After a weekend of excellent riding in two Intercollegiate Horse Show Association shows, Sweet Briar’s IHSA team is the region’s points leader.

The Vixens, who compete in the IHSA’s Zone 4, Region 2, collectively earned enough points to take reserve high-point team honors at the Randolph College/Lynchburg College show on Friday, Feb. 6 and at a home show they hosted at Rogers Riding Center on Sunday, Feb. 8. The back-to-back performances propelled them to first place in the region.

Emily Casali, Sweet Briar IHSA head coach (left), stands with Alison Sims ’09, who won two blue ribbons over the weekend. Photo courtesy of Campus Equestrian.Alison Sims ’09 opened the Randolph/Lynchburg show with a win in her section in the Open Fences division, a good start that was bolstered by senior Meredith Newman’s second-place finish in her section of the division.

Junior Heather McPheeters went next in Intermediate Fences, where she placed third — and collected enough points to qualify for the post-season Regional Horse Show at the University of Virginia on Feb. 22. To make the cut for the regional show, individual riders must accumulate 35 points (28 points if they are an Open rider) in a division during the IHSA season.

“Heather is now ineligible to continue competing in Intermediate Fences except at the Regionals during this post season,” said Emily Casali, Sweet Briar IHSA head coach, explaining how ineligibility is a good thing. “By accumulating thirty-five points in Intermediate Fences, she is now an Open Fences rider for the rest of her IHSA career.”

First-year Novice Fences riders Emily Richonne and Michelle Karpaitis placed second and third respectively in the final jumping class of the day.

Newman made another appearance in Open Flat, this time finishing fifth. McPheeters also made another appearance in Intermediate Flat where she placed third, as did teammate Paige Kaylor ’10 in her section of Intermediate Flat. First-years Greer Gordon and Alex Mebane were fourth and fifth respectively in Novice Flat.

Townsend Horvath ’12 was the only Vixen to ride in Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter for the day and she finished in fourth place. Walk, Trot rider Alysha Norbury ’10 completed the day with a second-place win. This gave Sweet Briar a team total of 29 points behind Hollins University’s 35, edging Sweet Briar into second place in the region standings at 10 points behind Hollins.

Emily Casali, SBC IHSA head coach (left) and Emily Richonne ’12 are all smiles during a weekend in which Richonne won first- and second-place ribbons. Photo courtesy of Campus Equestrian.On Sunday, Sweet Briar College hosted its only home show for the season. Much hard work went into setting up and preparing for the event, Casali said. The order of classes was slightly different than usual, she noted, but the “results were still consistent.”

Newman started the day with a fifth-place ribbon in Open Flat and followed up with a second-place finish in Open Fences. Sims grabbed the first blue ribbon of the day in the second section of Open Fences. Gordon followed with a blue ribbon in Intermediate Fences and then a third place in Novice Flat.

The Novice Fences division was a strong one for the Vixens, with Richonne notching the third blue ribbon of the day in a ride that followed Karpaitis’ second-place win. Horvath won her first IHSA blue ribbon in her Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter class and Norbury was fourth in Walk, Trot.

Sweet Briar’s team total for the show was 35 points, just one point behind a Lynchburg College team that won for the first time this year. Meanwhile, Hollins, the region leader, earned 22 points at the Sweet Briar show, leaving it in second place in the region with a season total of 192 behind SBC’s 195.

Bridgewater College holds the third-place spot with 185 points and James Madison University is in fourth with 179 points.

Casali also noted that Sims and Newman, who are both Open riders, hold the fourth- and fifth-place spots in the Open rider Cacchione Cup race. The Open rider with the most points accumulated throughout the season wins a spot at the National Horse Show in the prestigious Cacchione Cup Competition. Leading the current standings are Ashley Lovegrove from Randolph College, followed by Katie Furches of Hollins and Patti Ann Thornton of Bridgewater College.

The Vixens compete again Saturday, Feb. 14, at Bridgewater College.