UMass Dartmouth concludes second varsity season with sixth place finish at regional horse show

(Dartmouth, MA) -- UMass Dartmouth wrapped up its second varsity equestrian season with a sixth-place finish in the Regional Horse Show held April 3 in Storrs, Connecticut.

Sarah Richardson was the Corsairs' top finisher at the Regionals, placing fourth in the Novice Over Fences event for Coach Susan Yacubian's squad. Jill Pacheco (Dighton, MA) placed fifth in Advanced Walk-Trot Canter, while Sarah Roberts (Pembroke, MA) was sixth in Intermediate Fences and Mary Ellen Blombach (Hudson, MA) was seventh overall in High Point Rider.

The UMass Dartmouth equestrian team competed in several events throughout the 1998-99 season. Among the team's highlights of the year:

-Sandy Moore turned in the Corsairs' top performance at the Wesleyan Horse Show held in Hebron, CT on March 27. Moore captured UMass Dartmouth's only first-place finish, taking top honors in Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter. Blombach was the Corsairs' second top rider, taking a second in Open Flat and a fourth in Open Fences. Sarah Hansen (Mattapoisett, MA) placed in two events, finishing third in Novice Flat and fourth in Novice Fences, while Richardson placed third in Intermediate Fences and fifth in Intermediate Fences. The Corsairs other top riders were Rebecca Reddick (Walpole, MA) with a fourth in Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter and Pacheco's fifth in Novice Flat.

-Blombach was UMass Dartmouth's top rider at the Johnson and Wales University Horse Show on March 20. Blombach led the Corsairs with a first-place finish in Open Flat and also added a fourth-place finish in Open Fences. Pacheco was UMass Dartmouth's other top finisher, placing second in Novice Flat. Three other Corsairs had fourth-place finishes in the competition held in Rehoboth, MA. Richardson earned fourth in Intermediate Flat, while Jenn Munson (Andover, MA) and Jenn Morse (Chatham, MA) both placed fourth in Walk-Trot-Canter.

-Moore turned in the lone first-place finish for the UMass Dartmouth equestrian team in the Corsairs'' March 13 appearance at the Teikyo-Post College Horse Show in Waterbury, CT. Moore finished first in the Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter. Blombach had a second in Open Flat and a fourth in Open Fences, while teammates Hansen took home third in Novice Flat and Richardson had a third in Intermediate Fences and a fifth in Intermediate Fences.

-Hansen turned in UMass Dartmouth's top performances in UMass Dartmouth's final appearance of the Fall portion of their schedule at the Stonehill College Horse Show held in Hebron, CT on Nov. 14. Hansen finished second in both Novice Fences and Intermediate Flat. Pacheco also had a second-place finish, earning her honors in Novice Flat. In the Open Fences category, Roberts placed fourth and Andrea Dodge (E. Bridgewater, MA) finished sixth. Dodge also finished third in Open Flat with teammate Blombach two spots back in fifth.

-Laura Perry (Mattapoisett, MA), Richardson and Hansen were first--place finishers for UMass Dartmouth at the Teikyo Post College Horse Show in Waterbury, CT on Oct. 24. The Corsairs placed in all of the events at the show. Perry captured her first place honors in Intermediate Flat, while Richardson took first in Intermediate Fences and added a second in Intermediate Flat. Hansen was first in Novice Fences and earned a third in Novice Flat. Rebecca Torres (Mattapoisett, MA) place third in Novice Flat and teammate Roberts place third in Intermediate Flat.

-UMass Dartmouth riders captured five first-place finishers, including Hanson, who tied for high point rider at the Wesleyan University Horse Show held Oct. 17 in Middletown, Connecticut. Hanson captured two of the five first-place finishes with a first in Novice Flat and Novice Fences. Among the other Corsair top finishers were Dodge with a first in Open Flat, Perry with a first in Intermediate Flat and Munson with first in Walk-Trot. Perry also added a second in Intermediate Fences, and teammate Blombach took second in Open Flat.

-Roberts had a first place finish in Intermediate Fences as UMass Dartmouth's equestrian team opened its 1998 season at the University of Connecticut Horse Show in Storrs on Oct. 3. Among the other top performers for the Corsairs were Dodge with a second in Open Flat and a sixth in Open Fences. Blombach had a fourth in Open Flat and a sixth in Intermediate Fences. Richardson and Hansen were second in Novice Fences, while Moore finished second in Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter.