BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College Dressage Team completed the its regular season over the weekend with a pair of shows at Virginia Tech. E&H finished first out of five teams on Saturday and claimed a Champion finish on Sunday out of seven teams.
Emory & Henry finishes the season with a clean sweep of seven victories in seven competitions and will next compete at the IDA National Championship in Westerville, Ohio from April 23-26.
In addition to qualifying as a team, three riders from E&H have qualified as individuals: sophomore Nick Martino (Bel Air, Md.) in the First Level, junior Bailey Halverson (Concord, N.C.) in the Upper Training Level and junior Karissa Donohue (Benson, N.C.) in the Lower Training Level. Senior Morgan Sollenberger (Concord, N.C.) is in the running for a wild-card slot in the Lower Training Level as well.
On Saturday, Halverson and Donohue finished at the top of the Upper and Lower Training Levels, respectively while freshman Eli Worth-Jones (Abingdon, Va.) was second in the Introductory Level. Junior Emma Baltuskonis (San Antonio, Texas) was fourth in the Upper Training Level while junior Florence Parsley (Ruskin, Fla.) and sophomore Amanda Snow (Bradford, Me.) were fifth and sixth, in the Introductory and First Levels, respectively.
As a team, Emory & Henry finished tied with Virginia Tech at 19 points on the day, but was declared the Champion on the tiebreaker, 77.3%-76.93%. Appalachian State University was third.
Sunday, Baltuskonis, Donohue and Worth-Jones all won their levels while Halverson was fourth and Snow was sixth. E&H was the Champion Team of the day with 17 points, ahead of Reserve Champion Virginia Tech – A with 14 points and Virginia Tech – B with 13 points.
Emory & Henry finishes as the Region H Team Champion with Martino taking the First Level Individual Championship with 28 points. Halverson earns championship honors in the Upper Training Level with 24 points and a tie-breaker on percentage, 73.403%-72.298% over Reserve Champion Isabella Hernandez of Virginia Tech.
The Wasps took the top two spots in the Lower Training Level with Donohue and Sollenberger tying with 26 points. Donohue edged her teammate for the Region Championship by a score of 72.858%-71.730%. In the Introductory Level, Worth-Jones and Parsley ranked fourth and fifth out of 15 riders in the region, respectively.
Region H Horse of the Year accolades went to Emory & Henry's Private Vintage. Vinnie, as he was known around the barn, passed away earlier this spring.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15