Riders Fourth in Show

The Harvard equestrian team finished its fall season with a fourthplace finish at the University of New Hampshire Intercollegiate Horse Show over the weekend.

It was the last fall show for the Crimson until next spring. Harvard consistently placed fourth or fifth in all four of the shows it appeared in.

With Captain Cyndy Green, who broke her wrist three weeks ago, and a crop of young players returning for the spring season, it's a good chance that the Crimson can break into the top three.

"We had a pretty good fall season," Green said. "We normally do better in the spring. My goal is to get us into the top three."

Colby-Sawyer, Dartmouth and Tufts are the top three teams in the region.

"We did pretty well," freshman Susan Andersen said. "Based on our performance at this show, we should be competitive in the spring. Our fall was a building season. I believe our team will only strengthen at future horse shows."

Harvard's Bridget Bailey and Kim Smith both captured first place in their classes. Bailey won class five, and Smith took class seven.

"I thought the team did well," Green said. "I was especially pleased with Kim and Bridgett's winning first place in their classes."

Freshman Kelly Blanchard took fourth in class four, while Megan Holbrook captured third in class one for Harvard.

Harvard's Diane Ortiz and Cathy Struve tied for fifth place in class four. Andersen rode to second place in class eight, and Nina Castro finished in sixth place in class two.

Also scoring for the Crimson was Vanessa Biddle, who tallied a fifth-place finish in class four.

Mary Laborde and Andrea Fraser also rode for Harvard.

"We had a pretty good fall season," Holbrook said. "We did very well even though we have a small team."