2002-2003 Archives
2002-2003 Roster

SAINTS FINISH IN TENTH AT NATIONALS, SLAUSON TENTH IN CACCHIONE STANDINGS

May 5 — The St. Lawrence University riding team finished in ninth place at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championship at Middle Tennessee State over the weekend.

Whitney Slauson led the Saints, finishing in tenth place in the Cacchione Cup, the individual national championship competition. She added a tenth place showing in the individual open equitation on the flat for the team.

Tarah Watson had the highest showing for St. Lawrence, placing seventh on the individual intermediate equitation on the flat.

St. Lawrence finished the 2002-03 year as Region II champions and Zone I reserve champions.

SIX SAINT RIDERS CLAIM SPOT AT NATIONALS WITH SOLID SHOW AT ZONES

April 14 — Six members of the St. Lawrence University riding team will be competing for a national championship in early May after the Saints claimed the Zone I reserve championship over the weekend.

Centenary College, the event winner, and St. Lawrence earned invitations to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championship at Middle Tennessee State University on May 1-4.

The Saints were in a three-way race for the title with Centenary and Region III champion Skidmore, but managed to pull out the second place finish with a victory by rookie Hallie Britt in the walk-trot-canter, the final event of the day.

Tarah Watson qualified for the national championship show individually, claiming the Zone championship in the intermediate equitation over flat. Whitney Slauson, already a qualifier in the Cacchione Cup class as the Region II High Point Rider, also qualified on Saturday with a reserve finish in the open flat.

Britt and Slauson will be joined by Jill Callahan, Emilie Grossman, Cate Doucette, and Mary Grace Balben in the competition for the national team title.

Senior captain Ashley Dann finished her career with fifth place finishes in the individual intermediate equitation on the flat and over fences.

DANN LEADS SAINT RIDERS AT REGIONAL SHOW

March 31 — Ashley Dann led the St. Lawrence University riding team at the Regional championship show at Cazenovia on Saturday, winning the individual regional championship in the intermediate fences and the reserve regional championship in the intermediate flat.

Tarah Watson added an individual championship in the intermediate flat, and Whitney Slauson was third in the open flat. Dann, Watson and Slauson all advanced to zones on April 13th, where they will compete for a spot at the national championship.

At zones, they will need to finish in the top two to advance. Slauson added a fourth place finish in the open fences, Rachel Ragazzino was fourth in the open flat, and Lexi Diamond was eighth in the novice flat.

SLAUSON, SAINTS WIN REGIONAL TITLES AT HOME SHOW

March 1 — Whitney Slauson led the St. Lawrence University riding team to the team title at the SLU show on Saturday afternoon, and in the process, became the Regional High Point Rider and led the Saints to the Regional Title in the last show of the regular season.

Slauson, a senior from Shleburne, VT, won the Region II Cacchione Cup championship by capping an outstanding season with a double blue ribbon day at the home show. Slauson will represent St. Lawrence at the national championship at Middle Tennessee State in early May.

St. Lawrence won the show with a near perfect 47 points, while Oswego was second with 36 points, Syracuse third with 35, and Cazenovia fourth with 30 points.

Also winning blue ribbons for the Saints were senior Ashley Dann, junior Cate Doucette and rookies Kate Raggozino, Katie Norton, Liz McCormick, and Mary Grace Balben. Senior Lexi Diamond secured a red ribbon for the Saints.

The Saints will continue the season at Regionals at Cazenovia at the end of the month.

SLAUSON, SAINTS SET TO BID FOR REGIONAL TITLE AT HOME SHOW

February 25 — Whitney Slauson is tied for the race for a regional title, and the rest of the St. Lawrence University riding team is just one point behind Cazenovia for the regional title going into the final regular show of the season after a great weekend at Cazenovia.

Slauson was a double blue ribbon winner for the Saints, beating competitors from Cazenovia, Alfred University and Oswego on Saturday, then returning for an individual win on Sunday over competitors from Syracuse and Cazenovia.

Slauson’s performance helped the Saints claim the team title on Sunday with 41 points. On Saturday, St. Lawrence was just one point behind Cazenovia, scoring 40 points to the Wildcats 41.

Her performances also put her in a tie with Cazenovia’s Missy Starr for the overall High Point Individual Rider competition. The winner of the season high point total earns a spot in the Cacchione Cup competition for th 23 regional winners across the country representing 325 colleges and universities.

Other blue ribbon winners on the weekend included Lexi Diamond, Cate Doucette, Kelly Gaffney, Mary Grace Balben, Jill Callahan, Ashley Gilbert and Liz McCormick in Saturday’s show.

On Sunday, Elizabeth Winner, Tarah Watson, Kelsey Cochran, Katie Norton and Hallie Britt were blue medal winners.

The Saints will host the last show of the regular season this weekend on Saturday at Elsa Gunnison Riding Hall.

SAINTS FINISH EIGHTH IN
NORTH CAROLINA SHOW

December 11 — The St. Lawrence University equestrian team placed eighth in their most recent show at St. Andrews Prebyterian College in Laurinburg, North Carolina.

Hallie Britt led the Saints with a second place finish in walk trot canter. Tarah Wilson was third in intermediate flat, Jill Callahan was third in intermediate fences, and Whitney Slauson placed fifth in open flat.

The Saints finished right behind Mount Holyoke and Michigan State, who placed sixth and seventh. Miami of Ohio and Virginia Intermont tied for the team title with 33 points.

The Saints have completed their fall schedule and will resume their season in late February.

ST. LAWRENCE RIDING TAKES FIRST IN THIRD CONSECUTIVE SHOW

(November 23, 2002)-The St. Lawrence University equestrian team took first place at their home show on Saturday morning, accumulating 47 points and easily outdistancing second place Cazenovia College to win their third consecutive show of the fall. The Saints also took two first places last weekend at Alfred.

On Saturday, St. Lawrence had seven blue ribbon riders and also had the high-point rider and the reserve high-point rider. Freshman Kelsey Cochran won the open flat and the open fences classes to earn high point rider honors while Jill Callahan, also a freshman, won intermediate flat and intermediate fences for the reserve high point slot.

Whitney Slauson also had a two-win show, taking her classes of open flat and open fences. Rachel Ragozzion and Kelly Gaffney won in open flat, Nell Kechum won the walk-trot-canter event and Katie Norton was a winner in novice flat, giving the Saints an impressive 10 blue ribbons at the competition.

Last week at Alfred, the Saints posted double wins on Saturday and Sunday under two different judges. On Saturday, the Saints won a close competition with Cazenovia, 33-32. Slauson was the high-point rider after winning blue ribbons in open flat and open fences. Emilie Grossman, Jill Callahan and Hallie Britt also had class wins.

St. Lawrence took first on Sunday with 41 points, beating Cazenovia with 38, Alfred with 36 and Syracuse with 33. Ashley Dann, Slauson, Callahan, Norton, Britt, and Leah Knickerbocker all had first-place class finishes with Norton earning reserve high-point rider honors.

SAINTS FINISH SECOND AT CAZENOVIA

October 28, 2002-The St. Lawrence University riding team took second place at Cazenovia this weekend, finishing with 37 points. Host Cazenovia College won the show with 49 points.

With a young team, the Saints won eight blue ribbons on their way to the second place finish. Seniors Whitney Slauson and Ashley Dann along with freshmen Kelsey Cochran, Jill Callahan, Katie Norton, Liz McCormick and Hallie Brit all took first place finishes at the competition.

Second place finishers included senior Lexi Diamond and freshmen Rachael Ragozzino, Jill Callahan, Katie Norton, Ashley Gilbert, Emilie Grossman and Tara Alibrandi.

The Saints next travel to Alfred University for a show on the weekend of November 16th and 17th.

2001-2002 SEASON IN REVIEW

The Saints had four individuals competing in this year's national championship- three current members and Allison Karkut '00 in the alumni competition.

Sophomore Leah Knickerbocker, Canton, N.Y., competed in the walk-trot event and was a member of the fifth-place Zone 2 All-Star Team. She was also the Zone II and regional champion in the walk-trot.

Sophomore Cate Doucette, Whitefield, N.H., finished ninth in the walk-trot-canter at the nationals while earning the regional championship in that event. She was the Zone II reserve champion in the walk-trot-canter. In 2001, Doucette was a Miller's Cup individual champion in the walk-trot-canter as a freshman.

Senior Jesse Lewis, Pensacola, Fla., won Miller's Cup reserve championship in novice equitation on the flat in 2001 and moved up to compete in the intermediate equitation on the flat in 2002 to take sixth place nationally. She won the blue ribbon in intermediate equitation on the flat and intermediate equitation over fences at the regional championships in 2002.

Karkut won two individual national championships as an undergraduate at St. Lawrence in intermediate equitation on the flat and open equitation on the flat. Competing in the alumni competition in 2002, Karkut won two more national titles in alumni equitation on the flat and alumni equitation over fences, giving her four individual national championships in her career. Nick Michols '82, a swimmer who won five individual national championships, is the only St. Lawrence student-athlete to have won more than Karkut.

As a team, the Saints had three high-point college awards during the 2001-2002 school year, winning twice at Alfred University and also winning their home horse show. In addition, St. Lawrence had three second-place showings.

SAINTS RIDING ADVANCES THREE TO NATIONALS

April 17, 2002-Leah Knickerbocker, Jesse Lewis, and Cate Doucette all advanced from the Zone I regional championships to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships, which will be held from May 1-4. Cazenovia College, the Saints rival in Zone I, will host the event this year. St. Lawrence was the reserve national champion in 2001.

Knickerbocker, who was the regional champion in the walk-trot, also became the Zone I walk-trot champion taking the blue ribbon in that event. Doucette finished second in the intermediate equitation on the flat class, earning the reserve zone championship and the right to ride in the nationals. Doucette also took a reserve zone championship with a second-place finish in the walk-trot-canter.

Last season, the St. Lawrence riding team had an individual nation champion in Ashley Dann, two Miller's Cup champions in Jess Niven and Doucette, and a reserve champion in Jessica Flounders.