Yeoriders do OK before snow

Snow stifled the Oberlin equestrian team's hopes of kicking some ass at itsLake Erie show the weekend of Nov. 9. The first day resulted in good individual efforts, but no team results were available because the competition was stopped short.

There was no electricity at the showgrounds or at the hotel where the team stayed. They had to navigate the halls with flashlights. "We had some really good snowball fights the second morning but that's it," said team secretary junior Ellen Cheeseman. "It was shaping up to be a really good show."

On the first day, first-year Elena Fels won fourth in the walk-trot-canter class, and sophomore Audrey Wasser placed second. Double-degree junior Jess Pittman placed third in the walk-trot class, sophomore Caroline Karlshoej placed sixth in the novice flat and junior Katayoon Hodjari placed fifth in the intermediate flat class.

Over fences, sophomore Leslie Goldman won the novice class, her first blue ribbon in an intercollegiate competition, and junior Shuna Klaveness placed sixth. First-year Heather Van Aelst placed fifth in the intermediate class and Hodjati garnered a second in the open class, her first time in the open division.

The Lake Erie show was a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, which is a nationwide association for collegiate riding competition. There are several zones throughout the country, each of which have their own year-end awards. There are also national year-end awards. Riders work toward these year-end placings by accumulating points through the competition year.

Riders get horses once they arrive at a show, and the horses are alloted by lottery. Cheeseman said everyone watches the horses in the classes before their own. "[You] hope you don't get that one that looks really nasty and then you realize you got it," Cheeseman said about the lottery process, which is not always easy on the riders.

It's tough competing on strange horses, but the team practices at coach Dayan Birchler's farm, where she raises Morgans and runs a boarding stable. Due to a "major equipment donation" a few years back, Cheeseman said they have plenty of jumps to practice riding over. Even though Oberlin doesn't have its own stable, Cheeseman said "there are a lot of opportunities here at Oberlin [to ride] that people wouldn't have other places."