TRYON, N.C. – The Delaware Valley hunt seat equestrian team traveled to Tryon, North Carolina to compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) National Horse Show this past week. The top 16 colleges and universities in the country competed for the national title, along with individual riders across all levels and the top 24 Open riders nationally.
The Aggies battled throughout the competition and earned a ninth-place national finish.
Freshman Amelia Parsons was the first Aggie rider to compete, earning a 10th-place finish in Team Limit Flat to put DelVal on the board. Fellow freshman Tiara D'Amico followed the next morning in Team Intermediate Over Fences, placing sixth.
Sophomore Alicia Smoot split time between the hunter and western rings, competing individually for the western team while also serving as the team rider in Limit Fences for the hunt seat squad. Smoot earned an honorable mention in Limit Fences and was recognized as the Reserve Champion in the Versatility category at Nationals.
Sophomore Madison Heitman competed individually in Intro and earned an honorable mention. Freshman Keira Larkin then represented the team in Intro, testing among the top 10 riders before placing sixth overall. Sophomore Elsa Heacock followed with another top-10 test in Team Novice, ultimately securing fifth place.
Senior Grace Allen competed Saturday in the prestigious Cacchione Cup competition after qualifying as the highest-scoring Open rider in the region and finishing second in the Zone competition. Combining her over fences and flat scores, Allen finished 16th overall nationally.
Sunday featured the final round of team competition with Allen and sophomore Maggie Mitchell competing for the Aggies. Mitchell tested among the top 10 riders in Team Intermediate Flat and placed ninth, while Allen earned an honorable mention in Open Flat.
The final national team standings were:
- Savannah College of Art and Design
- Skidmore College
- Centenary University
- University of Lynchburg
- Otterbein University
- Long Island University
- 7T. Purdue University
- 7T. Miami University (Ohio)
- Goucher College
- Delaware Valley University
- University of Wisconsin–Madison
Delaware Valley was also recognized in the Trot to Tryon Competition as the Reserve Champion. Team riders logged hours in the barn riding and working throughout the spring semester, with Delaware Valley's hunt seat and western teams finishing second overall behind the University of Findlay.
