The University of Rhode Island club equestrian team traveled to its home turf at Hunter Ridge in Ashaway, Rhode Island on Sunday to compete in Regionals.
Before this weekend, the team started off the spring semester on a roll, with first-year Keely Grady putting up a performance on March 1 that earned her High Point Rider at the team’s home show at Hunter Ridge.
“The experience was really cool,” Grady said. “I’ve been riding for a long time now, and you’re competing against people who have done this for four years, so it was really cool to see all that hard work pay off.”
Going into the weekend, URI Head Coach Wendy Brayman had high hopes and expectations for her team’s success during Regionals.
“I feel that they should dominate,” Brayman said. “I feel that every one of our kids that has qualified for Regionals should be able to make it to zones. I truly believe that we have the top two kids in each division that we qualified for.”
The team lived up to these high expectations with eight podium placements at Regionals on Sunday.
To start off, third-year Emily Richardson took home first place in Intermediate Flat, along with placing second in Intermediate Fences. Moving over to Limit Flat, third-year Adriana Barr took home fourth and first-year Ava Brinkerhoff placed fifth.
In Open Fences, third-year show captain Kiley Ahn brought home first place, along with second-year Remy Guerti and Grady placing first and second in Limit Fences. Finally in Novice, the podium was all URI, with second-year Lindsey Spencer getting first, third-year Anna Reilly picking up second and second-year Andie Taraborelli placing third.
Grady discussed how the environment around the team helps them achieve these strong performances.
“The team has a really good atmosphere to it, it’s all about supporting everyone,” Grady said. “You’re competing alone but also as a team, so it’s really cool to see everyone on the sidelines. We are much stronger as a team.”
As the spring season continues, the URI club equestrian team looks to become Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association Zone 1 Region 1 Champions for the seventh time in program history on April 6 at Mystic Valley Hunt Club.
