Virginia Tech Dressage Team rides to reserve national championship


Megan Gildea, Izzy Hernandez, Hana Dudley and Bralen Lamoureux made up the 2015 Reserve National Champion Dressage Team at the Intercollegiate Dressage Association Nationals. Photo courtesy Megan Gildea

Virginia Tech was named the National Reserve Champion Team and one of its riders rode to an individual national championship at the Intercollegiate Dressage Association Nationals on April 25-26 at Otterbein University in Ohio.

Virginia Tech’s Dressage Team, made up of Megan Gildea (1st Level, first place), Izzy Hernandez (Upper Training, fifth place), Hana Dudley (Lower Training, first place) and Bralen Lamoureux (Intro, ninth place), finished second to Intermont Equestrian at Emory and Henry for the reserve championship title.


Izzy Hernandez won the national title and Bralen Lamoureux placed eighth. Photo courtesy Megan Gildea

Izzy Hernandez was Tech’s Individual National Champion at the Upper Training level division. Bralen Lamoureux also qualified for Nationals as an individual and rode to eighth place in the Intro division.

“We are really excited that we had the opportunity to go to Nationals and be so successful and hope to continue to in the coming years,” Megan Gildea said.

The Virginia Tech dressage team competes in Virginia and North Carolina in IDA-sanctioned shows, usually attending four horse shows per semester. Students compete in one of four levels determined by their experience prior to college: Introductory, Lower Training, Upper Training, and First Level. Riders draw a horse provided by the host school. Riders are allotted a 10-minute warm-up to acquaint themselves with their mount before they move to the ring to begin their dressage test.

Nationals has two separate competitions. On day one 21 riders competed for the individual title while on day two 12 teams competed from across the nation for the team championships. The top team in every region automatically qualified for Nationals. Intermont Equestrian at Emory and Henry (previously Virginia Intermont) was the top qualifier in Tech’s region. Tech was then put into a drawing for a “wildcard” spot.

Virginia Tech began competing in the Intercollegiate Dressage Association in 2011 under the direction of coach Teresa McDonald. The team now rides with an outside barn, which since last fall has been Flanagan Stables and coaches Lynn M. Jendrowski and Cody Armstrong. The eight team members take two lessons a week. Click here for more information.

Team competition final standings: