DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - Delaware Valley Hunt Seat turned in another standout weekend at Brookside Show Stables, earning top finishes in both Saturday's Bloomsburg-hosted show and Sunday's Rutgers-hosted show to extend their regional lead.
Senior Grace Allen opened the doubleheader weekend in Open Fences and Open Flat, earning third place in both classes. Intermediate Fences was led by junior captain Sophia Frisbie and freshman Tiara D'Amico, who took first and second respectively, followed by senior captain Taylor Pruitt in fifth and senior Kailei Makhija in sixth. Pruitt returned for Intermediate Flat and secured a second-place finish.
The Aggies excelled in Limit Fences, sweeping the top spots. Freshman Amelia Parsons and junior Makenna Hummel both won in the California split, while junior Paige Gatz finished second, sophomore Maggie Mitchell placed third, and junior Rhiannon Swimelar earned fifth. In Limit Flat, Gatz led the way again, winning her section to clinch her spot at Regionals, followed by Mitchell in third and D'Amico in sixth. Sophomore Samantha Wills also won her section, with Parsons finishing fourth and Frisbie fifth. The final Limit Flat section featured Swimelar in second, Hummel in third, and freshman Alaina Guerrisi in fourth.
In the Novice division, sophomores Alicia Smoot and Nevaeh Anderson and freshman Ava Morales all claimed wins, with Smoot's victory clinching her Regional qualification. Additional strong rides came from freshmen Micayle Timmons, Haydee Stout, Maggie Gardner, and Phoebe Bunyan, along with sophomore Samantha Shwartz. Timmons, Gardner, and Bunyan each finished third, Stout placed fifth, and Shwartz earned sixth. Junior Kellyn Meadows took fifth in Pre-Novice, while sophomore Madison Heitman won her Intro class to cap off the Aggies' victory over Bloomsburg. The win pushed Delaware Valley's regional lead to nine points.
The Aggies returned to Brookside on Sunday for the Rutgers-hosted show, where Allen dominated the Open division, winning both Open Fences and her section of Open Flat. Her flat victory secured her Regional qualification, and she now leads the regional Open rider standings by 20 points. Allen also tied for High Point Rider before winning a tiebreaker against a Bloomsburg competitor in a horse trivia challenge.
In Intermediate Fences, Pruitt earned a blue ribbon in her section, followed by D'Amico in third and Frisbie in sixth. Gatz made her Intermediate Flat debut with a sixth-place finish in a strong field of eleven. In Limit Fences, sophomore Maggie Mitchell took home top honors with the day's high score, while Gatz finished third, Hummel fifth, and Smoot sixth in her jumping debut. On the flat, Emma Conway placed second in her first ride in a new division, and Parsons added a third-place finish.
The Novice riders continued to impress, with freshmen Parsons and Timmons both earning wins and freshman Chloe DiMaio placing second. In Intro, sophomore Keira Larkin was the class winner and sophomore Samuel Gant finished third.
The Aggies finished the day as Reserve Champion behind Bloomsburg University but continue to lead the region by seven points heading into next weekend's Moravian home show
