At the beginning of the season, the equestrian team had Oct. 21 circled on its calendar. That was the date the Bears would travel to the University of Connecticut for a show against their stiffest competition, the Huskies.
Saturday was the culmination of all of Brown's hard work as it defeated arch rival Connecticut on its home turf in the UConn Show. The Bears edged out the Huskies 36-34 at UConn's stables in Storrs, Conn., to hold onto first place in Zone One.
"It feels amazing," said captain Grace Peloquin '07. "It was exactly what we needed. We usually get very psyched out when we compete against UConn because we know they're our biggest competition. And to overcome that to beat them was really great."
Despite the victory, the show got off to a shaky start. Whitney Keefe '08, one of the team's leaders and the high point rider in the team's last show at the University of Rhode Island, failed to place in open flat, her first event.
"Whitney got some tough draws, and her horses were not cooperating," Peloquin said.
Unlike in past experiences at UConn, Brown remained focused and quickly reversed its poor start. Liz Gilberti '10 helped the Bears bounce back from Keefe's rough ride by capturing a blue ribbon in the very next event, the intermediate competition. On the day, Gilberti led the Bears by later pinning another blue ribbon in the intermediate flat.
Jessica Mendelson '07 also contributed seven points to Brown's cause with her first-place finish in the open flat. Tessa Lee '10 and Cameron each placed second in the novice flat, nabbing five points apiece for Brown. Peloquin finished third in the open division, adding another four points to the team's total score.
A number of riders finished fourth in their respective events, each earning three points for the Bears. Cody Auer '09, Amy Cameron '08 and Peloquin each placed fourth in the open flat. Captain Courtney Pope '07.5 also finished fourth in the novice flat.
Mendelson racked up two points with her fifth-place finish in the open flat. Pope finished just behind her teammate in sixth place, adding another much-needed point to Brown's total.
"It was really close throughout the entire day," Peloquin said. "The show came down to the last classes."
Two riders reached personal milestones at the UConn show. With her fourth-place finish in the novice fences, Pope moved out of that division and into intermediate fences. Stephanie Syc '08 also pointed out from walk trot to beginning walk, trot canter.
Gilberti, who Peloquin deemed the team's "MVP of the day," rode for the title of match high point rider. She was narrowly defeated by another rider from UConn but still brought home high point reserve honors for Brown.
The Bears' victory in the UConn show was significant for the team because with it, the Bears finally pulled ahead of in-state foe URI. The Bears finished two points behind the Rams in their second-place finish in the URI Show and tied the Rams in the Post University Show two weeks ago.
The team's improvement over the past few weeks was evident on Saturday. Brown bested the Rams and "beat them by a good amount," Peloquin said.
The equestrian team will be back in action in two weeks for the Wesleyan University Show in Hebron, Conn., where it will look to widen the gap between itself and UConn, URI and other competitors in Zone One.
"We want to keep up the pace," Peloquin said, "We've made it into first place and hopefully we'll stay there."
