Tag: Equitation

Sweet Briar College’s Makayla Benjamin wins Cacchione Cup at IHSA Nationals

makayla benjamin
Makayla Benjamin, a senior at Sweet Briar College, won the 2018 USEF/Cachionne Cup.

Sweet Briar College is back on top.

In 2015, college officials shocked alumni and students alike when they announced the school, including its esteemed equestrian program, would close. Alumnae saved their beloved school, and the college’s tradition of riding excellence was saved with it.

On Saturday, May 5, 2018, Makayla Benjamin, a senior, became the riding program’s first winner of the Cacchione Cup at the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The USEF/Cacchione Cup is awarded to the National Individual Hunter Seat High Point Rider.

Benjamin, of Leesburg, Virginia, is one of 24 riders from across the nation who qualified to compete for the Cacchione Cup, with three riders coming from each of the eight regions across the nation.

The last Vixen to compete at nationals in the USEF/Cacchione Cup was Olivia Smith in 2014. Smith placed ninth overall. Benjamin joins Smith and Jodie Weber as Sweet Briar riders to have competed for the USEF/Cacchione Cup since 2006. Weber finished fourth in 2006, while Smith finished 33rd in 2013 and ninth in 2014.

Past Cacchione Cup winners are:

2017: Katherine Steiner – Centenary University
2016: Chase Boggio, Tufts University
2015: Elizabeth Hay, College of Charleston-South Carolina
2014: Alexandra Carleton, University of Vermont
2013: Cori Reich, Centenary College
2012: Kels Bonham, Savannah College of Art and Design
2011: Marissa Cohen, Centenary College
2010: Lindsay Sceats, Mount Holyoke College
2009: Lindsay Clark, Centenary College
2008: James Fairclough II, Drew University
2007: Whitney Roper, University of Virginia
2005: Ashley Woodhouse, Skidmore College
2004: Tara Brothers, University of South Carolina
2003: John Pigott, University of Vermont
2002: Laena Romond, Mount Holyoke College
2001: Amanda Forte, Brown University
2000: Hally Philips, Tufts University
1999: Lindsay Phibbs, Skidmore College
1998: Jennie Chesis, Cazenovia College
1997: Kelly Anne Taylor, Centenary College
1996: Kara Treiber, University of Findlay
1995: Kim Peters, Lake Erie College
1994: Daniel Geitner Sainy, Andrews Presbyterian College
1993: Parris Cozart, Hollins College
1992: Christine Kilpatrick, University of Virginia
1991: Kelly Mullen, SUNY Stony Brook
1990: Claudia Barth, Mount Holyoke College
1989: Charlotte Sprague, Hollins College
1988: Kelly Mullen, SUNY Stony Brook
1987: Heidi Bossow, Hollins College
1986: Peter Wylde, Tufts University
1985: Heidi Bossow, Hollins College
1984: Beezie Patton, Southern Seminary College
1983: CeCe Williamson, University of Virginia
1982: CeCe Williamson, University of Virginia
1981: CeCe Williamson, University of Virginia
1980: Ann Sipperly, SUNY Stony Brook
1979: Mary Buckley, Colby Sawyer College
1978: Luanne Richards, Penn State University
1977: Pam Carson, Adelphi University
1976: Suzie Horrigan, Colby Sawyer College
1975: Jean Oberg, SUNY Stony Brook
1974: Mary Webster, Bennett College
1973: Mark Weissbecker, University of Massachusetts
1972: Duncan Peters, University of Connecticut

Related stories:

Makayla Benjamin Receives An Unforgettable Gift
Sweet Briar College equestrian competing in Germany at World Finals
Sweet Briar College rider topped league in show jumping at world finals

Virginia Tech sends 11 riders to Harrisburg for IHSA Nationals

tech team
Photo via Virginia Tech Equestrian Team Facebook page

The Virginia Tech Hunter Team is making Virginia proud in its first trip to the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association Nationals, held this year at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Nationals, held May 3 to 6, is live streamed on EqSportsNet.

Eleven Hokies are in Harrisburg representing Virginia Tech. Four are riding individually and eight are riding as part of the team competition. One rider is competing in both the individual and team categories.

Virginia Tech had several riders already seeing success on the first day of competition.

tech carolyn rosazza
Carolyn Rosazza

Carolyn Rosazza was named Reserve Champion as a team rider in Novice Equitation on the Flat & also receives an honorable mention as an individual in Advanced W/T/C. Rachel Burton placed ninth as an individual in Advanced W/T/C.

 

Tanner Paige Price placed sixth as an individual in Intermediate Equitation Over Fences. Meanwhile, Nichole Jones received an honorable mention as a team rider in Novice Equitation Over Fences. Claire Elise Arnold received an honorable mention as a team rider in Intermediate Equitation on the Flat.

tech tanner price
Tanner Paige Price

IHSA Nationals features 450 men and women from across the U.S. and Canada competing in hunter seat equitation and Western horsemanship in a range of levels from Walk-Trot through Open. The riders have competed throughout the season to qualify and will vie for team, individual, alumni championships and the coveted USEF/Cacchione Cup and the AQHA Western High Point Rider national final.

Randolph College in Lynchburg also sent three riders to Nationals. Makayla Benjamin, of Sweet Briar College, is representing Zone 4 in the Cacchione Cup Finals. After the over-fences portion of the competition on Friday morning she was in third place.

Hollins Spring Welcome Horse Show returns to Virginia Horse Center in March

hollinsThe Hollins Spring Welcome Horse Show will return to the Virginia Horse Center March 2-5 and will feature a variety of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The Spring Welcome is a “National/A” rated show and will have USEF 1* Jumper classes as well as USHJA Outreach classes.

Hollins University has had a competitive equestrian program since the 1930s. In the past 30 years, Hollins students have won 18 national individual championships and four have gone on to win the coveted Cacchione Cup. As a team, Hollins has won the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Team Honors twice.

The March show will include a $1,000 WIHS/NAL Children’s & Adult Hunter Classics, $1,000 Hollins Amateur Owner Hunter Classic, $1,000 USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Stake, a $1,000 Hollins Junior Hunter Classic, a $500 Hollins Pony Hunter Classic and a $225 Hollins Children’s Pony Hunter Classic. The show also includes several other special awards and perpetual trophies.

The show will use four arenas at the horse center, including the Coliseum. Judges are Chance Arakelian of Rancho Santa Fe, California, E. Sue Bopp of Remington, Virginia, Randy Henry of Castle Rock, Colorado and Judy Spitzer of Mount Sidney, Virginia.

Sweet Briar College equestrian competing in Germany at World Finals

Makayla Benjamin is a sophomore at Sweet Briar College.
Photo via Sweet Briar College

Makayla Benjamin, a member of the equestrian team at Sweet Briar College, won  the show jumping portion of the World University Equestrian Federation World Finals (AIEC-SRNC) in Marburg-Dagobertshausen, Germany. She was 3rd overall and Team USA was 5th overall.

Benjamin, a sophomore majoring in engineering from Leesburg, Virginia, is one of three riders representing the United States in Germany from Dec. 29 to Jan. 1. Fifteen countries are participating in the three-day competition.

The competition is broken into four stages, with the first stage having every rider competing in both dressage and show jumping. Then the field is cut down to 12 riders for another round of dressage and show jumping on different horses. The finals on New Years Eve consist of the top two riders competing on the same two horses.

“I am extremely proud of Makayla and thrilled that she has been given this opportunity,” said Sweet Briar Riding coach Mimi Wroten, director of riding at Sweet Briar. “Makayla is a dedicated, hard working, and talented rider whose focus, attention to detail, and determination will take her far in this competition.”

Selection for the team is based upon how well riders have done at previous competitions during the year. Benjamin traveled to Sweden during the summer for a competition in hopes that it would earn her a spot on Team USA for the world finals.

And thanks to connections she has made through the AIEC program, Benjamin is going to be spending two weeks working in Holland after the competition.”It’s just such a great community to be a part of and it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet so many people from around the world that all have a common goal,” Benjamin said.

Benjamin says that AIEC family is a very supportive group and she has felt welcome since her first competition. She is also very thankful for how supportive Sweet Briar has been in all her endeavors and pushing her to be better everyday.

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