Morton-Callihan Tandem Lead Goucher Equestrian To Fifth-Place Standing At Preseason Classic Tournament of Champions

CONVENTRY, Conn. – Courtney Morton (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) and Adeline Callihan (Keane, N.H./MC2 Charter School) each won an event to pace the Goucher equestrian team to a fifth-place standing at the Preseason Classic Tournament of Champions on Saturday.

Morton finished first in open flat and was sixth in open fences while Calihan took home the top spot in the novice flat.

Jordan Bell (Friendship, Md./Southern) placed second in intermediate fences. Courtney Sloan (Alexandria, Va./WT Woodson) was third in intermediate flat and seventh in high collegiate medal while Noelle Gulley (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) was third in low collegiate medal.

Cole Jackson (Denver, Colo./East) finished fifth in limit flat and sixth in limit fences while Eunoh Lee (Seoul, Korea/South Kent School) was sixth in introductory equitation.

Savannah Art and Design won the event with 43 points while Mount Holyoke was the the reserve champion with 35 points. Bridgewater (29 points), Sacred Heart (29 points), Goucher (27 points), Roger Williams (25 points), Miami (22 points) and Connecticut (20 points) rounded out the Top-8 teams in the 18-team field.

IHSA competition is broken up into five categories based on experience. The Open division has the most experienced rider, while intermediate is No. 2, limit is No. 3, novice is No. 4 and introductory equitation is No. 5. The top three categories include two sub-sections; the "flat" which is a pattern that does not include jumping, and a fences section. In addition, when teams are on the road they are using the horses at the home stable. The riders are judged on their ability to adapt, communicate, and perform with an unfamiliar horse. If you are familiar with equestrian terms and not a novice to the sport, IHSA changed the names for the classes of the bottom three classes over summer (walk trot was switched to introductory equitation, walk trot canter became novice and novice became limit). With these changes, senior Cherise Madrid (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) is the last person to earn a national championship in the classification of walk trot in 2019.

Goucher returns to action on October 13 when the squad hosts the UMBC IHSA Show.