Goucher Hosts, Places Sixth Overall at Preseason Classic
TOWSON, Md. — After finishing in a tie for seventh place in the hunter seat team standings at the IHSA National Horse Show in May to wrap up last season in impressive fashion, Goucher was no doubt looking for an early indication how it stacks up against some of the top intercollegiate riding programs in the nation in 2012-13.
Postel Places First in Open Fences, Tidwell in Walk-Trot
TOWSON, Md. — After finishing in a tie for seventh place in the hunter seat team standings at the IHSA National Horse Show in May to wrap up last season in impressive fashion, Goucher was no doubt looking for an early indication how it stacks up against some of the top intercollegiate riding programs in the nation in 2012-13.
That's why Patte Zumbrun decided not only to enter her riders in the Tournament of Champions Preseason Classic, but also to host the event, which was conducted today on the Goucher campus.
A total of 17 teams representing 15 different colleges and universities took part in the first of three annual events that make up the Tournament of Champions, a non-sanctioned exhibition series structured like an IHSA riding show. Goucher's six-person riding team scored 25 points in the eight IHSA class divisions to finish in sixth place overall.
Karli Postel (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Oaks Christian School) was Goucher's entrant in both the jumping and flat phases in the open division and placed first in open fences.
Madison Tidwell (Sun Valley, Idaho/Middle College) also turned in a first-place performance as Goucher's participant in walk-trot equitation.
Joey Fink (Baltimore, Md./The Park School) earned points for Goucher with a second-place finish in intermediate equitation over fences and a sixth place in novice equitation on the flat.
Hayley Cohen (Davidsonville, Md./Indian Creek) took fourth place in intermediate flat and Moriah Patashnik (Seattle, Wash./The Northwest School) was sixth in novice fences.
Mt. Holyoke, the two-time reigning Tournament of Champions champion, is the early favorite to make it three in a row after scoring 42 points today to finish in first place. Second place went to Virginia Intermont, which picked up 39 points, and third to Randolph with 33 points. The other two schools which finished ahead of Goucher were Delaware Valley in fourth (32 points) and Bridgewater in fifth (31).