Skidmore riders once again proved that they are true competitors this past Saturday at Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ by earning a chance to compete at IHSA Nationals. With riders in all but one over fences class, Skidmore started the day with great rounds from co-captain Elizabeth Kigin ‘10 and Emily Bruschi ’10 who placed third and eighth, respectively in the individual open over fences. Next, Bruschi put in the first team ride of the day in open fences earning a third place and four points for the team total. In team intermediate fences, Kelly Campbell ’12 was second with a very solid round. Junior Alexandria Cooper put in a great round to place fifth in individual novice fences. For the team, Chelsea Jones ‘12 rode in novice fences to add five more points to the team total with a second place finish.

The afternoon flat classes began with individual open flat in which Bruschi was fourth after switching horses to test. Following was co-captain Jennifer Wilkins ’09 winning the team open flat to add the first blue ribbon of the day to Skidmore’s card. Wilkins also competed in the Cacchione flat phase (after having completed the over fences phase in the morning) to finish third. In the individual intermediate flat, junior Jordan Calabro was Zone II Reserve Champion and Skidmore’s first individual of the day to earn herself a trip to nationals.

Grier Filley ’10 rode to win intermediate flat for the team, as well as the individual novice flat. Following her lead, Hanae Kimura ’11 was second for the team in novice flat and won her individual walk trot canter class. Both Filley and Kimura will compete at Nationals for individual titles as well as for the team championship. In team walk trot canter, sophomore Alexandra McGuire added four more points to the team total with a third place ride. In the final two classes of the day Emily Hottensen ’10 earned herself a trip to nationals and a Zone II reserve champion title, while Rebecca Rawling ’10 placed second for the team securing Skidmore a spot at IHSA Nationals in Murfreesboro, TN April 22nd-25th. Also advancing to the national level will be Centenary College (Zone II Champion) and St. Lawrence University.

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March 28, 2009 - Skidmore College
Region III Championships

On Saturday, March 28th, the Skidmore Equestrian Team individuals competed for regional titles on their home turf. Riders needed a top three placing to advance to Zones, which will be held at Centenary College on April 4th. In the open fences class Emily Bruschi ’10 led the class with Elizabeth Kigin ’10 in a close second. Another Skidmore junior, Alexandria Cooper, won the novice fences class, earning herself a trip to Zones.

On the flat, Skidmore dominated, winning every class of the afternoon. In the open division, Jennifer Wilkins ’09 won the class, with Bruschi in third, and Kigin in fourth. Senior Alexandra Stevenson won the intermediate flat class with Jordan Calabro ’10 finishing third. Grier Filley ’10 was a standout winner in novice flat, as was Hanae Kimura ’11 in the walk trot canter division. Bringing the day to a close was walk trot. Sophomore Chelsey Muroda and junior Emily Hottenson rode to champion and reserve champion ribbons, respectively and will compete for a chance to go to IHSA Nationals in Murfreesboro, TN next weekend at Centenary College.

Skidmore riders competing next weekend for the team will be Emily Bruschi ‘10, Jennifer Wilkins’09, Kelly Campbell ’12, Grier Filley ’10, Chelsea Jones ’12, Hanae Kimura ’11, Alexandra McGuire ’11, and Rebecca Rawling ’10. At Zones, a top three placing for the team will grant them a chance to compete at IHSA Nationals.

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February 28, 2009 - Skidmore College

Skidmore Equestrian had a decisive win this weekend at home beating Cornell 47 to 33. Open fences began the day with a win for Emily Bruschi ’10 and second place finishes for co-captains Elizabeth Kigin ’10 and Jeffie Wilkins ’09. Sophomore Katie Swartwood finished fifth. First year Kelly Campbell finished fourth in intermediate fences. Skidmore riders won three novice fences sections with Amanda Werner ’11, Laura Roberts ’10, and Chelsea Jones ’12 competing.

In the open flat Kigin, Swartwood, and Wilkins all won their sections. Campbell and Bruschi were both second. Alex Stevenson ’09, Calla Dobmeyer ‘11, and Jordan Calabro ’10 all put in strong rides to win their respective sections of intermediate flat. In novice flat Skidmore riders proved to be strong and effective with a win from Hanae Kimura ’11, and in their IHSA debuts, Andrea Nice ’11 and Victoria Bennett ’12 placed third and fourth, respectively.

In walk trot canter Isabella McKeon ’12, Michal Adut ’09, and Victoria Neff ’11 all rode spectacularly, cleaning up the division and placing first all around. Once again, Chelsey Muroda ’11 finished the day for the thoroughbred’s in walk trot with and second place finish.

March 7, 2009 - Hartwick College

At the final regular season competition, the Skidmore riders tied with Cornell University to hold onto a regional lead of 40 points. Katie Swartwood ’11, Emily Bruschi ’10, and Jeffie Wilkins ’09 rode in the open fences to first, second and second place finishes, respectively. Kelly Campbell ’12 won her intermediate fences class and Amanda Werner ’11, Nicole Cahill-Yi ’12, and Morgan Eisler ’09 were first, fourth, and sixth, respectively in the novice fences division. Werner’s win qualified her for regional championships at Skidmore later this month in novice fences.

On the flat open riders Kigin and Swartwood won their classes. Bruschi and Wilkins were second and third in their sections. In her intermediate debut, Eisler ’09 won her flat section to add seven points to the team total. Cahill-Yi and Werner placed first and second in their sections of novice flat. In walk trot canter, Maja Lorenc ’11 placed second to add five more points to the team score card. Winning her class and qualifying for the regional championships, Emily Hottensen ’10 finished out the day in the walk trot division.

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February 28, 2009 - Skidmore College

Skidmore Equestrian had a decisive win this weekend at home beating Cornell 47 to 33. Open fences began the day with a win for Emily Bruschi ’10 and second place finishes for co-captains Elizabeth Kigin ’10 and Jeffie Wilkins ’09. Sophomore Katie Swartwood finished fifth. First year Kelly Campbell finished fourth in intermediate fences. Skidmore riders won three novice fences sections with Amanda Werner ’11, Laura Roberts ’10, and Chelsea Jones ’12 competing.

In the open flat Kigin, Swartwood, and Wilkins all won their sections. Campbell and Bruschi were both second. Alex Stevenson ’09, Calla Dobmeyer ‘11, and Jordan Calabro ’10 all put in strong rides to win their respective sections of intermediate flat. In novice flat Skidmore riders proved to be strong and effective with a win from Hanae Kimura ’11, and in their IHSA debuts, Andrea Nice ’11 and Victoria Bennett ’12 placed third and fourth, respectively.

In walk trot canter Isabella McKeon ’12, Michal Adut ’09, and Victoria Neff ’11 all rode spectacularly, cleaning up the division and placing first all around. Once again, Chelsey Muroda ’11 finished the day for the thoroughbred’s in walk trot with and second place finish.

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February 22, 2009 - Cornell University

The Skidmore Equestrian Team re-opened the season on February 22 at Cornell with a strong second place finish. Cornell won the show with 47 points; Skidmore was right on their heels with 42 points. The day started with a winning ride from Emily Bruschi ’10, adding seven points to the team total. Co-captain Elizabeth Kigin ’10 placed second in her section of open, co-captain Jennifer Wilkins placed fifth, and Kaitlin Swartwood ’11 placed sixth.

Lone intermediate fences rider, Kelly Campbell ’12 put in a strong ride on a tough horse to be third. In the novice fences division, Maggie Luckhardt ’12 and Alexandria Cooper ’10 put in strong rides for finish second and fourth, respectively. Cooper’s placing qualified her for the regional championships to be held at Skidmore later this semester.

The afternoon classes on the flat began with Kigin, Swartwood, and Wilkins winning their sections of the open flat. Bruschi placed second. Intermediate followed with Grier Filley ’10 winning her class and senior Alex Stevenson placing third. Hanae Kimura ’11 rode to a sixth place finish in the novice flat division followed by strong showings in the walk trot canter division: Alex McGuire ’11 placed first, Michal Adut ’09 placed second on a tough pony, and in her IHSA debut, Torie Neff ’11 placed second. Chelsey Muroda ’11 brought it home with a win in walk trot to finish the day.

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November 22, 2008 - Skidmore College

The Skidmore College Equestrian team continued to dominate regional competition with a nine point win in the team's first home show of the season at the Van Lennep Riding Center. The big win of 27 points increased Skidmore's Region lead to 31 points over Cornell University with three regular season shows remaining.

Reserve champion of the show was Morrisville with 38 points, leaving Cornell, with 36 points, in third. Colgate was fourth with 34 points in the 15-team event.

Co-captain and Open rider Jeffie Wilkins, was High-Point. It was the third time this season that Wilkins has been a double winner and has ridden off with high point honors.

Other competing Open riders were Emily Bruschi ('10; Fences-1st; Flat-6th), Elizabeth Kigin ('10; Fences-5th; Flat-1st), Katie Swartwood ('11; Fences-5th; Flat-3rd), and Alexandra Stevenson ('09; Flat-3rd). Intermediate Riders were Kelly Campbell ('12; Flat-1st), Calla Dobmeyer ('11; Fences-2nd; Flat-2nd), and Grier Filley (Flat-1st).

In the Novice Division, point riders were Hanae Kimura ('11) on the flat and Amanda LaRose ('10) over fences. Kimura placed 1st and LaRose place 5th. Other Novice Riders were Amanda Werner ('11; Fences-1st), Grier Filley ('10; Fences-6th), and Nicole Cahill-Yi ('12; Flat-1st) in her IHSA debut.

Walk-Trot-Canter point rider was Alex McGuire ('11) who placed 2nd. Maja Lorenc ('11; 1st) and Michal Audt ('09; 1st) also rode Walk-Trot-Canter. Point rider for Walk-Trot was again Chelsea Muroda ('11) who continued her winning-streak with a first place.

"More important than the win, was the amazing team effort put in by all 31 members and the entire Riding Program staff," said Skidmore coach Cynthia Ford. "A huge amount of work was organized and executed in order to prepare the Riding Center and the 28 horses. It was a job well done!"

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November 17, 2008 - SUNY Morrisville

Day two of the double competition at SUNY Morrisville College in Morrisville, NY posed some difficult questions for the Skidmore riders. Starting the day slowly over fences, the Skidmore riders overcame diversity and some bad luck to finish in second place in the fifteen team competition. Cornell University beat Skidmore by 5 points with 45 points, and home team Morrisville College came in third with 38 points.

Open riders competing were Jeffie Wilkins ('09; Fences-5th; Flat-2nd), Emily Bruschi ('10; Fences-2nd; Flat-3rd), Liz Kigin ('10; Fences-3rd; Flat-3rd), Katie Swartwood ('11; Fences-1st; Flat-4th), Gail Gershenov ('09; Fences-5th), and Kelly Campbell ('12; Flat-1st). Kelly Campbell, an open flat rider, was also the pointed intermediate riders for over fences, placing 3rd. Grier Filley ('10), who just recently pointed up the day before, rode a beautiful flat round placing first and winning seven points for Skidmore.

Pointed riders in the novice divisions were both freshmen. Chelsea Jones ('12) rode a beautiful round over fences, placing first. Maggie Luckhardt ('12) rode an equally beautiful round in a tough class, placing second. Luckhardt also rode over fences, placing first. Other novice riders were Ali Cooper ('10; Fences-4th; Flat-1st), Giselle Cohen ('09; Flat-2nd), and Morgan Eisler ('09; Fences-6th).

The day ended strong for the Skidmore team. The Walk-Trot-Canter classes yielded two firsts for Skidmore, with pointed rider Alex McGuire ('11) and Michal Adut ('09). Poitned Walk-Trot rider Chelsea Muroda ('11) won second place, giving Skidmore five points, and first-time competitor Alex Adler rode a beautiful ride and also won second. The Skidmore riders ended the day strong, and are excited to "strut their stuff" on home turf on November 22nd.

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November 16, 2008 - SUNY Morrisville

On the first day of a double competition weekend at SUNY Morrisville College in Morrisville, NY, Skidmore beat thirteen other IHSA teams and placed first. With a 12 point lead over Cornell and a 7 point lead over the home team, the team assured the win with strong, sophisticated rides.

Open riders were captain Jeffie Wilkins ('09; Fences-1st; Flat-1st), Emily Bruschi ('10; Fences-1st; Flat-3rd), Liz Kigin ('10; Fences-1st; Flat-5th), Kaitie Swartwood ('11; Fences-2nd; Flat-1st), Gail Gershenov ('09; Fences-6th), and Kelly Campbell ('12; Flat-6th). In the intermediate division, Jordan Calabro ('10) was the only rider, placing 6th over fences and 3rd on the flat.

Novice riders for Saturday were Grier Filley ('10; Fences-1st; Flat-1st), Chelsea Jones ('12; Fences-1st), Morgan Eisler ('09; Fences-6th; Flat-3rd), and Giselle Cohan ('09; Flat-2nd). Walk-trot-canter rider was hanau Kimura ('11), who won first. Walk-trot rider was Emily Hottensen ('09) who also won first.

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November 9, 2008 - Cornell University

Skidmore College beat up on rival Cornell Univeristy once again at the second IHSA horse show of the season. This time, the team won on Cornell's own soil, racking up 47 points to take the win. Colgate was second with 40 points and the host school, Cornell, finished in third with 37 points. Fifteen teams in total competed on November 9th.

Colgate and Skidmore ran head-to-head in the morning. As mid-afternoon rolled around, however, the Thoroughbreds pulled ahead with Walk-Trot-Canter and Walk-Trot point riders, Hanae Kimura and Chelsea Muroda winning their respective divisions.

Reserve High Point rider for the day was Jeffie Wilkins ('09), winning both her Open Fences and Open Flat classes. Other competing Open riders were Katie Swartwood ('11; Fences-2nd; Flat-2nd), Elizabeth Kigin ('09; Fences-2nd; Flat-1st), and Emily Bruschi ('10; Fences-1st; Flat-2nd). Intermediate riders for the day were Calla Dobmeyer ('11; Fences-3rd), Kelly Campbell ('12; Fences-1st), and Alexandra Stevenson ('09; Flat-3rd). Novice riders, both freshman newcomers to the team, were Chelsea Jones ('12; Fences-1st; Flat-4th) and Maggie Luckhardt ('12; Fences- 6th; Flat-1st).

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October 25, 2008 - Hartwick College

Skidmore Equestrian Team won at the first horse show of the 08-09 season, competing with 14 schools at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY.

Skidmore squeezed past 2nd Place teams Cornell University and Morrisville State College in the final class of the day with Rebecca Rawlings '10, winning the Blue ribbon in the Walk Trot Division. Skidmore ended the day with 41 points, beating Cornell and Morrisville by just three points. Fourth place was awarded to Hartwick College with 34 points. Other teams competing were Colgate University, SUNY Cobleskill, Siena, SUNY Binghamton, Ithaca College, Hobart & William Smith, Oneonta State College, UAlbany, Hamilton College, RPI and Elmira College.

Our first place winners of the day were Jeffie Wilkins ('09) in Open Flat, Liz Kigin ('10) in Open Over Fences, Alex Stevenson ('09) in Intermediate Over Fences, Jordan Calabro ('10) in Intermediate on the Flat, Hanae Kimura ('11) and Maja Lorenc ('11) in Walk/Trot/Canter, and Rebecca Rawling ('10) in Walk/Trot.

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