Goucher Claims Bid to Nationals as Zone IV Champion

Goucher's Six-Person Zone Team Posts Highest Score

TOWSON, Md. — The IHSA Zone IV Championships conducted today offered the high point colleges in each of the zone's four regions the opportunity to grab one of the two available bids to 2012 National Horse Show next month in Raleigh, N.C. Goucher, which last weekend nailed down the Region I title, needed to achieve a higher score than two of the other three teams it was competing against.

Goucher's team, which had Karli Postel (Newbury Park, Calif./Oaks Christian School) competing in open equitation over fences and Amory Brandt (Saratoga, Calif./Lynbrook) in open equitation on the flat, Addie Jabin (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) in both the jumping and the flat phase of the intermediate division, Joey Fink (Pikesville, Md./The Park School) in both phases of the novice division, Callie Hodge (Columbia, Md./Long Reach) in advanced walk-trot-canter equitation and Madison Tidwell (Sun Valley, Idaho/Middle College) in walk-trot, was awarded a score of 45 points.

Delaware, which came out of Region IV, finished with 30 points and Bridgewater, which ruled in Region II, came out with a score of 34 points. Region III champion St. Andrews came the closest to Goucher, but finished two points back with 43, meaning both Goucher and St. Andrews advance to nationals.

It will be Goucher's second appearance in the team competition at nationals, the first since the program placed 14th overall back in 2007. That time Goucher went as the runner-up from Zone IV.

(more to come)