The equestrian team had a strong showing Saturday at Wesleyan University, with Whitney Keefe '08, Cody Auer '09, Marissa Geoffroy '07, Mallory Kass '06, Amy Cameron '08 and Kristen Beck '08 earning first-place individual finishes. But despite the impressive performance, Brown remains second overall behind the University of Connecti-cut in the regional rankings.
"It was a little disappointing," Geoffroy said of the team's failure to regain the first-place ranking. "But everyone rode really well."
Keefe led the Bears' effort on the afternoon. After finishing first in both the open fences competition and flat competition, Keefe won the afternoon's high point ride off. The wins boosted her lead in the region for the Cacchione Cup, a national competition featuring the top riders from each region.
"This was a good show for me," Keefe said. "But we work as a team, which is a really positive thing."
The rest of the team had strong finishes as well. Though it was her first time competing in a collegiate show, Auer did not show any signs of nerves and took first place in fences and second place in flat.
Competing in open were Geoffroy and tri-captain Jamie Peddy '06. Geoffroy won first place in flat while Peddy finished second, and they each took fourth place in their separate classes for fences.
"There are always things you can improve," Geoffroy said. "But I was pretty happy with what I did."
The Bears had some impressive finishes in the novice division as well. In the flat competition, Kass and Cameron clinched first place in their respective classes. Dana Lil-jegren '06 took second place in flat, matching a second-place finish by Courtney Pope '07. Meanwhile, Rachel Lubin '07 and Anna Mori '06 had matching third-place finishes in their respective classes.
In fences, Liljegren placed second, while Lubin and Mori both placed fourth in their respective classes.
In walk-trot-canter, Jenny John '06 took second and Hayley Goldbach '09, Leona Rosenblum '09 and Aurora Tower '06 finished third in their respective classes.
The walk-trot section was dominated by Beck, who won first place. Joyce Kwok '08 took second place and Melba Menton '06, who was also making her collegiate debut, placed fifth.
"Individually, a lot of people had a really strong show," Keefe said. "We had a lot of great performances."
Next weekend, the team will compete at Connecticut College, marking the end of its fall season. The Bears are looking to reclaim their first-place rank.
"Hopefully, it will all work out in the end," Keefe said.
