Third Time's A Charm For St. Andrews At ANRC

Stephannie Gibson, Janelle Harcus and Christina Kalinski have been a team for three years, banding together for St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C., to contest the American National Riding Commission’s National Intercollegiate Equitation Championships.

Last year, their school played host to the competition, claiming the reserve team title, while Kalinski took the individual reserve championship, missing top honors by a fraction of a point.

This year, the fractions worked in their favor. Despite some hardships, St. Andrews led the entire way, claiming the overall team victory from the 30th annual ANRC championship, April 21-22 at Centenary College in Long Valley, N.J.

The weekend started off on a foreboding note when Gibson’s horse, leased months before in preparation for the event, turned up lame the first morning of competition. The first St. Andrews rider scheduled to ride the dressage sportif test that day, Gibson was generously given a substitute mount on a Centenary horse, Rise And Shine.

“He was a precious little horse and she did a great job, especially since she only had about 30 minutes to get to know him,” said coach and director of St. Andrews’ equestrian program Peggy McElveen. “When her horse was lame, she stayed very composed and was great with the new one. She didn’t pressure herself to be perfect and ended up riding fabulously.”

With three-person teams performing the dressage sportif, medal-type equitation round and cross-country hunter trials phases in the ANRC format, the two best scores from each phase count toward the team total, weighted at 40, 30 and 30 percent, respectively, toward the total score.

A written test, this year based upon riding theory and grooming and equipment for the show hunter, was administered on Friday. Riders scoring a 95 or better on the test received 1 bonus point added to their weighted scores, spread out through the three mounted phases. Those scoring below 70 were penalized 2 points. Although only eight of the 31 riders were affected either way by the results of the written test, it factored prominently in the final results.

As one of two qualifying for the bonus point, Harcus’ written score of 95 was the second highest of the competition, 1 point behind Sweet Briar’s Emily Wiley. The St. Andrews junior’s consistently good performances under saddle were the foundation for her team, with her scores, and subsequently her bonus point fractions, contributing toward her team’s total for each phase. The final results on Sunday showed how hitting the books can pay off, as St. Andrews edged second-placed Centenary by 0.57 points.

“It’s the consistency throughout the phases that really counts in this competition,” said show team coach Jennifer James, who speaks from experience, having won the ANRC individual championship in 2001 and 2002 as a St. Andrews student.

“It’s organized in such a way that it really tests the entire horse-rider connection. It requires the horse and rider to work in harmony, and there’s the academic aspect to it as well,” explained McElveen. “This is the competition they all most want to do. Having had the same team all three years, it’s really special to all of them.”

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