United States Eventing Association

RMC, UF, and Auburn Top the 2019 Winter Intercollegiate Team Challenges

With the winter competition season flowing into spring, collegiate riders have started gearing up for the 2019 Intercollegiate Championships at Chattahoochee Hills on May 18-19. A championship that aims to hit record numbers, the defending champions from Auburn University have plans to send “at least three teams” said Sallie Johnson, the University of Kentucky spirit will be in full force, “I will definitely be back to compete at the 2019 Intercollegiate Championships,” shared Jackie LeMastus, and Florida State University hopes to make their championship debut. “We are incredibly excited to be attending this year,” said Emma Taylor, FSU Eventing Team President.

Although much excitement is centered around this year’s Intercollegiate Championships, a total of 22 Intercollegiate Team Challenges take place throughout the year where collegiate members have the opportunity to represent their school and practice eventing in a team environment. The USEA is excited to share the latest team results from Ocala Winter I H.T., Southern Pines H.T., and Poplar Place Farm March H.T.

It came down to 0.4 of a point to differentiate the first and second place team at Ocala Winter 1 Intercollegiate Team Challenge on February 8-10. Taking home first was ‘University of Florida Team 2’ made up of Kaley Rak on Monte Carlo in the Training, Sedona Iodice on Valentin’s Vow in the Novice, and Katie Szewczyk on Suspicious Behavior in the Beginner Novice, earned first with a final team total of 139.2. The University of Central Florida Eventing Team made up of Rachel Morgan on Seventyseven Honor, Megan Skalla on Ferhnhill Xanthos, and Mikayala Kearney on Countless Prospects, all in the Beginner Novice, finished second with a team total of 139.6.

A team who drove over 14 hours to make their Intercollegiate Championship debut last year brought two teams to the Intercollegiate Team Challenge at Ocala Winter 1 H.T. With help from 5-star eventer Ashley Johnson, the University of Florida Eventing Team is based in Gainesville, Florida, which means they are just a stone’s throw away from the Florida Horse Park where the Ocala Winter I H.T. was held.

On March 9-10, Southern Pines H.T. hosted their Intercollegiate Team Challenge where Randolph Macon College (RMC) took the competition by storm and won with over 22 points to spare. They finished on a team total of 94.865. The winning team was made up of Katherine DeLaney on Canto Royal in the Preliminary, Madlen Lesesne on Itz Happy Hour in the Novice, Kyra Bergmann on Rumblefish in the Beginner Novice, and Charlotte Stillfried on Palma D in the Training. Three out of the four teams competing at Southern Pines H.T. Team Challenge had riders representing Randolph Macon College.

Other schools represented at Southern Pines H.T. were University of Virginia, North Carolina State, and Virginia Tech.

The latest Intercollegiate Team Challenge happened this past weekend on March 23-24 at the Poplar Place Farm March H.T. where Auburn University practiced their promise of competing with three teams. Three out of the four teams represented Auburn University as they had a ‘Team Blue,’ ‘Team Orange,’ and ‘Team Tigers.’ University of Alabama represented the fourth team.

Auburn University’s Team Orange won on a team total of 107.8 which was made up of Isabel Franklin on Moon Struck in the Training, Meredith Kramer on Kentucky Gentleman in the Novice, Jennifer Mulholland on Madison Avenue in the Novice, and Emma Bush on Just Todd in the Beginner Novice.

Keep an eye out for these winning teams at the 2019 Intercollegiate Championships as they have plenty of practice competing in a team environment!

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country now offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank FITS, RideSafe, World Equestrian Brands, and US Equestrian for sponsoring the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.