SAINTS FINISH FIFTH AT IHSA NATIONALS

May 9: After a long week of competition the St. Lawrence Riding Team finished fifth at the IHSA National Championships in Sunbury Ohio. Each day the fight for a spot in the top ten moved around the map.  The east meets west competition was full of good riding and St. Lawrence was thrilled with the achievement of their young team.

Sophomore Kate Bacon  finished fourth in the novice equitation on the flat, with senior Whitney MacDonnell finishing sixth in intermediate equitation on the flat. Sophomore Hannah Stonefield brought home another fourth place ribbon in intermediate equitation over fences and was eighth in the individual intermediate equitation on the flat. The highlight for the team came in walk trot when first year rider Katelyn Swirbalus finished reserve champion.  Other good performances at the national were held by Vicky Wright, Brittan White, Carolyn Griffin, Rachael Ragozzino and Senior Tarah Watson.

Two of the University's horses Gamin and Elliot Ness also were on loan to the nationals along with Assistant Coach Cate Wagner's Clark.  Elliot Ness received the high score of  the horse show with an 88 while his stablemate Gamin secured many ribbons in his classes and Clark carried his rider to the  high score in the open equitation on the flat.

SAINTS TO COMPETE FOR IHSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Apr. 22: With a Zone II Championship in hand, the St. Lawrence University Equestrian Team will travel to Sundbury, Ohio to compete in the 2005 IHSA National Championship Show. Competition will begin on May 5 and concludes on May 8 at the Eden Park Equestrian Complex. In addition to competing for a team championship, senior Tarah Watson (Northfield, Mass.) and sophomore Hannah Stonefield (Singapore) will be competing for individual titles.

St. Lawrence finished the regular season with 278 points to take the regional championship as they prepared for the zone finals and to compete for a spot at the nationals. At the Zone Finals on April 9 St. Lawrence was victorious in a tie breaker which resulted in the zone II championship.  Skidmore College finished second and Centenary College was third.  Eighteen colleges from around the country have secured spots at the national with zone competition going on all over the nation that weekend.

Coach Mary Drueding and assistants Cate Wagner and Jennifer Pletcher know their team was helped greatly by the support of their fans.  “We have a young team and all the parental and family support is a big help.”  said the coaches.  “We were lucky to have many families who have followed the team and traveled loyally even when their own children were not riding.  This enthusiasm goes a long way to drive a team.”

Watson secured an individual spot at the national in the open flat division with her zone reserve championship and Stonefield took another spot with a zone reserve championship in the intermediate flat division.  Freshman Brittan White (Southampton, N.Y.) made a strong showing with a third in open flat.  Junior Rachael Ragozzino (Guilderland, N.Y.) finished a strong 5th in the Zone Cacchione Cup standings after tying for the win in the region.

Riding for the Saints in the team competition will be: sophomore Katelyn Swirbalus (Hanover, Mass.), junior Carolyn Griffin (Waterbury, Vt.), sophomore Kate Bacon (Etna, N.H.), freshman Vicky Wright (Manchester, Vt.), senior Whitney MacDonell (Darien, Conn.), Stonefield, White, and Ragozzino.

The Saint riding team won back-to-back national championships in 1976-77 and was the Reserve Champion in 2001.

For more information on the 2005 IHSA National Championship Show, visit: http://ihsainc.com

SAINTS ADVANCE TO NATIONALS

Apr. 9: Congratulations are in order for the St. Lawrence Equestrian as they complete their year long bid for a spot at the nationals.  After a long day of competition with the lead exchanging hands many times   St. Lawrence was victorious in a tie breaker which resulted in the zone II championship.  Skidmore College finished second and Centenary College  was third.  St. Lawrence and Skidmore will both advance to the IHSA National Championships in Ohio May 2 through the 7th.  Eighteen colleges from around the country have secured spots at the national with zone competition going on all over this weekend.  The 365 schools across the country competed all year long for these spots.

Coach Mary Drueding and assistants Cate Wagner and Jennifer Pletcher know their team was helped greatly by the support of their fans.  "We have a young team and all the parental and family support is a big help."  said the coaches.  "We were lucky to have many families who have followed the team and traveled loyally even when their own children were not riding.  This enthusiasm goes a long way to drive a team."

Senior Tarah Watson secured an individual spot at the national in the open flat division with her zone reserve championship and fellow teammate Hannah Stonefield took another spot with a zone reserve championship in the intermediate flat division.  Freshman Brittan White made a strong showing with a third in open flat.  Junior Rachael Ragozzino finished a strong 5th in the Zone Cacchione Cup standings after tying for the win in the region.

SAINTS HAVE GOOD DAY AT REGIONALS

Apr. 4: Freshman Brittan White and senior Tarah Watson qualified for the zone finals at Skidmore College next Saturday.  White was the regional champion and fellow teammate Watson was third at the Zone Regionals Saturday. 

Junior Rachael Ragozzino completed her day with a fourth place finish in the open flat and a fifth in the open fences.  Sophomore Marrielle Van Rossum was sixth.  Sophomore Hannah Stonefield finished reserve regional champion in the intermediate flat and junior Liz McCormick finished fourth in novice flat.  The day was ended with Jess Rochlin's fifth place finish in the walk trot canter division.  The Saints were awarded their Regional Team Championship and junior Rachael Ragozzino was presented with her high point rider award which she shared with Cazenovia's Megan Cowen.

SAINTS TAKE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Mar. 8: The Saints Riding Team finished the Cazenovia show in reserve on Sunday, securing the regional win. Cazenovia won their home show with 45 points followed by SLU with 39.  The Saints 39 points added to their team total secured the regional victory. 

SLU regional champions finish the regular season with 278 points to Cazenovia's 244. Syracuse finished a close third with 242.  The team is very excited about their victory and are looking forward to both regionals and zones.  At this point in the team standings St. Lawrence,  Skidmore and Centenary College will ride off at the zone show and two teams will advance to nationals.  This will prove to be a stressful day on April 9 at Skidmore.

St. Lawrence's next big move is the regionals at Cazenovia April 2.  Rachael Ragozzino is qualified in both open flat and fences, Tarah Watson is qualified in open flat, Marrielle Van Rossum is qualified in open flat and Brittan White is also qualified in open flat.  Hannah Stonefield is qualified in intermediate flat, and Liz McCormick will be riding in novice flat with Jessica Rochlin in walk trot canter.  Each rider needs to place first, second, or third to advance to the zone finals and a first or second there will secure a spot in the nationals for these riders as they pursue individual national titles.

SAINTS WIN HOME SHOW WITH 47 POINTS

Mar. 5: The Saints had a great day as they won their home show with 47 points over SUNY Potsdam who had 34 points.  This increased the Saints lead in the region by 27 points over Syracuse University.   Two of the three riders in a three way ride-off for high point rider were from St. Lawrence.  Freshman Brittan White was victorious over junior Rachael Ragozzino who was the reserve high point rider.

Winning blue ribbons for the saints were:  in Intermediate Equitation over Fences, senior Whitney MacDonnell and  in Open Equitation over Fences White.  In Open Equitation on the flat  freshman Marielle VanRossum, senior Tarah Watson, White, and Ragazzino won blue ribbons.  In Intermediate Equitation on the flat sophomore Colleen Barnett, sophomore Lauren Kuester received first place.   In Novice Equitation on the flat junior Liz McCormick, in Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter, sophomore Julie Muetterties, and in Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter junior Carolyn Griffin, all came away with blue ribbons.

The Saints look forward to wrapping up the season on Sunday at Cazenovia.

SAINTS PERFORM WELL AT HITS CIRCUIT

Feb. 16: St. Lawrence students have been riding to success these last few weeks during the HITS CIRCUIT.  Junior Anna Klepper and her horse Fleetwood's Little Sister have been victorious two weeks in a row in the novice adult equitation.  Klepper was champion one week and reserve the next. 

Junior Rachael Ragozzino was reserve champion adult equitation during the first week of circuit on Cate Wagner's Clark.  Sophomore Hannah Stonefield has wins in both the Charles Owen's Adult medal and the adult equitation on the flat.  Kelsey Cochran and Marrielle Van Rossum have made good showings in the jumpers as well as sophomore Esther Deming and Lauren Kuester in the hunters.  Local rider Geneva Bergelt and her horse Letterman were champion in the modified children's hunters and fellow stablemate Emma Jones was champion in the Children's Hunters with her Longacre Trademark.   Emma is daughter of alumni Everett Jones class of 66'.  Saint riders will be showing two more weeks before heading home to defend their regional lead.   The season continues with two remaining shows March 5 at SLU and March 6 at Cazenovia.

ST. LAWRENCE EARNS WIN WITH A PERFECT SCORE

Dec. 11: The Saints had quite a day taking over the lead in the region winning their home show with a total of 49 points.  Syracuse tied for reserve with SUNY Potsdam with scores of 35 points each.  

"The perfect score in an  intercollegiate horse show is 49 points," said Coach Drueding. "And we last achieved it in 2001 and went on to the reserve national championship. Sometimes all the pieces come together. We are truly excited  to be so competitive at all levels, it is the toughest part of this sport.  Beginner riders must win at their levels and very experienced riders must win at theirs respectively."

Junior Rachael Ragozzino won a blue ribbon in open fences and the division was nailed down  by teammate Tarah Watson with a blue in open flat.  Freshman Marrielle Van Rossum put in a 7 point performance in the open flat and junior Lauren Kuester also won in the intermediate flat. 

The novice division was rock solid with sophomore Kate Bacon winning on the flat and freshmen Jessica Campbell and Vicky Wright winning over the jumps.  Walk trot canter was secured by junior Jessica Rochlin and the day was completed by walk trot rider sophomore Katelyn Swirbalus with her first blue ribbon ride.

The region has changed hands again with SLU on top with 192 points followed by Syracuse with 179 and Cazenovia in third with 172.

SAINTS FINISH IN THIRD AT NAZARETH

Dec. 5: After a long cold day of competition at Nazereth St. Lawrence ended the day in third place.  St. Lawrence finished the morning's jumping competition in first place with 18 points. Syracuse was behind by three and Casanova in third with 13.  Moving into the afternoon  the lead  changed hands and misfortune moved the Saints into third.  Cazenovia won the show with 38 points, Syracuse finished in second with 37, and St.  Lawrence in third with 36. 

"This year really wants to be a fight to the end"  says Coach Drueding.  "All three schools are strong and after four shows no one has pulled away with a real lead."

St. Lawrence highlights came from junior Rachael Ragozzino with a win in the open fences and sophomore Marrielle VanRossum with a win in the open flat.  Senior Whitney MacDonnell brought in 12 points for the Saints effort with first and second place finishes in intermediate flat and fences respectively.  Newcomer to the team, sophomore Kerry Bosman won a trip in the intermediate fences and three novice riders: freshman Vicky Wright, junior Hallie Britt and sophomore Kate Bacon won 7 points each with blue ribbon performances in the novice fences.

The regional tie has broken with Syracuse leading the region with 144, St. Lawrence behind with 143 and Cazenovia in third with 137.  The Saints finish up the fall season next weekend with a home show.

SAINTS FINISH ON TOP AT CAZENOVIA

Nov. 22: St. Lawrence finished on top after a long day of competition at Cazenovia this weekend  A competition which began at 9:00 am came all the way down to the last class 11 hours later. St. Lawrence and Syracuse were tied for first with 38 points each going into the last class.

St. Lawrence's Kaitlyn Swirbalus secured a second place finish over  Syracuse's fourth place to win the show for the Saints with a total of 43 points. Syracuse finished a close second with 41 points followed by Cazenovia with 35 points.

Show highlights include a win in the open flat for Marrielle Van Rossum,  a great block by Hannah Stonefield to win the intermediate fences, seven points contributed by Kate Bacon in novice fences, Whitney MacDonnell posted  an additional 7 points  in intermediate flat, two more blue ribbons from  Jessica Campbell and  Liz McCormick in novice flat finishing up the Saints stong day with a win by Jessica Rochlin in walk trot canter.

The race for the region is now tied with St. Lawrence and Syracuse each with 107 points and Cazenovia trailing in third with 99 points.

SAINTS RESERVE CHAMPIONS IN SEASON OPENER

Nov. 1: Opening season for us was a real fight. On Saturday Cazenovia was champion with 35 points and SLU was reserve with 34. The lead changed hands back and forth all day.

Hightlights were as follows. Senior Tarah Watson, junior Rachael Ragozzino, freshman Marrielle Van Rossum, and freshman Brittan White were victorious in all four sections of Open Flat. Sophomore Hannah Stonefield brought in 7 points for the Saints with a win in intermediate flat, sophomore Kate Bacon brought another 7 points in noivce flat, and freshman Vicky Wright won a novice flat class in her debut.

Sunday Syracuse was champion with 33 points followed by a tie for reserve with RIT and SUNY Geneseo 32 and SLU in third with 30 points.

Junior Rachaeal Ragozzino was a winner in the open fences, sophomore Esther Deming was a winner in the novice flat, and sophomore Carolyn Griffin won in walk trot canter.

An exciting weekend with the points all over the board but in the run for the regional championship Syracuse takes the lead with 66 points SLU in second with 64 points and Cazenovia with 61points.