Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Hunt Seat equestrian riders edge Region 4 foes in home show
2/9/2019 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Hosting its second Region 4 show in as many years, Liberty University's Hunt Seat equestrian team cleared the competition with a first-place finish Saturday at the Liberty Equestrian Center.
Senior Morgan Faber tied for Reserve High Point Rider after winning in Intermediate Over Fences and reaching the qualifying standard to compete in the Region 4 Championships in Intermediate On the Flat. She helped the Lady Flames emerge as High Point Team champions with 36 points, holding off Region 4 regular-season frontrunner Sweet Briar, the Reserve High Point Team with 32 points, and third-place Randolph-Macon College (31).
Liberty remained in third place in the Region 4 standings with 179 points, behind first-place Sweet Briar (192) and Randolph-Macon (187) and ahead of Mary Washington (160), William & Mary (153), VCU (149), Richmond (127), Christopher Newport (114), Longwood (62), and ODU (35).
"There's always good competition and it gets more competitive every year," Liberty Head Coach Suzanne Flaig said. "It was a good win for the team today and we are proud of all the hard work the students put into hosting the horse show. We had a lot of extra responsibilities with 27 horses to get ready today."
 |
| Junior Amber Gayheart closed in on her Cacchione Cup title with a second-place showing in the Open division. |
"We groomed them all, we rode them all," Liberty junior Open rider Amber Gayheart added. "It was a lot of work this week and we all had to pitch in."
Besides Faber, freshmen Hanna Gossard (Novice Flat) and Juliana Gorena (Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter) were first-place finishers for the Lady Flames while senior Kendall Burdette (Open Fences), Gayheart (Open Flat), freshman Carly Woods (Novice Flat), and junior Kate Donnelly (Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter) earned second-place showings. Burdette placed third in Open Flat. Gayheart and Donnelly also qualified for the Region 4 Championships, set for Feb. 23 at Sweet Briar.
"We look forward to closing out the regular season this weekend with two shows at Mary Washington," Flaig said.
Liberty's Western team will also compete in its final two regular-season shows on Saturday and Sunday at Martin Community College in Williamston, N.C.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Hayden Robertson/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant
Liberty senior Kendall Burdette placed second in Open Over Fences and third in Open On the Flat.
