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.”

Starting Strong
With Gibson, a senior from Buffalo Grove, Ill., producing a solid dressage ride on her unfamiliar mount, Harcus and Kalinski were able to follow up with impressive performances that put St. Andrews on top going into Sunday. Kalinski showed off her mount’s beautiful movement, earning first place individually in the dressage sportif.

Romaria, a 12-year-old Oldenburg who joined St. Andrews last fall, had a background primarily in dressage, and Kalinski, with James’ help, has done all the work in transforming him into a stellar hunter ride, as well.

“He was a wonderful mover and a nicely balanced horse. That horse’s extensions and lengthenings won that phase,” explained judge Diane Braun. “There were certain places in that test where there were opportunities for them to showcase their horses, and those that could lengthen and adjust their stride really stood out.”

Kalinski, a 23-year-old senior from Roxbury, Conn., earned an 82 for her stadium ride, which, combined with Harcus’ 80.5, kept St. Andrews in the lead going into their final test.

The team from Savannah College of Art and Design, which boasts the last two years’ ANRC team and individual titles, ratcheted up the pressure, bumping Centenary out of the second place spot after stadium thanks to Meredith Gallagher’s ride.

The last to go, Gallagher, of Hanes City, Fla., scored an 86 to place first individually in the phase with an aggressive trip that featured an inside turn to the final line that only a handful of riders attempted, and that didn’t pay off for most.

Gallagher attacked the outside course as well, and was poised for another top score until a big bobble at the final fence, a grob-type obstacle featuring a recessed vertical, left them with a still respectable 78.57. “That last rider to go was magnificent until that miss. You could tell she was out to win,” said Braun.

“I love the gallops and the open space. I, personally, liked a very forward ride, where the riders are getting the distances and balancing for the next jump,” continued Braun, retired master of the Windy Hollow Hunt (N.Y.). “So many of our horses don’t have the opportunity to ride across country and really gallop.”

Kalinski shared Gallagher’s pain at fence 12, experiencing a refusal that knocked her out of the individual standings. “He schooled it OK, but coming up to it he got big eyes and wasn’t sure he liked it today,” she said. “This win really embodies everything the ANRC is meant to represent. It’s really been a team effort with everyone contributing.”

Having been the drop score in the previous two tests, Gibson’s round suddenly became an integral component of St. Andrews’ win.

“I got to school about six jumps in show jumping and two outside with him. They told me—afterwards thankfully—that he’d never done the outside course before. I couldn’t have asked for a better horse, and I’m really grateful to Centenary for lending me this wonderful horse,” she said.

Harcus, a 20-year-old junior from Kirkland, Wash., followed Gibson with an 81.75 on St. Andrews’ veteran Thoroughbred, Oliver, that fended off Centenary for the win. “Janelle’s performance was consistently good every phase,” said James. “She’s such a soft, effective rider; she can hide a lot of mistakes!”

“[ANRC] is a wonderful experience that you don’t get in any other facet of riding,” said Harcus, who placed fourth individually overall. “It’s a great way to learn about yourself as a rider because it really shows your weaknesses, as well as your strengths.”

Individual Honors
Centenary freshman Eleanor Kunsman’s many strengths outweighed her less-than-stellar written test score, which saddled her with 2 penalty points that she easily overcame to claim the individual overall championship.

Even with the deductions, she topped second-placed Goucher College rider Jonathan Cohen by 1.89 points, but competing as an individual, her scores were not counted toward Centenary’s team total.

In preparation for ANRC, Kunsman, 18, of Flemington, N.J., struck a deal with her sister, Megan, both of whom are accomplished show riders. Kunsman could borrow Megan’s 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood, Enterprise, or “Spock”, and Megan got a new phone. The deal worked out well for the sisters, as Kunsman posted the top scores in all three phases on the gelding, including a pair of 87s over fences.

The penalty points assigned dropped her scores to second in the dressage and hunt seat equitation rounds and third, behind Goucher’s Cohen and Allison Wherley, in the hunter trials. Again, consistency was the name of the game to secure the overall title.

“This show is really unique. I come from a constant showing world, and I’m not used to all these prizes and the team aspect is really encouraging and very supportive,” said Kunsman, who trains with Emil Spadone and her mother, Kathy Kunsman, outside of school.

“I had some trouble with the written phase. It’s definitely taken from the [recommended study sources], and you had to study hard to know the book answers they were looking for.”

The judges didn’t have to study too much to notice Kunsman during the rest of the competition. “She was a wonderful, forward rider with a fantastic horse. Their dressage was wonderful, and they really attacked the courses,” said Braun.

Kunsman, who only started focusing on equitation last year having previously done mostly hunters, had to familiarize herself quickly with Spock, and she thanked her family for shipping him to Centenary on Fridays for team practices. “Before this event, he hadn’t done any dressage,” she said. “The dressage phase was a lot of fun. I just tried my hardest to ride accurately to the letters.”

She also loved the opportunity to ride on the school’s new cross-country course, which was designed by equestrian center director Andrea Wells and built specifically for the ANRC.  “It’s a lot of fun to do the natural jumps and ride up and down the hills,” she said. “On cross-country I just tried to feel the rhythm and ride a nice, forward canter.”

Centenary, the northernmost school to host the show in its 30-year history, received universal praise for their courses, facility and congeniality. Reflecting that attitude, event secretary Emily Vaughan received the show’s sportsmanship award, and Centenary rider Ashley DiBongrazio received the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association-affiliate collegiate amateur rider award, which recognizes horsemanship and sportsmanship.

“The competition really was terrific this year,” said McElveen. “I told Andrea that her staff and students really extended Southern hospitality to all of us.”

Stacey Reap