by Katie Kenerly
On Sept. 28-29, ten teams, including a team of Intercollegiate Horse Show Association alumni, competed in the first IHSA show of the season, hosted by the Sewanee Equestrian Team. The competition, including riders from Belmont, Maryville, and Vanderbilt, was stiff, but the team was undaunted, winning Reserve Champion overall on Saturday and third place on Sunday.
Over the course of two days, 17 riders of differing levels of experience competed on horses from the Sewanee, Maryville, and Tennessee Tech teams, and of these 17, several deserve honorable mention. Elizabeth Corey (C’15) won both of her classes on Saturday and was the team’s high point rider for the show. Also on Saturday, Buckley Wallace (C’17) won first place in the Open Jumping class, and team captain Allan Palmer (C’14) took the blue ribbon in the Open Flat.
The team also had enormous success on Sunday, with co-team captain Chandler Snowden (C’14) winning Intermediate on the Flat, Mary Marshall Fariss (C’17) taking first for Novice on the Flat, and Leslie Goodman (C’17) and Caroline White (C’16) dominating both sections of Advanced Walk, Trot, and Canter on the Flat. Snowden said, “We are all very excited to see where the year takes us. Our team has a lot of very strong riders in each respective level, and I think we have the potential to do very well this year.”
The show could not have been such a resounding success, however, without the help of new coach Sue Glover. When former head coach Megan Taylor left Sewanee last semester, assistant coach Janelle Harcus took her place, but Harcus could not run the team alone. So, the University brought in Glover, and though she is currently assuming a secondary role in coaching, she is hard at work taking care of the organizational aspect of the team.
Before coming to Sewanee, Glover was the Associate Professor of Equine Studies, Head Horse Manager, and IHSA team coach at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Virginia for the past 15 years. Clearly a very competent horseman, Glover has a new direction in mind for the Sewanee team, which she feels is already ripe with “riding talent, work ethic, professionalism, and leadership.” From now on, Glover hopes to focus more on the overall horsemanship of the team, which has so far been a success and includes employing a new vet, Dr. Monty McInturff, to care specially for an older herd. The team will also be focused on the extra care and conditioning that these elderly horses require to be stronger, fitter, and able to endure more extensive practices. When asked how she is enjoying Sewanee thus far, Glover replied that she spends twelve to fourteen hours a day at the barn, and it is quickly beginning to feel like home. All in all, she is excited to be here working with such a “top notch program.” It is shaping up to be an exciting year for the highly successful Sewanee Equestrian Team, and I, for one, look forward to the ride, no pun intended.