CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. - Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry University has qualified for the International Horse Shows Association National Championships for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The Wasps finished as the Zone 4 Reserve Champions on Saturday at Virginia Tech and will look to return to the top of the podium after finishing third at last year's championship show.
The Basics
TEAM PLACE – 2nd/5
LOCATION – Christiansburg, Virginia
HOST – Virginia Tech
VENUE – Flanigan Stables
Team Competition
The Wasps fought hard as they took the reserve championship for the Zone, putting five riders through individually.
Senior Emma Pell (Winchester, Va.) started the day with a pair of second-place finishes in open equitation on the flat and open equitation over fences.
In the intermediate competition, senior Emma Gurley (Rutherfordton, N.C.) was second over fences and third on the flat.
Senior Maddie Whitley (Stuarts Draft, Va.) competed in limit fences and limit flat, earning first and second, respectively.
Novice saw sophomore Bailey Shive (Hot Springs, Ark.) earn fourth, and senior Ambrose Tisdel (Beulah, Colo.) was fifth in introductory.
Individual Competition
Pell qualified for the IHSA National Championships Cacchione Cup, placing first. She also punched her ticket in Open Over Fences with a Zone Championship and was fifth in Open Flat.
Senior Ava Harry (Wake Forest, N.C.) continued her stellar postseason, earning zone championships in Intermediate Fences and Flat, advancing her to nationals. Senior Liv Abbruzzi (Irmo, S.C.) was fourth on the flat while senior Erin Ryan (Seven Valleys, Pa.) was eighth over fences.
In Limit competition, senior Madison Couperthwait (Otego, N.Y.) earned her spot at nationals, winning over fences. Gurley also secured a place, earning second on the flat.
Senior Hannah Ferguson (Newport News, Va.) finished out Novice flat, taking third.
Next Up
Emory & Henry will next compete in the IHSA National Championship between Friday, May 2, and Sunday, May 4. The Tryon International Equestrian Center will host this year's national show.
---E&H---
Team Scores
|
Pl. |
|
School |
|
Score |
|
|
|
1. |
|
Lynchburg |
|
47 |
|
|
|
2. |
|
Emory & Henry |
|
36* |
|
|
|
3. |
|
Sweet Briar |
|
36 |
|
|
|
4. |
|
St. Andrews |
|
25 |
|
|
|
5. |
|
Goucher |
|
24 |
|
Tiebreaker
Due to the tie for Reserve Champion Team, the first tiebreaker was which team had more first-place finishes. Both Emory & Henry and Sweet Briar had one first-place finish. The second tiebreaker was second-place finshes, with E&H edging, SBC 4-3.
-Sierra Smith '25 contributed to this release.