MENTOR, Ohio – The Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College IDA Team competed at the 2019 Intercollegiate Dressage Association National Championships, presented by TheraPlate over the weekend. Lake Erie College and the George M. Humphrey Equestrian Center served as the host of the national championship show for the second year in a row.
E&H brought home yet another individual national championship as junior Gwenyth Stromdahl (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) won the Lower Training Level of the inaugural Dressage Seat Equitation National Championship and saw strong performances from riders in each event of the show.
Thursday – USDF/IDA Quiz Challenge
Emory & Henry saw all three of its competitors in the quiz challenge, sponsored this year by Big Dee's finish in the top five of their respective levels. Freshman Emily Dougherty (Sandy Hook, N.J.) was the Reserve National Champion at the Upper Training Level.
Senior Eliza Ginn (Alpharetta, Ga.) took third in the Open Level while sophomore Kaitlin Meredith (Mashpee, Mass.) was fourth in the Introductory Level.
Friday – Dressage Seat Equitation
For the first time ever, Dressage Seat Equitation was included in the IDA National Championship. Stromdahl gave the Wasps a National Champion finish with her score of 75.0% in the Lower Training Level.
Freshman Eleanor Boyle (Boyds, Md.) also competed for E&H, scoring a 73.0% in the Upper Training Level to finish as Reserve National Champion.
Saturday – Individual Championship
Saturday's action saw three Emory & Henry riders compete for individual national titles.
In the Upper Training Level, junior Bobbie Jo Adsit (Montpelier, Va.) posted a score of 65.00% to take fourth while senior Delaney Oursler (Hickory, N.C.) was ninth on a 62.26%.
Sophomore Delaney Dunne (Kingsport, Tenn.), who was the 2018 National Champion at the Introductory Level, competed this year in Lower Training, finishing 10th with a ride of 61.92%.
Sunday – Team Championship
On Sunday, the Wasps took sixth-place overall in the team championship.
Ginn opened the day with an eighth-place ride (65.71%) in the First Level. Abby Fleischli of Stanford University scored a 69.71% to give the Cardinal the lead out of the gate.
In Upper Training competition, Adsit was also eighth on a ride of 65.26% while Otterbein University's Camille Stewart won on a 68.71%.
The Lower Training Level saw Dunne take fourth at 67.98% while Otterbein made it back-to-back level wins as Megan Leclerc posted a score of 71.83%.
Meredith finished sixth in the Introductory Level, to seal the Wasps' sixth-place finish on the weekend.
Malloot Memorial Trophy
For the second year, the Malloot Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Horse was awarded. Malloot was a beloved Dutch Warmblood Gelding owned by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College, who passed away at the age of 24 in the winter of 2018, and was known for his skills both as an Equitation/Jumper and a Dressage mount. The 2019 honoree was Kermit of Otterbein.
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