Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Equestrian teams debut in home scrimmage with St. Andrews
10/24/2020 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Liberty University's Hunt Seat and Western equestrian teams combined to trot past St. Andrews University in the only show of the fall semester, a scrimmage held Saturday morning and afternoon at the Liberty Equestrian Center's indoor and outdoor riding arenas.
Lady Flames Hunt Seat rider Brooke Boan earned "Most Outstanding Performer" honors in both the "Equitation On The Flat" and "Equitation Over Fences" categories, while fellow junior Faith Dantona was the event's MOP in the Western "Horsemanship" division.
Overall, between the Hunt Seat and Western teams, Liberty won 10 of 16 head-to-head rides and amassed 1,150 points to 1,100.5 for St. Andrews.
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| Lady Flames freshman Rebekah Honaker rides Oscar |
Riding "Cheeto," Boan edged St. Andrews' Natalie Bailey, 72-70, in the "Equitation Over Fences" competition in the indoor arena. Junior teammate Juliana Gorena scored an 82-55 win over St. Andrews' Paityn Anderson riding "Willie" and Rebekah Honaker was outridden by Isabel McLaurin on "Vance," 84-75. Liberty won the overall event, 2-1, by a 229-209 points total.
In "Equitation On the Flat" on the outdoor ring, Boan and her sister, sophomore Briley Boan, posted the Lady Flames' top two scores, defeating St. Andrews' Tyler Graham on "Kodak," 80-62, and McLaurin on "Prince," 75-67, respectively. Riding "Solomon," Gorena breezed past Anderson, 74-59, and junior Hannah Gossard outperformed St. Andrews' Christie Zeman on the back of "Sugar," 70-62.
For St. Andrews, Shelby Lemmonds rode "Oscar" to a 73-61 win over Honaker and Lyndsey Cavanaugh barely beat Lady Flames freshman Elianna Bruss, 63-61, aboard "Fenway." Liberty won the team competition, 4-2, with a total margin of victory of 421-386, bringing the Hunt Seat total score to 650-595.
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| Liberty junior Faith Dantona was the Most Outstanding Performer in Western 'Horsemanship.' |
St. Andrews, which has one of the strongest Western programs in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), only nipped Liberty by a 505.5-500 total in the three categories of "Horsemanship," "Reining," and "Ranch Riding," although the Lady Flames actually won four of the seven individual showdowns.
In the indoor "Horsemanship" event, riding "Mackie," Dantona scored a narrow 78-77.5 victory over St. Andrews' Sarah Felker, who was named the "Reining" MOP after edging Liberty's Savana Graves, 75.5-72.5 on "Nikki" in the outdoor ring.
Lady Flames freshman Kate denDulk scored a 74.5-72 "Horsemanship" win over Victoria Garvin, riding "Raymond," and Caitlin Colpetzer beat Kylie Morgan, 70.5-68, in the saddle of "Jules." Riding "Dillon," St. Andrews' Dalton Louthen outperformed Liberty freshman Morgan Fish, 76-64.5, and Macie Leath outmaneuvered sophomore Vivian Renfroe, 70.5-67.5, aboard "Austin."
Finally, in the outdoor "Ranch Riding" event, Dantona outpointed Garvin, 72.5-66, on the back of "Major," for the Lady Flames' 10th individual win of the day.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
The Lady Flames' Hunt Seat and Western riding teams performed in favorable conditions Saturday.
