PrintThe Skidmore College (N.Y.) equestrian team has been waiting a long time to shine at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships, and after winning ribbons in six of the eight classes, they won their sixth national title today, Saturday, May 8, in Lexington, Ky.
“It comes down to the last class, and you know what, it always does here,” said head coach Cynthia Ford. “It’s always so close, and it is so hard to win because it is not just about having the best riders and being the best prepared. It still has to do with luck. You have to have a little bit of luck.”
In the final class of the team competition, open equitation over fences, University of Kentucky’s Ali Cibon laid down two beautiful trips to claim the blue ribbon and move her team into third with 18 points, but Skidmore’s Elizabeth Kigin’s fourth-placed effort was enough to seal the championship for her school. Centenary College (N.J.) and University of Findlay (Ohio) added no points to their team total in the class, and remained tied with 20 points for the co-reserve championship. Hollins University (Va.), Stanford University (Calif.), and Stonehill College (Mass.) all tied for fourth place with 12 points.
“I have been to every single national competition that we’ve had since 1974, and this has been the most incredible,” said IHSA founder Bob Cacchione. “The journey to get here was magnificent, and every single rider that walked in this arena was awed. Many of these riders perhaps would never have the opportunity to come here and compete, and I am so proud that the IHSA was able to give them this venue and this excitement and this joy.”
For judges Don Stewart and Susie Schoellkopf, the quality of riders and horses at the championships was a pleasant surprise.
“We were a little apprehensive on the first day,” said Schoellkopf. “But by the first class we knew we had great riders out there. I think that after their junior years it is really hard for these kids. They’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy and money to this sport and really gone all out at the finals. Then they get done and suddenly they’re in college. I think this program really fills that void and really teaches them that at the end of four years, if they want to be a professional or go on and work for somebody it’s time to do that, and it’s a way of doing that.”
Collegiate Cup Final Results..
Sceats Is Brilliant In The Cacchione Cup
Lindsay Sceats might not have won her bet with fellow student Allison O’Neal, but riding the entire semester without stirrups may have contributed to her Cacchione Cup win today. She rode four different horses on the way to the title and impressed the judges with her riding ability.
“She’s got a wonderful position, she never faltered, and her courses were accurate,” said Don Stewart. “She was smooth, and she seemed comfortable on all the horses. She was quite clearly the winner. I think anybody here could see that she won the class.”
After the first two rounds, which consisted of an equitation course, then a flat class, Sceats, Colorado Springs, Colo., was sitting in fifth. However, a strong third round pushed her into the top four, and after a horse switch, she nailed the final test.
