Patch Concord, MA --The following was provided on behalf of Verrill Farm's Concord Equestrian Team.
Concord competed in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association Region 2 Finals, held at Volo Farm on Feb. 24. Competition at the Regional level was intense, as only the top two teams would move forward to the Zone 1 Finals.
With such tight margins, teammates and coaches knew that only a small percentage of riders would make the cut. For many, it would be the end of a grueling season that began back in mid-August.
Setting the tone for the day, Jane Chiavelli won the Open over-fences class, putting Concord swiftly on the leader board. Chloe Howes added solid points with her second place win in Intermediate fences along with freshman Colleen McGuinness who also earned a second place in Novice fences. Skylar Laakso hurdled CET up the leaderboard with her first place win in Open Flat. Emma Parker earned another second place Intermediate Flat. Both Olivia Chen and Lee Bernstein added to the team's points placing fifth and second, respectively.
Beating the second place team by a wide margin of 16 points, CET solidly progressed to the IEA Zone 1 New England Finals.
Seven CET riders qualified for Zone 1 finals:
· Skylar Laakso - Open Flat
· Chloe Howes - Open Flat and Intermediate Fences
· Emma Parker - Intermediate Fences
· Megan Sass - Intermediate Flat
· Olivia Chen - Novice Fences
· Tessa James - Novice Fences
· Lee Bernstein - Beginner Flat.
Grace Sambrook was a shining star at the middle school level and also earned a spot in Zone finals.
Mount Holyoke College will host the next level of competition March 9 and 10. The top riders from New England will compete for the coveted honor of a spot in the National IEA Finals held in Syracuse at the end of April. Reported by Patch 17 hours ago.