2015 IHSA National Championships are being held April 30–May 3 at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Photo credit: Alistaire Ruggiero)
The morning of April 30, 2015, at The Big E (Eastern States Exposition) in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Nationals were underway. The Individual Alumni Equitation Over Fences, Collegiate Cup Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and the jumping phase of the Cacchione Cup Hunter Seat Equitation classes took place. The champion of the Individual Alumni Equitation Over Fences class was Mount Holyoke College rider Alicyn Hoy from Zone One and the Reserve Champion was Kansas State rider Katherine Deichmann from Zone Seven. Additionally, the champion of the Collegiate Cup Intermediate Equitation Over Fences class was College of Charleston rider Victoria Bauer from Zone Five and the Reserve Champion was Skidmore College rider Jessica Stoukides from Zone Two. A total of 38 riders competed in the jumping phase of the Cacchione Cup Hunter Seat Equitation class, but only 24 of the 38 will compete in the flat phase of the class.
2015 IHSA National Championships course walk. (Photo credit: Alistaire Ruggiero)
The Big E was bustling with spectators, volunteers, horse-holders and grooms. Smith College, Mount Holyoke College as well as the rest of the colleges from Region Three of Zone One brought their team members to volunteer and help the show run as smoothly as possible. Numerous vendors such as SmartPak and Dublin were at the competition and had amazing sales.
The classes ran smoothly from the beginning of the show until midday. Only two re-rides and one fall occurred throughout the course of the morning. Fans, family members, fellow riders and coaches cheered from the stands for each rider.
The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Nationals will continue over the weekend. Please tune in to the live feed online to see the rounds of the fantastic riders at this competition.
The horse-draw booth at the 2015 IHSA National Championships.
(Photo credit: Alistaire Ruggiero)
Individual Alumni Equitation Over Fences:
First: Mount Holyoke College Zone One 1398 Alicyn Hoy
Second: Kansas State Zone Seven 181 Katherine Deichmann
Collegiate Cup Intermediate Equitation Over Fences:
First: College of Charleston Zone Five 118 Victoria Bauer
Second: Skidmore College Zone Two 433 Jessica Stoukides
Cacchione Cup Hunter Seat Equitation: 24 move on
About the writer: Alistaire Ruggiero hails from Phoenix, Arizona, where she grew up surrounded by horses. At age 4, Alistaire began riding at a hunter/jumper barn where she learned the basics of equitation on amazing school horses. Enthralled by the equine world and wanting to try all types of riding, at age 8 Alistaire began eventing with her first pony and has been eventing ever since.Today, she is a junior at Smith College studying anthropology and biology. Alistaire is currently one of the captains of the Smith College equestrian team and, in the next few years, hopes to attend veterinary school.
