Goucher Equestrian Finishes Third At ANRC National Championships

HERNDON, Va. – The Goucher College equestrian team finished third in the novice division at the American National Riding Commission (ANRC) National Championships over the weekend.

The Gophers finished behind Savannah Art & Design and Centenary College, who both have won multiple national championships. Goucher finished third overall and also placed third in each of the individual phases (derby, ride, medal and written test) as a team.

Irene Elise Powlick (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) finished fifth overall in the national division on Goucher horse "Coco Chanel." Powlick finished third in the derby and written phases while placing fifth in the program ride and medal phases.

Emily Axel (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Central) finished sixth overall in the novice division riding "Beste Intentions." She was third in the derby phase and fourth in the program ride phase.

Rachel Stockslager (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) placed ninth in the novice division on "Ghandi." Stockslager was fifth in the medal phase and ninth in the derby phase. Courtney Sloan (Annadale, Va./W.T. Woodson) placed 10th in the written test phase while she was riding "Jack Sparrow."

In ANRC competitions, teams are allowed to ride their own horses which differs from the IHSA events because at those competitions the horses are provided by the host institution. "Coco Chanel," "Jack Sparrow" and "Ghandi" are owned by Goucher College while "Beste Intentions" is owned by Goucher alum Cary Hundley. The competition is broken up into a national division, which jumps 3' fences, and the novice division, which jumps the 2'6 height. Each division has four phases: derby (a course of fences out in a large field); program ride (a pattern of USEF Equitation tests); medal (a course of fences in a ring) and written test (a test of ANRC theory and horsemanship). Competitors are judged in each phase based on a points system and the four phases are added together for an overall finish.

This competition marked the final team competition of the year, but several individuals will still have events to compete in the next couple of weeks. Powlick will head to the Metropolitan Equitation Finals as an IHSA Showcase Class during The Longines Masters of New York on April 25-28, an invite only event that including once 24 IHSA open level riders. Cherise Madrid (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) and Wren Wakeman (Addison, Maine/Washington Academy) will head to the IHSA National Championships at the New York State Fairground Expo in Syracuse, N.Y., on May 2-5.