Berry Riders Take First, Second in First Two Shows of the Year
by Emma Childs
The Western riders of the Berry College equestrian team competed in the North Georgia Gold Rush, a two show event, in Dahlonega, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 9 hosted by North Georgia College and State University. In their first event of the season, the ladies won one show and placed second in the other. Both events took place at Epiphany Farm, the home farm for North Georgia's team, owned and operated by NGCSU head coach Amanda Garner.
In the first show of the day, the Vikings placed first with a point total of 30, followed by NGCSU, Lander University, Judson College and Georgia Tech.
Allie Jones took the Reserve Champion title after finishing fourth in the open rein class and first in the open rail class.
Fellow Berry riders Chelsey Argo won the advanced division and Danielle Hanifin finished third in the class. In the novice division, Kristen Atwell and Jessica Nguyen finished in first and second place, respectively, further contributing to the team win. Katie McSpadden won the Intermediate II class while Rebecca Cochran finished fifth. Ariel Robelen rounded out the day's classes with a third-place finish in the beginner class.
In the following show, Berry recorded a second-place finish with 26 points total, missing the win by only four points to Lander University's 30.
Allie Jones again finished as the reserve high-point rider, this time placing third in both the open rein and open rail classes.
Danielle Hanifin took second place in the advanced division as her teammates Andrea Smith and Jessica Nguyen placed second and fourth, respectively, in the novice class.
In the Intermediate II class, Rebecca Cochran took third place and Katie McSpadden finished fifth. Ariel Robelen placed third in the beginner division class for the second time that day.
Berry's equestrian team competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), which includes over 370 schools across the United States and Canada. The Vikings are members of the IHSA's Zone V, Region II along with NGCSU, Lander, Judson, Emory University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, University of Georgia, University of South Carolina and Clemson University.
The day's results put Berry's team in first place overall in the IHSA Region II for the season.
The equestrian team will return to action Oct. 23-24 when it hosts an all-weekend Western/Hunter show at the Gunby Equine Center on Berry's Mountain Campus. Additionally, they will welcome the IHSA president who is visiting Berry for the weekend.
- BerryVikings.com -