The Skidmore College equestrian team had its first horse show of the season on Oct. 27. Thirteen schools competed at Hartwick College, with Skidmore and University of Albany sharing the first place.

The day started on a great note with Megan Martin ’08 and Emily Bruschi ’10 winning their open over fences classes. It was Bruschi’s first horse show on the team and joining her in her IHSA debut was freshman Kaitlin Swartwood and sophomore Elizabeth Kigin, who both rode beautifully to second and fourth place ribbons respectively in their open over fences classes.

In the intermediate over fences division, Jordan Calabro ’10 and Jessica Feil ’08 gave strong rides to receive fifth and sixth place ribbons.

The Skidmore novice over fences riders awed the competition, with sophomore Alexandra Cooper receiving second in her class, senior Andrea Hippeau winning her class, and freshman Amanda Werner winning her class to bring Skidmore 7 more points to the team’s final score.

In the afternoon flat classes, the open flat were the first to ride. Swartwood '11 was second, with Bruschi ’10 and Jennifer Wilkins ’09 both giving strong rides to bring home fourth place ribbons. Vicky Wright ’08 won her intermediate flat class, and Hippeau ’08 came in third.

In the novice on the flat, Grier Filly '10 made her IHSA debut and won a second, while fellow novice riders, Jessica Feil ’08 and Alexandra Cooper ’10, received first and fifth place ribbons in their classes.

The walk-trot- canter riders, Laura Roberts ’10 and Billie Taft ’08, placed second and fifth. The day ended on a great note with walk-trot riders, Emily Hottensen ’10 and Hannah Lipsky ’10, both showing their great skill and taking home first and third place ribbons to the bring the day to the close.

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November 11, 2007 - Cornell University

The Skidmore College equestrian team won its second horse show of the season on Nov. 11 at Cornell University. Skidmore beat 12 other schools in the event.

In the open over fences division, Megan Martin ’08 brought home a first place, with Kendle Handtmann ’09 and Katie Swartwood ’11 riding beautifully to second places ribbons.

Jordan Calabro ’10 also gave a great ride to second place in the intermediate over fences division, and Calla Dobmeyer ’11 made her IHSA debut riding a very difficult horse to fourth place.

The jumping classes concluded with the novice over fences division, where senior Vicky Wright and freshman Tiffany Mazaras both gave strong rides and placed second in their classes. Wright’s second place ribbon bumped her up to the intermediate over fences division for the next horse show and qualified her for the regional horse show at the end of this year.

Skidmore dominated the afternoon flat classes, with Martin, Handtmann, and Swartwood all placing second in their open flat classes. Jennifer Wilkins ’09 won her open flat class, which gave the team seven more points for the final count. Wright won her intermediate flat class which also contributed to the team’s final score for the day, and Andrea Hippeau ’08 placed second in her intermediate flat class. In the novice flat classes, Grier Filley ’10 and Tiffany Mazavas ’11 both brought home first place ribbons.

In the walk-trot-canter division, both of Skidmore’s riders, Billie Taft ’08 and Alex McGuire ’11, won their divisions. The last classes of the day were just as successful with Hannah Lipsky ’10 and Emily Hottensen ’10 winning their classes.

The Skidmore Women’s Equestrian Team is currently leading their region, and with two successful horse shows under the team’s belt, everyone is excited for the upcoming horse shows at Morrisville College on November 17th and 18th.

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November 17, 2007 - SUNY Morrisville

The Skidmore College women’s equestrian team finished fourth in the Morrisville show on Nov. 17. Despite the finish, the team continues to lead the region in points. Thirteen schools came together to create a tough field of competition for the day.

The show started with the open over fences division. Four of Skidmore’s riders started the horse show on a great note. Kendle Handtmann ’09 showed in the first section and received a second place ribbon. Sophomore Elizabeth Kigin rode beautifully in the next class and brought home a first place ribbon. Megan Martin ’08 also gave a great ride to win her class, and freshman Kaitlin Swartwood brought home a third place ribbon to close out the open over fences division.

In the intermediate over fences division, Jordan Calabro ’10 rode a difficult horse to a sixth place ribbon, and senior Vicky Wright also received a sixth place ribbon in her class. The novice over fences followed, with junior Sarah Gray putting in a great ride to win a first place ribbon. Freshman Amanda Werner won second, which added five points to Skidmore’s final score. Senior Sarah Webb rode to a fourth place finish in her class, and fellow senior Andrea Hippeau gave a strong ride to a sixth place ribbon.

In the afternoon flat classes, Handtmann won her open flat class. Swartwood brought home a third place, and Jennifer Wilkins ’09 earned a second place for the team. Martin received a third place in the final open flat class. In the intermediate on the flat division, Andrea Hippeau was third and Vicky Wright was sixth in each of their classes.

In the novice flat division, Grier Filley ’10 gave a great ride to a second place in her class. In the walk-trot-canter classes, senior Billie Taft rode beautifully to a third place ribbon and freshman Alex McGuire gave a fantastic ride for a first place finish. The final division of the day was the walk-trot classes. Sophomore Rebecca Rawling rode in her ISHA debut to a third place ribbon, and Emily Hottensen ’10 received a second place ribbon to help in raising Skidmore’s final score for the day.

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November 18, 2007 - SUNY Morrisville

Skidmore concluded a double weekend horse show by showing in their fourth horse show of the season at Morrisville State College. Despite having a long day on Saturday, the Skidmore Equestrian team showed its true colors and won Sunday's show with a perfect score of 49 points.

In the open over fences division, Kendle Handtmann ’09 gave one of her best rides to win the first open class, which automatically earned the team 7 points for the final score. Kaitlin Swartwood ’11 and Elizabeth Kigin ’10 showed in the same open class and earned second and sixth place, respectively. Megan Martin ’08 gave a fantastic ride to win her class against the pointed Cornell and Binghamton riders.

The intermediate over fences classes were as successful, with junior Jennifer Wilkins winning her class, which pointed her into the open over fences division. Vicky Wright ’08 gave a beautiful ride to a second place finish in her class. In the novice over fences division, Andrea Hippeau ’08 earned a third place finish. Amanda Werner ’11 and Sarah Webb ’08 competed in the same novice class to finish first and second. Grier Filley ’10 finished up the novice classes by earning another first, making her first IHSA over fences debut extremely successful.

In the flat classes, Skidmore dominated the other schools. Jennifer Wilkins and Kendle Handtmann won their open flat classes, and Megan Martin and Kaitlin Swartwood came in second. In the intermediate on the flat, Andrea Hippeau won her class and Vicky Wright gave a strong ride to second place in her class. Freshman Martyna Michalik won her first IHSA novice flat class. Grier Filley ’10 also won her novice flat class, helping the team with its perfect final score.

In the walk-trot-canter classes, sophomore Laura Roberts and senior Billie Taft won their classes. In the walk-trot classes, Rebecca Rawling ’10 gave a beautiful ride for another first place finish. The day ended not only with a win for the team, but with Skidmore’s Jennifer Wilkins being named high point rider after a ride-off with three other riders, two of which were also Skidmore riders.

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December 1, 2007 - Skidmore College

The Skidmore equestrian team won its final horse show for the fall semester, showing at Skidmore’s Van Lennep Riding Stables. Skidmore stayed strong and dominated the show, winning against 12 other schools.

Starting off the day, Elizabeth Kigin ’10, Megan Martin ’08, and Kendle Handtmann ’09, all won their open over fences classes. Kaitlin Swartwood ’11 placed second in her open over fences class. Jordan Calabro ’10 rode beautifully to win her intermediate over fences class. Jessica Feil ’08 also gave a great ride to second place in her intermediate over fences class, and Andrea Hippeau ’08 placed fourth in her intermediate class.

In the novice over fences class, sophomores Alexandra Cooper and Grier Filley both took home second place ribbons, and fellow sophomore Amanda LaRose gave a fantastic ride to win her class.

In the flat class, Kaitlin Swartwood ’11 won her open flat class. Jennifer Wilkins ’09 and Megan Martin ’08 both placed second in their classes, and Kendle Handtmann ’09 was fourth in her flat class. In the intermediate flat class, Calabro brought home another blue for the Skidmore team, and Jessica Feil was second. The Skidmore girls ruled the novice flat classes, with Sarah Gray ’09 and Martyna Michalik ’11 both won their flat classes. Amanda LaRose placed fourth in her novice flat class.

In the walk-trot-canter classes, Billie Taft ’08 and Michal Adut ’09 also brought home blue ribbons for the day. To close out a strong day, Rebecca Rawling ’10 and Emily Hottensen ’10 both won their walk-trot classes. Skidmore is currently 37 points ahead of the second place team, Cornell, in the region, and Jordan Calabro ’10 was named high point rider for the day.

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IHSA Nationals
May 8 - 11 - Los Angeles Equestrian Center

This year's team entrants for Nationals were Rebecca Rawling ('10) for Walk/Trot, Hanae Kimura ('11) for Walk/Trot/Canter, Grier Filley ('10) for Novice on the flat, Laura Robers ('10) for Novice over fences, Hawthorne Hart ('08) for Intermediate on the flat, Alex Steveson ('09) for Intermediate over fences, Jessica Schroff ('08) for Open on the flat, and Emily Bruschi ('10) for Open over fences.

The individual entrants for this year's nationals were those who pointed out of their divisions and then placed first or second in the Zone Finals. The entrants were Billie Taft ('08) in Walk/Trot/Canter, Andrea Hippeau ('08) and Vicky Wright ('08) in Novice over fences, Vicky Wright ('08) for Intermediate on the flat, Megan Martin ('08) for Open on the flat, and Emily Bruschi ('10) for Open over fences.

Day One of Nationals began with Laura Roberts ('10) in Team Novice over fences. She rode very well, and made the team proud. The day continued with Individual Open over fences. Bruschi ('10) drew a tough spot, competing last, and rode a great round, placing fifth. The big triumph of Day One was in the Inidividual Novice over fences, which Hippeau ('08) won with a score of 83. Wright ('08) also competed and rode a great round on a tough horse. Martin ('08) also rode in Phase 1, the flat phase, of the Cacchione Cup. She rode beautifully, receiving a score of 73.

Phase Two, the jumping phase, of the Cacchione Cup ran early on Day Two. Martin ('08) scored at 82, moving up from 11th place to 5th going into the Work-Off on Day Three. Stevenson ('09) competed in Team Intermediate over fences, riding well with a score of 79. Rawling ('10) rode a huge horse in the Team Walk/Trot class, riding well in a hugely competitive class. In the Individual Walk/Trot/Canter division, Billie Taft ('08) rode outstandingly, being called back for the top 11 and top 5, finally placing an impressive 3rd. The day ended with Martin ('08) placing 10th in Individual Open on the flat.

Day Three started out with a bang for Skidmore when Bruschi ('08) placed second in Team Open over fences. Bruschi provided Skidmore with its first 5 points towards the team's National score. The Work-Off of the Cacchione Cup came next, with a difficult course incorporating a trot jump, halt, and counter canter. Martin rode the test well, and placed fourth overall for the Cacchione Cup. In the afternoon, Hart ('08) rode a tough horse for the team in Intermediate on the flat, looking beautiful and placing 6th, adding another point to the Skidmore's team score. Finally, Wright ('08) competed in the Individual Intermediate on the flat. She looked stunning on her horse, placing fourth.

Skidmore went into the last day with only 6 points. However, the team stepped up to the plate. First, Kimura ('11) rode a beautiful round in Team Walk/Trot/Canter, winning the class and adding 6 points to the Skidmore score. Filley ('10) added another 3 points to the score with a fourth place in Team Novice on the flat, and Schroff ('08) finished off the 2008 IHSA Nationals with 2 points and a 5th place in Team Open on the flat. With a slow start, the Skidmore team tied University of Findlay and St. Lawrence University for the IHSA 2008 Reserve Champion title, placing just three points behind the champions, University of Kentucky.