Senior Tristan Battin placed first in Intermediate Flat and second in Intermediate Fences on Saturday at Randolph-Macon College. (Photos by Aliyah Hardesty)
Hunt Seat equestrian team rides to Reserve Champion showings at R-MC, CNU
11/8/2023 3:35:00 PM | Equestrian
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Through four of eight shows this season, Liberty remains in first place in the Region 4 team standings.
At the midpoint of the 2023-24 season, Liberty University's Hunt Seat equestrian team maintained its first-place standing in Region 4 with Reserve Champion finishes in its last two shows of the fall semester, held in beautiful conditions in outdoor arenas, on Saturday at Randolph-Macon College in Ashburn, Va., and Sunday at Christopher Newport University near Newport News, Va.
The Flames and Lady Flames scored 32 points on Saturday to finish as co-Reserve Champions with Sweet Briar College, two points behind host R-MC (34). At CNU, Liberty repeated its 32-point total to finish as runner-up to the co-Champion host Captains and William & Mary (38).
Head Coach Suzanne Flaig brought the majority of her 20-rider team and most had the opportunity to ride on either Saturday or Sunday, if not both days.
"It allowed us to get a lot of ring time for the majority of our student riders," Flaig said. "With the number of spots given for each show, we tried to allow as many riders as possible to compete."
Individually, senior Tristan Battin finished first in Intermediate Flat and second in Intermediate Fences at R-MC, and sophomore Eve Bittner won the Pre-Novice Flat division to pace the Flames and Lady Flames. Freshman Sophia Golden finished second in the Introductory division and sophomore Ruth McAtee came in third in Limit Flat, while junior John Hutchinson landed in third in Limit Fences.
Hutchinson joined senior Rebekah Honaker in qualifying for the end-of-season Region 4 championships.
At CNU, senior Maggie Saunders finished first in Open Flat and third in Open Fences to strengthen her first-place standing in the high-point riders category, a competition among open division riders only with the winner from each region qualifying for the post-season Cacchione Cup.
"There are a lot of horse shows still to go, but she is competing at a high level, and we are looking forward to having her earn that award, to qualify for Zones, and then qualify to go to (IHSA) nationals," Flaig said.
Junior Claire Hutchinson, John's twin sister, finished second in Limit Flat, while Battin placed second in Intermediate Fences, freshman Aliyah Hardesty second in Novice Flat, and freshman Madeleine Hammond second in Novice Flat. Sophomore Anna Pemble came in third in both Intermediate Fences and Open Fences, freshman Katie Staib finished third in Limit Flat, and junior Giulia D'Addesi took third in Limit Fences.
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With 125 team points, Liberty still holds a four-point lead on Sweet Briar College (121), which is followed closely by R-MC (116), CNU (115), and William & Mary (109), with Mary Washington (89) sitting in sixth place.
"It is definitely a close race and will be for the rest of the semester and the rest of the season," Flaig said. "We've been consistent, and we will continue to work hard to see if we can have the best result possible."
The Hunt Seat team has now completed four of eight regular-season shows on its schedule with the next set for Feb. 3-4 at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. Â Meanwhile, Liberty's Western riders will be in action this Saturday and Sunday at Virginia Tech before opening the spring semester by hosting an IHSA show at the Liberty Mountain Equestrian Center.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterLiberty's Hunt Seat equestrian team enjoyed strong individual performances over the weekend at Randolph-Macon and Christopher Newport.
