February 27-28 Otterbein Results

It was quite a long weekend, especially considering it was our last regular season show. The weather was chilly, but sunny skies kept us warm. Otterbein’s facility was beautiful, with a long arena, plenty of bleachers, easy to see view, and a warm, comfortable lounge with concessions. Below are the results for the Saturday and Sunday.

Open Fences Saturday was full of beautiful rides. Sara Dziegielewski was going into Sunday in 3rd place for Cacchione Cup. She was seven points behind the leader and three points behind 2nd place. This weekend would be critical for Sara if she was going to bring the title back to OU. After putting in a very impressive round, the judge called back Sara and Miami University Cacchione Rider(in 2nd place), Jamie Donovan to switch horses and complete an alternative course. After both riders completed their course, Jamie was placed 2nd, and Sara won! This put Sara tied with OSU rider Lauren Cechini with 46 points, and Jamie Donovan with 47 points!

In Intermediate Fences, Junior Emily Laurel placed 6th and Senior Hallie Seiser placed 4th, pointing her into Open Fences!

For the first section of Novice Fences, Sophomore Chrissy Hunley and Junior Katie Martin both drew impressive and fun horses. After putting together beautiful courses, Katie Martin placed 3rd, and Chrissy Hunley won! In the second section, Freshman Molly Hill placed 4th!

There were two Open Flat splits, with three OU riders in each one. For the first split, Senior Lauren Huefner placed 4th, and Senior Brittany Smith placed 2nd! In the 2nd split, Junior Emily Laurel placed 2nd, her first Open Flat class ever! Sara Dziegielewski was also in this class, placing 6th after her horse took a giant leaping buck through the arena, which Sara should be credited with riding through! After the flat phase, Cacchione points stood as follows: Lauren Cechini(OSU) – 49 points; Jamie Donovan(MU) – 49 points; Sara Dziegielewski(OU) – 47 points. The race would be this close Sunday as well!

There were also only two sections of Intermediate Flat. In the first section, Junior Stephanie Framer (and President next year) placed 5th, and Sophomore Carly Klose, [in her first Intermediate] class took 1st! In another very tough class, Sophomore Danielle King took 3rd and Senior Kari Besler won!

After four sections of Novice Flat, Senior Lisa Bernheim took 5th, Freshman Amy Allen placed 4th, and Junior Katie Martin placed 2nd!

Again with four sections, Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter held 8 OU riders. Freshman Sara Katula placed 3rd, Freshman Emily Neely placed 2nd, Freshman Jenna Martin placed 6th, Freshman Lauren Carton placed 4th, Junior Courtnee Blake placed 4th (pointing her into Novice!), Freshman Samm Kitchen placed 3rd, and Freshman Anna Duble won, putting her into Novice!

In Walk-Trot, OU only had one rider. Freshman Alyssa Bower drew a sweet Thoroughbred named Glenn and walked away with a 4th place!

OU placed 3rd for the day, but it was a long day and competition was tough!

On Sunday, we enjoyed 50 degree weather after a great night’s sleep at Brittany Smith and Aleesha Tartell’s homes. We thank their parents for having us crazy girls!

Open Fences was first, with the Cacchione Cup up for grabs in our Region! After a VERY tough round, Sara Dziegielewski placed 4th, leaving point standings at: Lauren Cechini (OSU) – 56 points; Sara Dziegielewski (OU) – 50 points; Jamie Donovan (MU) – 47 points. It was going to come down to flat to decide a winner!

In Intermediate Fences, Junior Stephanie Framer, in her first Intermediate Fences class, placed 5th, Junior Emily Laurel took 3rd, and Senior Lauren Huefner placed 2nd!

After two uneventful Novice Fences classes, Junior Megan Chalk places 4th and Senior Lisa Bernheim places 3rd! Great job ladies!

Cacchione Cup came down to the two splits of Open Flat. Sara Dziegielewski was in a different split than the other two riders, and it may have been the key. Senior Brittany Smith placed 5th, and Senior Lauren Huefner won, playing great defense and further cementing her skill in Open Flat. Neither Lauren nor Jamie placed in the class, leaving Sara needing to win her section of Open Flat to capture Cacchione! It was a very good class as well with Junior Emily Laurel placing 6th, Senior Hallie Seiser placing 5th, and Junior Sara Dziegielewski WINNING the class and capturing her first Cacchione Cup! We have been so excited since it happened and cannot wait to cheer her on at Nationals in May.

Again there were only two sections of Intermediate Flat this day. Freshman Carly Klose placed 4th, Sophomore Maddie Ray placed 6th, and Junior Stephanie Framer won! Congratulations!

Today there were 5 sections of Novice Flat with 7 OU riders in them. Freshman Amy Allen placed 6th, Junior Katie Martin placed 4th, Senior Lisa Bernheim placed 4th, Sophomore Chrissy Hunley placed 3rd (pointing into Intermediate!), Freshman Anna Duble placed 6th, Junior Megan Chalk placed 5th, and Freshman Molly Hill won!

Six OU riders were in Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter, all fairing excellently! Freshman Jenna Martin placed 4th, Junior Jacque Mayer placed 4th, Freshman Samm Kitchen placed 4th, Freshman Sara Katula placed 3rd, Freshman Lauren Carton placed 2nd, and Freshman Emily Neely won! Great job ladies!

In the only section of Walk/Trot, Freshman Alyssa Bower showed why she’s an asset to the team, easily winning the class!

At the end of the day, OUET was Reserve High Point Team, Senior Lauren Huefner won High Point Rider with 12 points, and Junior Sara Dziegielewski is going straight to Nationals to compete for the Cacchione Cup! A great finish to a great regular season!

Elections

It’s that time of year again when we usher in a new group of officers to begin filling the shoes of our current ones. It is always hard to let go of a position, but after elections last night, we are sure that these new officers will have no problem stepping into their new roles. Congratulations to everyone!

For the 2011-2012 school year, the new officers are as follows:

President: Stephanie Framer
Stephanie is a Junior studying Psychology. She has ridden on the team for three years, currently in Intermediate Flat and about to be in Intermediate Fences. Stephanie keeps her two horses, Wizard and Beau, at Stonegate. She has been a dedicated member and asset to the team!

Vice President: Katie Martin
Known affectionately as K-Mart, Katie is a Junior studying Psychology. She is a valuable member of the team, capturing an Individual National Championship last year in Walk/Trot. She keeps her young mare, Nova, at Stonegate. Katie is creative and fun, sure to make next year a blast!

Secretary: Sara Dziegielewski
For the second year in a row, Sara won the position of secretary for the OUET. Sara is a Junior in her second year on the team who rides in the Open Flat and Fences division. She is very organized and easy to get a long with, so it’s no wonder she won the position again!

Treasurer: Megan Chalk
Megan is a Junior on the team studying Pre-Social Work. Megan is on her third year on the team and now competes in the Novice Fences and Flat. She is very active in her sorority and translates that to a dedication to the team as well!

Community Service/Fundraising: Chrissy Hunley
After Chrissy’s huge part in putting together Rent-A-Rider, it was easy to see why she’d be great at this position! Chrissy gets things done and expects results, a quality that will help her tremendously in this position. She is a sophomore studying Psychology, and the youngest member of the Executive Board. She currently rides in the Novice Fences and Flat division and keeps her horse Lewis at Stonegate.

Sportswear: Courtnee Blake
Sportswear is nothing new to Courtnee. Having held the position two years ago and bringing the team some of our favorite clothing, Courtnee came back again to showcase her talents. She’s excellent at getting great deals and providing fun and classy designs. She is a Junior on her third year with the OUET and we can’t wait to see what she gets us next year!

Social Chair: Amy Allen
Amy is a new member of the team, but that doesn’t make any difference! She has seamlessly made friends with the entire team and is eager to start planning socials to get us bonding with each other and other teams! She also keeps her young gelding, Ricky, at Stonegate where she is training him.

Public Relations Officer: Carly Klose
Saving the best for last, Carly is an excellent choice for this position. She is creative and organized, something greatly needed in order to run this blog, webpage, twitter, facebook, and creating all print media! Carly is a sophomore studying Outdoor Recreation and competes in Novice Fences and Flat.

The new officer will begin their training will current officers through this quarter. Come spring quarter, new officers take over their positions full-time!