Hunt Seat, Western equestrian teams ride to strong Region 4 showings on road

Saturday, November 15

Ashland, VA

10:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Randolph-Macon College

Liberty's Hunt Seat equestrian team earned eight blue ribbons and team and individual championship honors at Saturday's IHSA Region 4 show at Randolph-Macon College.

Hunt Seat, Western equestrian teams ride to strong Region 4 showings on road

11/17/2025 11:53:00 AM | Equestrian

The Lady Flames traveled to Randolph-Macon and William & Mary and pulled within three points of Sweet Briar in the Region 4 Hunt Seat standings while the Western team rode well at Virginia Tech.

Liberty University's Hunt Seat and Western equestrian teams competed in two IHSA Region 4 shows at away venues over the weekend, returning with a mixed bag of results.

The Hunt Seat team experienced tremendous success in Saturday's event at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., totaling a season-high 47 points to finish first by 16 points over the host Yellow Jackets (31), as well as Region 4-leading Sweet Briar College (27), Christopher Newport University (27), Longwood University (25), the University of Mary Washington (24), the College of William & Mary (16), and the University of Richmond (15).

The Lady Flames featured both the High Point Rider, senior Anna Pemble who finished first in both Open Fences and Open Flat; and Reserve High Point Rider, sophomore Julianna Klapper, who won both the Limit Flat and Limit Fences divisions.

Additionally, sophomore Abby Griffith captured a blue ribbon for first place in Intermediate Flat. Senior Leah Hoffman rode to first-place in Intermediate Fences, with Griffith finishing third behind her in that division.

Junior Madeleine Hammond finished first in her division of Intermediate Flat and third in Limit Fences, behind junior Sophie Battin's first-place showing. Battin also finished fifth in Limit Flat, followed by freshman Leah Burnett's sixth-place ride.

Other Liberty place-winners included freshman Anna Talmadge (second in Introductory), senior Morgen Anderson (third in Intermediate Flat), freshman Kelley Berlin (third in Novice), senior Lyla Ludwig (fourth in Limit Flat), and junior Sophia Golden (fourth in Pre-Novice).

Then on Sunday, the team traveled to Toano, Va., for a fall semester-ending show hosted by William & Mary at Willow Pond Farm.

Pemble qualified for next semester's Region 4 Championships in Open Flat after placing second in that division and third in Open Fences to help the Lady Flames to total 29 points and land in fourth place. Sweet Briar and Mary Washington tied for High Overall Team Champion honors with 40 points, followed by Randolph-Macon with 31 points. Liberty finished ahead of CNU (21 points), Longwood (19), the host Tribe (19), and Richmond (13).

Sophomore Keira Kraftson finished first in Limit Flat while Klapper took second in Limit Flat, and Talmadge repeated her red ribbon performance in the Introductory division. Battin placed third in Limit Flat, as did senior Anna Rotter in Novice Flat, qualifying for regionals in that division along with senior captain Aliyah Hardesty.

With 167 points, Liberty trails only Sweet Briar (170) in the Region 4 team standings at the end of the fall semester. The Lady Flames are followed by Randolph-Macon (153), CNU (144), Mary Washington (128), Longwood (107), William & Mary (81), and Richmond (49).

In the High Point Rider standings, Pemble (second with 46 points) trails only Sweet Briar's Sadie Swift (57 points) and is two points in front of fellow Vixen Jocelyn Flannery (44).

Meanwhile, Liberty's Western riders traveled to Blacksburg, Va., for back-to-back shows hosted by Virginia Tech. On Saturday, the Lady Flames finished fourth in the team standings led by first-place finishes by junior Ayva Anderson (Rookie B Horsemanship), senior Shelby Coble (Level 1 Ranch), and senior Angel Lundin (Beginner Horsemanship).

Senior Caylan Barton pointed up to Level 1 Horsemanship after placing second in Rookie B Horsemanship. Liberty also had third-place showings from junior Alex Dixon (Open Horsemanship), sophomores Anna Norris (Rookie A Horsemanship) and Rebekah Isenhour (Beginner Horsemanship), and senior Makenzie Cox (Level 1 Horsemanship).

Then on Sunday, Dixon was the Reserve High Point Rider of the Day after capturing a blue ribbon for first place in Reining to lead the Lady Flames to a third-place team performance. Norris also finished first in Rookie A Horsemanship while Dixon also finished runner-up in Open Horsemanship along with Coble in Level 1 Horsemanship. Norris and Coble both pointed out of their respective divisions.

Liberty had four third-place finishes from Isenhour (Beginner Western Horsemanship), Lundin (Beginner Western Horsemanship), Anderson (Rookie B Horsemanship), and junior Savannah Hatfield (Rookie B Horsemanship).

The Lady Flames will conclude their fall semester schedule with two more Western shows this Saturday at North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer