ohio

8^th – Caroline Becker, Branchville, NJ

9^th – Erica Glancey, Newtown, PA

10^th – Hallie Nichols, Solebury PA

2011-12 Tournament Series Championship Leaders

Mount Holyoke                       58

Virginia Intermont                  48

UMass                                     43

Cornell                                                30

Virginia Tech                          29

Additional results upon request.

Mount Holyoke Slam Dunks at Tournament of Champions Winter Classic!

      How good was Mount Holyoke at the January 28, 2012 Winter Classic?  It was Class 11 before one of their riders placed lower than 2^nd!   Felicia Harrasch started the show with a win in Class 1 Intermediate Flat, followed by Lexie Lohrer winning Class 2 Open Fences, and Holyoke was off and running!  Other winners for Mount Holyoke included Hanna Thornton in Open Flat, So Jin Lee in Walk Trot.  Holyoke raced to a 42 point day – the second- highest point total in Tournament history!

      With the Winter Classic win, Mount Holyoke secured the 2012 Tournament of Champions Series Championship, which they were leading even before coming to Virginia.  This is the second time they have taken home the big Series Champion cup – they had it last in 2008.  Could this be one of the best teams for Coach CJ Law?  She has coached three National Champion teams, the last one in 2006.   

     While Holyoke was pulling away from the pack, the pack was trying to catch Virginia Intermont’s two teams.  While VI Team Gold had more winners – 2 blues in Novice flat and fences from Ashley Ramey and Rory Mueller, Team Black was more consistent, and ended up the Reserve Champion, 33 to 32 points.  Team Black got a blue ribbon from Kayla Akers.  Intermont was allowed two teams because they brought many of the horses for the show, as did Lynchburg College, who made it a little more obvious which team held the first string.  Lynchburg’s “Pulled Pork” team flirted with the leaders for awhile before finishing in the ribbons at 8^th Place.  The “Beef Brisket” team?  Not so lucky.  Coach Matt Arrigon said his team spends a lot of time at the local barbecue joint.    

       Delaware Valley College made another strong statement with a solid 4^th place finish.  The Aggies have finished 4^th or higher in five straight Tournament shows.  They have a strong history at Winter Classic, having been champions of the 2010 event, and Del Val’s Ciara Menkens was Medal Champion at 2011 Winter Classic.

       Other teams in the ribbons at the end of the day included 5^th Pace Virginia Tech, always one of the top teams in Tournament of Champions competition despite seemingly being the permanent 2^nd pace team in their region behind Virginia Intermont.  Saint Andrews University finished in 6^th pace, and Cornell finished in 7^th pace, a point ahead of Lynchburg’s Pork.  (Interesting side note:  Cornell coach Chris Mitchell had been introduced in a press release earlier in the week as the new coach at Randolph College, the Virginia facility where Lynchburg College team trains alongside Randolph College.  He will make the move to Lynchburg, Virginia next summer.)     

      While Mount Holyoke raced away to the 2012 Series Championship, Virginia Intermont narrowly edged out Delaware Valley for Reserve Champion.  Those were pretty clearly the top 3 teams of the 2011-12 Tournament of Champions season, although for those keeping watch on the top rated IHSA teams it should be noted that the Holiday Tournament Champion- Centenary -was not able to make the trip to Virginia for the Winter Classic finale.  Previously this season, the Tournament of Champions Preseason Classic was at Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio; Holiday Tournament of Champions was at Centenary College in New Jersey. 

      That Del Val’s Ciara Menkens won the Tournament of Champions Medal is not a shocker – she defended her championship after winning the same class a year ago.  The shocker is that she won after she was standing in 3^th place on Judge Woody Dyers’ card when they came back for the final test.  Intermont’s Blake Roberts tested first, then Ciara Menkens second.  Both nailed the test which included a hand gallop jump, followed by a trot jump, two simple lead changes down the centerline, and a sitting trot to the gate.  Everyone sat up to pay attention when Cornell’s Katie Fink refused the trot jump in her test, and were stunned when Penn State’s Brendan Weiss – testing in first pace – also stopped at the trot jump, propelling Menkens to the top of the class.  Others in the top in the Medal included Intermont’s Danielle Clark in 5^th Place, and Katie Hanson from Saint Andrews in 6th. 

      The Equestrian Talent Search Medal involved high school aged riders chosen out of the ETS Clinics held six times annually.  All the riders were college recruiting prospects who wanted to be seen by the coaches involved in the show.  The winner of the class, Meghan Hynes of York, Maine, won a $5000 scholarship to Virginia Intermont College.  The ETS Medal is held three times a year, at each of the Tournament of Champions shows.

      The host for the event was the University of Mary Washington at Hazelwild Farm in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Horse providers were UMW, Virginia Intermont, Lynchburg College, and Goucher College.  The weather was sunny and 50 degrees.  The judge was Woody Dykers, USEF “R” from Alpharetta, Georgia.

     Tournament of Champions will begin the 2012-13 season with the Preseason Classic in September at Goucher College in Baltimore.

Team Placings:

Champion:       Mount Holyoke College                     42 points

Res. Champ.    Virginia Intermont, Black Team         33

3^rd                    Virginia Intermont Gold Team           32

4^th                    Delaware Valley College                    27

5^th                    Virginia Tech                                      27

6^th                    Saint Andrews                                                22

7^th                    Cornell                                                            21

8^th                    Lynchburg Pulled Pork Team             20

                        Goucher                                              17

                        Lafayette                                             15

Penn State                                           15

UMass                                                 12

Dartmouth                                           12

Sweet Briar                                         11

New Hampshire                                  10

Tufts                                                    10

Mary Washington Blue Team             9

Rutgers                                                8

Mary Washington Grey Team 3

Lynchburg Beef Brisket Team            2

2011-12 Tournament of Champions Series Champions

Champion        Mount Holyoke College                     77 points

Res.Champ      Virginia Intermont                              61

3^rd                    Delaware Valley                                 58

4^th                    Virginia Tech                                      47

5^th                    Goucher                                              45

6^th                    UMass                                                 43

7^th                    Cornell                                                            38

8^th                    Penn State                                           35       

Tournament of Champions Medal

Champion        Ciara Menkens, Delaware Valley

Res Champ      Blake Roberts, Virginia Intermont

3^rd                    Brendan Weiss, Penn State

4^th                    Katie Fink, Cornell

5^th                    Danielle Clark, Virginia Intermont

6^th                    Katie Hanson, Saint Andrews

7^th                    Kelly Gerland, Lynchburg

8^th                    Flynn Vickowski, Mount Holyoke

9^th                    Margaret Swanson, Mount Holyoke

10^th                  Danielle Miranda, Lafayette

Equestrian Talent Search (high school) Medal

Champion        Meghan Hynes, York, Maine

Res Champ      Christina Martinelli, Oxford, Connecticut

3^rd                    Emily Dunn, Manassas, Virginia

4^th                    Jenna Boillotat, Hanover, New Hampshire

5^th                    Maggie Kelleher, Lynchburg, Virginia

6^th                    Sophie Bish, Charlotte, North Carolina

7^th                    Emily Curran, Katawah, New York

8^th                    Cara Hundley, Ellicott City, Maryland

Photo attached:  Mount Holyoke wins!  Left to right:  C.J. Law (coach), Margaret Swanson, Felicia Harrsch, Lexie Lohrer, Hannah Thornton, Abby Raucher, Samantha Stone, So Jin 
Lee, Nell Maynard, Maddi Shortt and Flynn Vickowski.
  

Photo attached:  ETs Medal Champion Meghan Hynes accepts the VI scholarship from Coach Eddie Federwisch and Gwen Arrigon of Tournament of Champions

Photo Credits:  Steve Maxwell, Princeton, New Jersey

More photos and info about Tournament of Champions and Equestrian Talent Search: 

Jim Arrigon, jimarrigon@hotmail.com

HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS at Centenary College, New Jersey

December 5, 2009

Centenary College , the 2009 National Champs, placed 1st AND 2nd at the Holiday Tournament, but the surprise team was Matt Arrigon's Lynchburg College team finishing in a tie for 3rd place out of 28 teams!  Matt  (left) formerly coached the IEA high school team here at Beckett Run!

CENTENARY ROLLS THROUGH

HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Hackettstown, New Jersey, 12/5/09

      It was a return to comfortable normalcy for the big guns of collegiate riding, and at the same time a breakout performance for some young and inexperienced teams intent on making a name for themselves on the national stage that was Holiday Tournament of Champions.  This year’s Holiday Tournament was hosted by the 2009 National Champion team, December 5 at

Centenary College in New Jersey

.   The outcome was impressive, if not predictable – Centenary’s two teams finished Champion and Reserve Champion of the 28 teams in attendance.  Centenary’s Lindsay Mohr, currently leading the region for Cacchione Cup points, set the pace by winning the first class of the day, giving her “Team Jacob” the early lead and they never looked back, amassing an insurmountable lead by mid-day.  Lindsay Clark, 2009 National Cacchione Cup Champion, followed Mohr’s lead, winning Open B section as well.   Coach Michael Dowling’s Centenary team clearly dominated the 2009 Holiday Tournament, winning seven of the sixteen classes between the two teams and scoring an amazing 43 points – unheard of in this level national invitational. 

The next 8 teams were separated by only a blue ribbon in the end, and included the Lindsay Clark’s Centenary “Team Edward” bringing home the Reserve Championship with 25 points. 

Following that was a three way tie for 3^rd place, which included two teams of Mount Holyoke College

, who had a team National Championship in 2006, sandwiched between Reserve Championships in 2005 and 2007.  Coach CJ Law’s Holyoke team was the 2008 Tournament of Champions Series Champion, and one of the most consistently successful collegiate programs of the decade.   Their team balance is evidenced by their two teams tying with 22 points apiece. 

Tied with Holyoke was Lynchburg College , a hot upstart in their first year of national level competition, coached by Matt Arrigon.  Lynchburg competes in the highly competitive western Virginia region that includes Hollins, Sweet Briar, University of Virginia , Randolph , Bridgewater

, etc.  The young Lynchburg team finished the fall semester with Reserve Champion and Champion performances, and now has gained national attention with their performance at the Holiday Tournament.  Sophomore Kelly Gerland led the way for the Lynchburg Hornets, placing 3^rd in the open fences, and later grabbing a 6^th place in the Tournament of Champions Medal class. 

Mount Holyoke brought home the 3^rd and 4^th place ribbons by way of the tie breaker, which was the number of blue ribbons won.   Lynchburg took the 5^thplace ribbon home to Virginia

.

Virginia Intermont finished in 6^th place with 20 points.  Intermont is never far from the top of the standings, having won the IHSA National Championship in 2004. ’06, and ’07.  They have won the Tournament of Champions Series Championship all but two years in the fifteen year existence of the trophy.  After a slow period the past couple years, Coach Eddie Federwisch is excited about his group of freshmen this year and anticipates a VI resurgence in the national standings.

One point back of Intermont was two more impressive young teams that are turning heads this year in collegiate riding.  Virginia Tech and The University of the South, or “Sewanee”, as they are known all across the south.  Sewanee won that tie breaker to gain the 7^th Place

ribbon, while Tech took home the 8^th.  Virginia Tech had previously brought home the Champion Trophy from the Tournament of Champions Preseason Classic in September.  Sewanee Coach Megan Taylor is excited about her young team this year that includes a cast of star freshmen to join an already solid team.  Olivia Schubert and Kaylee Beauchamp both took blue ribbons for Sewanee in Intermediate flat and fences, and Samantha Strouss took 2^nd place in the open fences. 

Following are the team ribbons for 2009 Holiday Tournament of Champions:

Champion: Centenary College Team Jacob, 43 points

Res.Champ,: Centenary Team Edward, 25

3^rd:       Mt Holyoke College Team Lyons , 22

4^th:       Mt Holyoke Team Columbia Blue, 22

5^th:       Lynchburg College , 22

6^th:       Virginia Intermont College , 20

7^th:       Sewanee: The Univ. of the South, 19

8^th:       Virginia Tech, Team Enter the Sandman, 19

The Tournament of Champions medal included 36 riders who had been nominated by their coaches.  They competed in groups of 12 on the flat, then 18 were called back to compete over fences.  Two were called for additional testing before the judge placed the top 12. 

Stonehill College ’s Quinn Traendley earned the Champion ribbon, edging out Kristy Kenn of University of Michigan

.  It was the first trip to the Medal ribbons for both riders, edging out some names that are familiar from past Tournament Medals…

Tournament of Champions Medal placings:

Champion        Quinn Traendly, Stonehill College

Res. Champ     Kristy Kenn, Michigan

3^rd                    Liz Potariu, Cazenovia College

4^th                    Lindsay Mohr, Centenary

5^th                    Suzanne Snyder, St. Lawrence

6^th                    Kelly Gerland, Lynchburg College

7^th                    Lauren Duffee, Holy Cross

8^th                    Danielle Miranda, Lafayette

9^th                    Mariel Saccucci, Rhode Island

10^th                  Lauren Zapitelli, Wisconsin

11^th                  Kelly Arvidson, Centenary

12^th                  Nikki Ficano, Cazenovia

The show was judged by Linda Shahinian, USEF “R” judge from the state of New Jersey .  The announcer was Tim Cleary, courses designed by Michael Dowling.   Weather was suitably wintry, with big, fluffy snowflakes covering the riders’ coats and helmets as they made the walk from the indoor mounting area to the indoor show ring.

The final show of the 2009-2010 Tournament of Champions series will be the Winter Classic, January 30, 2010 at the University of Mary Washington,

Fredericksburg, Virginia .  The Series Champion Team will be crowned at the conclusion of that show.  The Series Champion will be the highest point total of two shows including the Holiday Tournament and either the Preseason Classic or the Winter Classic.  Virginia Tech is the current leader for series points.  The Top 5 are listed below. 

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS TOP 5 SERIES LEADERS:

Virginia Tech             48 points

Mount Holyoke          45

Centenary                  43

Virginia Intermont     39

Lynchburg College   32

Complete class placings and photos available upon request.

For questions or additional info, contact Jim Arrigon at 513/839-5607 or jimarrigon@hotmail.com

 VIRGINIA TECH WINS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS PRESEASON CLASSIC, Roanoke VA, Sept '09

Brett Flower, Kim Escobar, Paige Messick, Katie Hanley, Megan Ebling, Anna Norwood, Coach Sherri West

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS is a non-sanctioned exhibition series in the team tournament format of the IHSA Collegiate Cup competition.  Each team brings one rider in each of the 8 IHSA class divisions, all riding for team points against the best 8 riders from the best teams we can get to attend, usually a wide variety of top teams from all across the country. 

      Coaches have found there is no better experience - no other way to get this level of compeition, other than Nationals - for their riders than the tournaments.  We can make the arguement that we're even more competitive than Nationals, because often the best teams in the nation eliminate each other in the process of getting to Nationals.  We invite the top Regional and Zone Champions, but we can also invite the top 2nd and 3rd place teams from the best areas of the country where those teams are sometimes better than some teams that make it to Nationals. 

       Best of all, since this is a non-sanctioned IHSA compeition, riders don't earn IHSA points, so it is the perfect way to get riders top level experience while holding them back from ponting out to the next level.

       There is a team champion for each show - with a lot of media attention in the horse magazines and websites - but more importantly, the points accumulate for the series each year.  

       There is also an individual Medal class at each tournament, with top riders from attending teams, as well as top riders from other teams across the country.  We also accept top alumni for the medal class as well.  Medal is held in a format of flat first, then top half of riders caled back for fences, and top entries return for testing. 

       Teams interested in attending or hosting a Tournament should contact JimArrigon@hotmail.com.  

PreSeason Classic is always held in late September.  It is the smallest of the Tournaments, because many teams are not organized enough to get together for it.  We usually have somewhere between 16 and 20 teams, and about 24 Medal riders for the PreSeason Classic.  Recent hosts include Mount Holyoke Colege in Massachusetts in 2008, St. Andrews Presbytarian College in 2007, Hollins University in Virginia in 2006.  Other hosts traditionally have been UConn, Virginia Intermont, Purdue, etc.

Holiday Tournament of Champions  is the granddaddy of them all - established in 1990 - and has grown to be what coaches call "Winter Nationals".  We generally have about 24 to 26 of the top teams in the nation, along with 36 of the best open riders and former collegiate champions.  It's BRUTAL!  Winners from the Holiday Tournament are generally amongst the tops at Nationals later in the year.It is always held the first full weekend of December.   Recent hosts include Lake Erie College in Ohio in 2008, Centenary College in New Jersey in 2007, Cazenovia College in New York in 2006, and previously St. Andrews, Findlay, Morehead State, Midway College, etc. 

Winter Classic  is a new project just the past few years.  Similar in format to the Preseason Classic, if is held in late January in a southern location.  University of Georgia hosted the first Winter Classic in 2007, and 2008 Winter Classic was at Chatham Hall boarding school in Virginia, hosted by UNC Charlotte.  We couldn't find a date/location in 2009.  Teams interested in hosting should contact Jim. 

Spring Break Classic  was an annual event for nearly a decade, hosted by New Mexico State University and West Texas A&M University in the late '90's till about 2004.   Teams willing to host should contact Jim.

UPCOMING SHOWS

• 2009 Preseason Classic -   September 26, Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia.  
• 2009 Holiday Tournament - December 5, Centenary College, Hackettstown, New Jersey.
• 2010 Winter Classic -                   January 30, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
• 2010 Preseason Classic,      September 26, Goucher College, Baltimore MD
• 2010 Holiday Tournament,   December 4, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
•                           

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

2011-12

MIAMI SHOCKS THE PRESEASON CLASSIC TOURNAMENT!

If the 2011 Tournament of Champions Preseason Classic proved anything, it was that the talent pool is deepening in collegiate riding.  Ten years ago in this sport the top teams were ALWAYS the top teams and a handful of teams would run away with the top spots at national level events like the Tournament of Champions because the second-tier teams didn’t have anybody who could compete in the national level arena.  In September of 2011, only a single blue ribbon separated the top seven teams in the standings at the Preseason Classic, held September 24 at Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio.

Fifteen different teams were on the scoreboard after three classes were in the books, an indication of the tight competition that was forthcoming.  It was not surprising when Cornell’s Katie Fink grabbed the first blue ribbon of the day, with Virginia Intermont second.  But it got people talking when, after several classes were in the books, the names at the top of the leader board were UMass and Michigan.  The surprising UMass team, with new coach Mara Keith-Hunter (former 2-time IHSA National Champion rider for Findlay) tied with Virginia Intermont for most 1^st Places on the day, with 3 of their 8 entries taking home blue. 

When Miami of Ohio won the final class of the day to leap-frog several teams into the lead, they validated their trip to Nationals in 2011.  Miami had been one of the top teams at IHSA Nationals and in the Tournament of Champions for many years but hadn’t made a trip to either in five years till this year. 

Three teams – University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Intermont’s second team, and Otterbein – tied for 3^rd Place, just 4 points off the lead, and were placed by the IHSA tie-breaker system of most blue ribbons, followed by most reds, followed by jumping points. 

Perennial top-feeders Virginia Intermont, Mount Holyoke, Virginia Tech all had strong shows, but the story was in the also-rans.  UMass and Otterbein both had very strong performances that landed them in the team ribbons, and upstart Xavier University from Cincinnati finished just 2 points out of the team ribbons, largely on the merits of freshman Lizz Kingsbury’s 2^nd in open fences and 3^rd in open flat.   Purdue, Ohio U, Cornell, and West Virginia all had strong showings, and even Northern Illinois and Wisconsin showed signs of life occasionally. 

The Tournament of Champions Medal class – an eclectic mix of open stars, outstanding intermediate riders, along with some excellent alums -  was as competitive as ever, with 20 entries flatting, 11 called back to jump, and five coming back for a final test.  Virginia Intermont continued to impress, claiming both Champion Danielle Clark and 3^rd Place Blake Roberts.  Michigan’s Kristy Kenn took Reserve Champion, and a Wisconsin alumnus – Kelly Mallery – came in 4^th. 

The Equestrian Talent Search Medal followed the same format for high school riders from the ETS national clinic program which is produced by Jim Arrigon and Beckett Run, the same company that runs the Tournament of Champions.  The ETS Medal is something new, and will be offered at all three Tournaments this season, with Virginia Intermont College offering a $5000 scholarship to each of the winners.  The final test featured three top IEA Riders – Mollie Kowalchik of Beckett Run in Cincinnati, Rachel McConnell of Yinger Equestrian in Columbus, Lauren Thompson of Evermore Farm in Georgia – plus Christine Stephan from Buffalo, NY.   In the end, placings were so close that the top two were separated by a question from the judge, and Rachel McConnell took home the Virginia Intermont scholarship, which VI coach Eddie Federwisch hopes will get used next year since Rachel is just a junior in high school.  Reserve Champion Mollie Kowakchik is just a sophomore and the youngest of a family of riders - sister Emily Kowalchik is Team Captain for Cornell, while oldest sister Melissa rode NCAA for SMU.  3^rd Place rider Lauren Thompson is also a junior, and the only senior among the final four – Christine Stephan – hopes to ride at Cornell or Xavier next year.       

Missing from the Tournament was a whole slew of southern schools – there were regular IHSA shows in two Zone 4 regions which prevented top names like Hollins, Lynchburg, Bridgewater, St. Andrews from attending the Tournament.  Also noticeably missing was the Zone 2 contingent – Centenary, who will host the Holiday Tournament in December, along with Skidmore and St. Lawrence. 

The new Otterbein University Equine Center was a beautiful and fitting site for the Tournament, and horses were very solid in their jobs.  Besides Otterbein, horses came from Miami, Yinger Equestrian (an IEA team in the area), and Sid Griffith Equestrian (a local IEA barn that is the new home to Ohio State hunter team, although OSU declined invitation because they just started school last week.)

Next on the schedule is the 20^th Anniversary Holiday Tournament of Champions, hosted by Centenary College in New Jersey for the 4^th time on December 3, 2011.  The final Tournament event of this season will be at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, January 28, 2012.  The team with the best two-show point total will be crowned the Series Champion at Mary Washington. 

For more info about Tournament of Champions or Equestrian Talent Search, email JimArrigon@hotmail.com, visit www.BeckettRunRiding.com or visit the Equestrian Talent Search page on Facebook.

Notable results follow…

Team Placing

Champion:       Miami of Ohio                                                            30 points

Res. Champ     Virginia Intermont Team Gold                       28

3^rd                    UMass                                                             26

4^th                    Virginia Intermont Team Black                      26

5^th                    Otterbein Otter Trotters                                  26

6^th                    Otterbein Cantering Cardinals                        24

7^th                    Mount Holyoke                                               23

8^th                    Virginia Tech Enter Sandman                         20

                        Xavier                                                             18

                        Purdue                                                             18

                        Ohio University                                              17

                        Michigan                                                         16

                        West Virginia                                                  14

                        Cornell                                                                        13

                        Northern Illinois Black Team                          12

                        Wisconsin Team Badger                                 11

                        Virginia Tech Hokie Nation                            10

                        Wisconsin Team Bucky                                  10

                        Louisville                                                        5

                        Northern Illinois Red Team                            5

Tournament of Champions (collegiate) Medal

Champion:       Danielle Clark, Virginia Intermont

Res.Champ      Kristy Kenn, Michigan

3^rd                    Blake Roberts, Virginia Intermont

4^th                    Kelly Mallery, Wisconsin

5^th                    Madeline Rohl, Otterbein

6^th                    Courtney Bryggman, UMass

7^th                    Lizz Kingsbury, Xavier

8^th                    Katie Fink, Cornell

Equestrian Talent Search (high school) Medal

Champion        Rachel McConnell, Powell, Ohio

Res.champ       Mollie Kowalchik, Loveland, Ohio

3^rd                    Lauren Thompson, Rincon, Georgia

4^th                    Christine Stephan, Amherst, New York

5^th                    Samantha Genise, Freehold, New Jersey

6^th                    Sophie Bish, Charlotte, North Carolina

7^th                    Madeline Davis, Troy, Ohio

8^th                    Ally D’Amico, Cheshire, Connecticut

Full scoreboard below….

WINTER CLASSIC at

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, Virginia

January 30, 2010

DEL VAL WINS! 

Whether they went home winners or losers, every team at the 2010 Tournament of Champions Winter Classic can claim to have taken part in one of the most memorable and historic of two decades of Tourname

Click Here for full story and photos.

PRESEASON CLASSIC at Hollins University, September 2009 

As reported by Rebecca Morehouse Hall

While the weather was horrid on Saturday, Sunday became sunny

and a perfect show day for one of the most smoothly run horse

shows I’ve ever attended, as either a spectator or competitor...

CLICK for the full story.

Hollins Univeristy's Katie Furches wins the T of C Medal, Sept. '09.(l to r) Hollins Equestrian Director Nancy Peterson, IHSA Exec Director Bob Cacchione, Furches, Liz Courter and Sandy Gerald, Hollins coaches. 

MAKING ROOM AT THE TOP –

VIRGINIA TECH WINS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS PRESEASON CLASSIC

     It’s become a routine in college riding…  It’s PreSeason Classic time, which means a new beginning for everyone, an equal chance for every team to be champions in the new season.  In reality, we have to go back five years to find a time when the PreSeason Classic was not won by either Mount Holyoke

or Virginia Intermont - that also has become routine.  CLICK  for full story.