Hollins University

 

2009-10 RIDING TEAM

Front row, left to right: Katie Furches '10, Tyne Hovda '11, Kristina Sprenkle '13, Arden Cone '12, Meredith McDonnell '12, Lauren Staley '11, Caitlin Shipe '13, Emma Lane Poole '13
Back row, left to right: Julianna Day '12, Taylor Richardson '11, Rachel Uliano '12, Blair St. Ledger-Olson '13, Andrea Moreau '10, Allison Wiltshire '13, Amanda Dibben '12
Not pictured: Sarah Jarosinski '12

 

Hollins Riders Capture Fourth at IHSA Nationals
Left to right: Riding Instructor Sandy Gerald, Kristina Sprenkle, Sarah Jarosinski, Tyne Hovda, Andrea Moreau, Katie Furches, Meredith McDonnell, Director of Riding Nancy Peterson, Associate Director Liz Courter.

The Hollins riding team team captured a fourth-place finish at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships, May 6 - 8, in Lexington, Ky.
Highlights included:

• Meredith McDonnell '12, first place in Intermediate Equitation over Fences.
• Kristina Sprenkle '13, fifth place in Intermediate Equitation on the Flat.
• Tyne Hovda '11, fifth place in Novice Equitation on the Flat.
• Caitlin Shipe '13, sixth place in Walk, Trot, Canter Equitation.

Other riders representing Hollins were Katie Furches '10 (who won the 2010 IHSA Sportsmanship Award and competed in the Cacchione Cup), Sarah Jarosinski '12, and Andrea Moreau '10.

2010 ODAC Championship

Left to right: Meredith McDonnell, Katie Furches, Emma Lane Poole, Kristina Sprenkle

 

 

 

 

 

The Hollins riding team captured the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship at the equestrian finals on Friday, April 9. All four team members - Katie Furches '10, Emma Lane Poole '13, Meredith McDonnell '12, and Kristina Sprenkle '13 - were named All-ODAC; Furches was honored as ODAC Rider of the Year and Coach Sandy Gerald was named ODAC Coach of the Year. On Sunday, April 11, Hollins qualified to compete at the National IHSA Horse Show in Lexington, Ky., May 4-9, as Reserve Champions at the Zone Horse Show. Hollins finished second to Virginia Intermont, 47-43. Team members include: Katie Furches '10, Meredith McDonnell '12, Kristina Sprenkle '13, Sarah Jarosinski '12, Tyne Hovda '11, Caitlin Shipe '13, and Andrea Moreau '10. Roanoke's WDBJ-7 profiled the riding team, shortly before leaving for IHSA Nationals in its quest to win the third national championship in school history and its first since 1998.

Hollins' riding team competed in two horse shows February 27 and 28, capturing a fourth-place tie at the Hollins Horse Show on Saturday and third at Sunday's show at the University of Virginia. Year-end results are as follows for IHSA Zone 4, Region 2: Champion High Point Team: Hollins University (221 points) Reserve Champion: Lynchburg College (186 points) Third: Bridgewater College (184 points) Fourth: Sweet Briar College (179 points) Fifth: W&L University (153 points) Sixth: Randolph College/UVa (146 points)

Hollins moves on to compete against the regional High Point Teams from Zones 1 and 3 on Sunday, April 11 at Virginia Tech. The first and second-place teams from that event go to the National IHSA Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, May 6-9.

Individual riders qualifying for the Zone Horse Show on April 11 include:
Amanda Dibben '12: Walk Trot
Arden Cone '12: Intermediate Flat
Katie Furches '10: Open Flat, Open over Fences
Emma Lane Poole '13: Open over Fences
Should these riders win first or second place at the Zone Horse Show, they will also compete in individual competition at the National Horse Show in May.

Katie Furches '10 qualified for the Cacchione Cup as High Point Rider for our region. Katie will compete for the title of National Champion Rider in Lexington.

 

The Hollins riders just completed their shows for the fall 2009 semester and the highlights are many.

At the Pre-Season Classic Invitational Horse Show on Sept. 27, Hollins' two teams tied for fifth place out of 20 competitors and Katie Furches '10 won the Gold Medal Class. On Oct. 16 at the Randolph College IHSA Horse Show, Hollins was the High Point College and Furches earned High Point Rider. This success was duplicated two days later at the Hollins IHSA Horse Show. At both the Bridgewater College and University of Virginia IHSA Horse Shows on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, respectively, Hollins was the Reserve Champion High Point College. And, at the Southwest Virginia Hunter/Jumper Annual Horse Show at the Virginia Horse Center Nov. 6-8, Furches won the Gold Medal Finals while Sarah Jarosinski '12, Tyne Hovda '11, Abby Quinn '12, Emma Lane Poole '13, Kirsten Poag '12, and Abby Gonzalez '10 also delivered standout performances.

Hollins now leads its IHSA region in points and Furches is the leading rider in the Cacchione Cup competition.