Heading into Saturday's final regular season show, the equestrian team clung to a mere one-point lead over second-place Connecticut in the regional standings. But the Bears stepped up to take first place at the Johnson and Wales Equine Center, besting UConn by 10 points and securing their second consecutive Region 1 Championship.
After a strong performance in the fall, the team had not been at its sharpest in the month of March - the team finished fifth and fourth in its last two shows. But on Saturday it was a different story for Bruno.
"We worked our butts off riding for the past two weeks," said Dakota Gruener '11. "We had lessons nonstop and really threw ourselves into training. It really gave us a change in attitude. ... We were confident we could get the job done (Saturday)."
Bruno finished atop the Region 1 standings with 348 points, 11 points ahead of the second-place Huskies. UConn was the only Region 1 team within striking distance of the Bears heading into the show. The championship qualifies the Bears to compete against three other teams in the Zone 1 Championship at Mount Holyoke on April 5, from which the top two teams will head to Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Nationals in Los Angeles.
Things looked to be going Brown's way right from the beginning of the show, when UConn's Tara Lynch, the region's top Open Point Rider in the standings all year, struggled with a tough ride and failed to pin in Open Fences. Whitney Keefe '08 followed by completing a perfect run on the same horse to earn a blue ribbon in the next class.
UConn was able to temporarily make up ground with a second-place finish in Intermediate Fences. Emma Bogdonoff '10 took sixth in the event, netting only one point for Bruno. However, that turned out to be the lowest finish the Bears would have all day - Brown's point riders finished in fourth place or higher for the rest of the show. Irmak Tasindi '08 took fourth in Novice Fences, giving Bruno a 10-6 lead over the Huskies after the fences.
In the flats events, Keefe once again set a winning tone for the Bears, taking first in Open Flat. There were three divisions of Open Flat, and Brown had a rider in each. Although Keefe was the only point rider for Brown, Elizabeth Giliberti '10 and Elise Fishelson '11 also came up big for the Bears by taking first place in their Open Flat divisions, which prevented any UConn riders from being able to score first-place points.
On the day, Keefe netted the Bears a combined 14 points along with her two blue ribbons. She topped off her spectacular day by winning a ride-off for High Point Rider at the end of the show.
Tasindi gave the Bears five points with a second-place finish in Intermediate Flat, setting up Gruener to have a chance to effectively secure the victory for the Bears in Novice Flat. Gruener rose to the occasion by taking the blue ribbon in the event, giving the Bears a 29-17 lead that was virtually insurmountable.
"I didn't know going into it how many points we had or that the math made it so if I won we only needed two points more to win," Gruener said. "They don't tell you that you're the pointed rider before the show because they don't want you to have any extra pressure, but after I won (Head Coach Michaela Scanlon) came running up to me, and I knew from her excitement that we were in really great shape."
After Novice Flat, the Bears needed only two more points to clinch the regional title, and because there were only three riders in the Beginner Walk Trot Canter, Brown was guaranteed to win at least four points if its rider finished her run. Vanessa Rubin '11 did just that, pinning second and taking five points, officially giving Brown the Region 1 title.
"It was so great for all the seniors to get this win," Gruener said. "Whitney (Keefe) was amazing. She is one of our captains and has been so invested in our team all year, it was great to see her do what she did and finish the regular season wining High Point Rider."
The Bears ended up winning the show with 41 points, followed by Post (36), URI (33) and UConn (31). Three Brown riders qualified for Regionals. Tasindi, already qualified in Novice Flat, also qualified in Novice Fences, while Emily Cole '08 qualified in Novice Flat and Fishelson qualified in Open Flat. Brown now has a total of 20 riders qualified to compete in Regionals, which will take place March 29 at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Gales Ferry, Conn.
