The Morrisville State College western equestrian team completed the regular season Saturday, hosting two shows at the Swamp Road barn, and dominated the competition as they collected high point team honors in each show.
Morrisville State collected 36 team points in the morning show behind a high point rider performance from Rianna Nalepa (Endicott, N.Y.), who took home the blue ribbon in the open reining class, and a third place finish in the open western horsemanship class.
Cobleskill was reserve high point team in the show, compiling 26 points, while Colgate and Keuka tied for third with 11 points each. The University of Albany rounded out the team competition with four points on the day.
Throughout the show, Morrisville State continued its dominance in the riding arena, as the Mustangs claimed eight blue ribbons in 10 of the remaining show classes.
Erika Wolf topped the field in the advanced western horsemanship class, while teammate Anna Harrigan (Lancaster, N.Y.) was the top rider in the novice western horsemanship class, section B.
Morrisville State swept all sections of the intermediate western horsemanship II class, as Caitlyn Soudan (Walworth, N.Y.), Casey Feldman Alexander, N.Y.), Jordan Sweeten (Cuba, N.Y.) and Rachel Adsitt (Phelps, N.Y.) each collected wins.
Kaitlyn Saunders (Bennington, Vt.) and Mikayla Peterson (Frewsburg, N.Y.) recorded top rides for the Mustangs in the beginner western horsemanship classes to complete the show.
In the afternoon show, Morrisville State edged Cobleskill by five team points (30-25) to claim team high point honors, while Keuka claimed third with 12 points, followed by Colgate and Albany with 8 and 7, respectfully.
Nalepa was reserve high point rider for the show, finishing in second in both the reining and open western horsemanship classes.
Harrigan was one of two riders to claim the top spot, taking home her second blue ribbon ride of the day in the novice class, while teammate Lisa Bush (Geneva, N.Y.) topped the field of intermediate horsemanship II, section B riders.
Morrisville State will represent Region 3 at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Semi-finals on March 29 in Findlay, Ohio, edging Cobleskill in team competition throughout the season with 224 team points to the Fighting Tigers 194.
The Mustangs will be represented by 16 riders in 17 different classes at the regional championships held on March 2nd in Morrisville.