Dartmouth Takes Third in Two Shows at Vermont and Middlebury

Saturday, October 12

Burlington, VT

Dartmouth College

Vermont

Nancy Curtis rode well at Middlebury on Sunday.

Photo by: Doug Austin

Dartmouth Takes Third in Two Shows at Vermont and Middlebury

10/14/2019 4:10:00 PM | Equestrian

Big Green post strong showings in first two official events of 2019.

By: Teaghan Callaway ‘21, Dartmouth Equestrian Team Manager

VERMONT SHOW
The Dartmouth equestrian team opened its season at Vermont Saturday in Williston. The team's home meet in late September didn't count toward official point totals, making Saturday's performance in Williston, Vermont, the first official show of the season.

The Big Green had a successful day claiming third out of 11 teams, narrowly missing second place by only a single point. UNH took home first place followed by the hosts from UMV in second place.

Sophomore Claire Azar dominated her competitive Open Flats class, taking home a first-place finish for the team. Sophomore Tori Bergstein showed an outstanding performance and won her Limit Flat class and qualified for Regionals in Limit Fences by collecting enough points to place into the Intermediate Fences division.

Sophomore Sophie Kylander also attained top placing in her Novice class with team manager Teaghan Callaway claiming a second-place finish in her Novice class as well. Freshman Kate Kucharczuk had an outstanding rookie performance in her IHSA showing debut in the Introductory division taking home a first-place finish for the team.

Additionally, sophomore Maria Roodnitsky demonstrated a strong performance in the Introductory division with a second-place finish. Senior Meghan Poth also had a great day, placing third in her Intermediate flat class and qualifying for Regionals in her Intermediate Fences class, while pointing up into Open Fences.

Freshmen Leah Branstetter and Gemma Tung also represented the Big Green well in their first shows of their Dartmouth Equestrian careers, with both freshmen claiming third in their Limit Fences classes. Classmate Melody Fu also held her own in her IHSA show debut in the Pre-Novice division, taking home a third-place finish.

Team Score
3rd out of 11

Individual Scores
Sophie Lenihan '20- 6th place in Open Fences, 4th place in Open Flat
Meghan Poth '20- 4th place in Intermediate Fences, 3rd place in Intermediate Flat
Teaghan Callaway '21- 2nd place in Novice
Claire Azar '22- 5th place in Open Fences, 1st place in Open Flat
Tori Bergstein '22- 4th place in Limit Fences, 1st place in Limit Flat
Sophie Kylander '22- 1st place in Novice
Maria Roodnitsky '22- 2nd place in Introductory
Leah Branstetter '23- 3rd in Limit Fences
Gemma Tung '23- 3rd in Limit Fences
Melody Fu '23- 3rd in Novice
Kate Kucharczuk '23- 1st in Introductory

MIDDLEBURY SHOW
The Big Green had a successful second competition of the weekend at Middlebury on Sunday.

Junior Nancy Curtis got the day off to a good start, placing first in her Limit Fences class. Sophomore Claire Azar also went undefeated in Open Flat this weekend, taking home another win.

Team captain Sophie Lenihan also with a strong performance in Open Flat, finishing second. Freshmen Anna Sandell had an outstanding debut placing second in her Intermediate Flat class. Sophomore Sophie Kylander placed second in her Novice class and qualified for Regionals, thus placing her into Limit Fences and Flats.

Sophomore Sabrina Jain placed second in her Limit Flat class, while Sophia Arana also performed well, placing second in her Pre-Novice class. Freshmen Leah Branstetter and Kate Kucharczuk both assisted in collecting team points, placing third in their Limit Fences class and Introductory class, respectively.

The team ended up in third place out of 11 teams with the Catamounts taking home first followed closely by the Wildcats. All three teams are in a tight race for leading the region.

Dartmouth will continue to train hard over the next week in preparation for their first home show of the season at Morton Farm on Saturday.

Team Score
3rd out of 11

Individual Scores
Sophie Lenihan '20- 2nd place in Open Flat
Nancy Curtis '21- 1st place in Limit Fences
Liza Begunova '21- 4th place in Novice
Claire Azar '22- 6th place in Open Fences, 1st place in Open Flat
Sabrina Jain '22- 2nd place in Limit Flat
Sophie Kylander '22- 2nd place in Novice
Sophia Arana '22- 2nd place in Pre-Novice
Tori Bergstein '22- 6th place in Intermediate Fences
Anna Sandell '23- 6th place in Intermediate Fences, 2nd place in Intermediate Flat
Leah Branstetter '23- 3rd place in Limit Fences
Kate Kucharczuk '23- 3rd place in Introductory