After disappointing third-place finishes at the first two shows of the spring season, the equestrian team's dream of winning Zone 1, Region 4 was in doubt. Lackluster performances at the March 5 show in Medway, Mass., hosted by Wellesley College, and the March 13 event in Pembroke, Mass., hosted by Mount Ida College, meant that the 24-rider coed club squad's lead in the region standings had dissolved, and perennial power Stonehill College, a varsity team, had wrested back the top spot.
An all-too-familiar storyline was once again unfolding for the veterans on the Tufts' roster.
"At that point, a lot of us were thinking, ‘I guess we'll just finish second again in the region to Stonehill,'" senior co-captain Katie Christiansen said.
Christiansen had good reason to be skeptical. Before this spring, Stonehill had represented the 11-team Zone 1, Region 4 at the Zones tournament seven years running and even won an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) national championship in 2003.
Stonehill led Tufts 297-288 heading into the regular season's final weekend, a pair of shows on March 26 and 27. But by outscoring the Skyhawks 45-33 on March 26 at August Farm in Holliston, Mass. — the same place where the Jumbos practice — Tufts boosted itself back into contention. And after the team finished first again the next afternoon at Saddle Rowe in Medway, Mass., the dream of winning Regionals that had eluded Tufts since 2000 became a reality, with one look at the final standings: Tufts 372, Stonehill 362.
"It's always been our goal to win the region," Christiansen said. "The first two shows in the spring were rocky, but we made a huge comeback. This has been a long time coming, and we finally did it."
Tufts' already-impressive season got even better on Saturday at the regional meet at Holly Hill Farm in Hanover, Mass., when four individual riders — Christiansen and freshman Audrey Carlson in the open flat, and sophomores Risa Meyers in the intermediate fences and David Eder in the walk-trot — all qualified for the individual show at Zones next Saturday at the Mt. Holyoke College Equestrian Center by finishing in the top two in their respective events.
An eight-rider Tufts team will compete against the winners of the three other regions — Brown, which boasts the most individual Regional qualifies in the Zone with 13; University of New Hampshire; and Mt. Holyoke, which will be competing on its home course using familiar horses — in the team show on Saturday. The top two teams at Zones qualify for IHSA Nationals, which this year will be held May 5-8 in Lexington, Ky., at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Christiansen, who was voted Captain of the Year by the region's coaches and ended the regular season as the third-highest scorer in the region, likes Tufts' chances to advance.
"It's going to be hard because those are some good teams, and Mt. Holyoke will have a home-field advantage," she said. "I feel optimistic about our chances to make Nationals, though if our season ended now it would still be a success."
Tufts' usurping of Stonehill for the regional crown is a true underdog — er ... underhorse — story. While the Skyhawks are a varsity team with on-campus facilities, Tufts' riders travel 45 minutes to Holliston in order to practice. And as a club team, Tufts must raise thousands of dollars to even afford to compete in a highly expensive sport, because of limited funding from the Tufts Athletics Department, riders on the team said.
"We don't have the same types of resources that Stonehill does," Christiansen said. "We have to pay for our coaches, entry fees and practices. Being on the team at Tufts is a financial burden."
Christiansen is the undisputed leader of this team, but its depth lies in the underclassmen. Sophomores Hannah Tadley, Demi Marks and co-captain Kennon Ulicny, as well as freshman Daryl Cooley, will also compete this weekend at Zones.
"All of us are here to support and learn," Meyers said. "We have some talented riders, but mostly we help the team with depth."
It will take stellar performances from all of Tufts' eight riders to advance as a team to the national show, while the four individuals are also gunning for a historic appearance. According to Christiansen, an individual berth at Nationals would be the first in her four years riding at Tufts.
"Even to win the region was exciting for us, but to win as a team or even send one individual to Nationals would be incredibly special," she said.
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Correction: This article has been changed from its original version, which incorrectly stated that the March 27 competition against Stonehill ended with a final team score of Tufts 372, Stonehill 262. In fact, Stonehill ended with 362 points.
