Centenary IHSA Finishes 5th in the Nation
May 8, 2007 - Last week the Centenary's Equestrian Team participated in the National Horse Show. Out of the 475 schools in the country that compete in the IHSA, Centenary was one of 18 teams which advanced to the National Horse Show. The Centenary IHSA Team edged out the competition to take a 5th place finish!
The IHSA Team consisted of the following students:
Megan Tritsch
Heather Bowen
Molly Brown
Lexy Lass
Rachel Samuels
Nora Crist
Ashley DiBongrazio
Eleanor Kunsman
Some of the Highlights include:
Rachel Samuels- Champion Individual Novice Equitation over the jumps
Rachel Samuels- Champion individual Novice Equitation on the flat.
Amy Gregonis - 7th Alumni Equitation on the flat.
Nora Crist- Champion-Collegiate Cup Team- Intermediate Equitation over the jumps
Heather Bowen- 5th -Collegiate Cup Team- Walk-Trot-Canter on the flat.
Director of the Equestrian Center, Andrea Wells, has this to say about the event:
We loaned 9 horses to the National Horse Show and I am pleased to tell you that they did not "embarrass the family." In fact, they were among the "stars" of the show. In addition, we had some of our graduating seniors do the professional schooling that was required at the horse show. These students include: Tiffany Neidhardt, Holly Fatula and Kendra Merrigan. Moreover, there were a fabulous crew of students who came to the horse show to care for the horses on the road and support their team and so, our hats are off to you. You know who your are and you made us look great!!
This has been an extremely busy year for the equine department. We have put many challenges on our students and our staff with all of the events and the schedule that we asked them to keep. They have risen and ridden to every challenge put before them and have been true assets to our program and to the Centenary College community. We could not be more proud of you! The compliments continue to fly in weeks after the events are over.
We also would like to thank the entire campus and community for their support and efforts with these events as well. These events would not have been possible or as successful as they were without all of you. It does take a village and what a great village we have here at Centenary College. We appreciate your help and flexibility during the semester and we promise not to do it again for a while!!
Thank you so much for all involved. It has been a banner year.
Centenary Earns Reserve Champion at ANRC Nationals.
Hackettstown, April 25 --- Centenary College was the proud host of this year's ANRC National Intercollegiate Equitation Championships April 21 and 22. Eight students represented Centenary and contributed to an impressive finish at this prestigious event.
Team riders Holly Fatula, Ashley DiBongrazio, Tiffany Neidhardt and Individual riders Jenn Elrod, Kendra Merrigan, Eleanor Kunsman, Heather Pellerin, Rachel Samuels each offered an impressive showing. Centenary finished as the overall Reserve Champion for the ANRC National Intercollegiate Equitation Championships.
Individual results:
Overall Competition: (32 riders total)
Eleanor Kunsman - CHAMPION - 1st
Ashley DiBongrazio - 5th
Holly Fatula - 8th
Dressage Sportif Phase:
Eleanor Kunsman - 2nd
Ashley DiBongrazio - 3rd
Holly Fatula - 5th
Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Phase:
Eleanor Kunsman - 2nd
Ashley DiBongrazio - 8th
Hunter Trials Phase:
Eleanor Kunsman - 3rd
Hether Pellerin - 5th
Centenary Wins the Zone 2 Championships.
April 13, 2007 - Centenary continued its prestigious Equestrian tradition by winning the Zone 2 Championships. Their success reserved the team's spot at the Nationals with 48 points. Their closest competition came from Skidmore College with 43 points.
Congratulations to all who competed!
Open Individual
Flat
Ashely Dibongrazio - 6th place
Fences
Ashley Dibongrazio - 4th place
Holly Fatula- Competed
Open Team
Flat
Ashley Dibongrazio - Reserve Champion
Fences
Ashley Dibongrazio - Reserve Champion
Intermediate Individual
Flat
Cristina Van Vooren - 6th place
Fences
Cristina Van Vooren- 7th place
Nicole Benesch- competed
Intermediate Team
Flat
Rachel Samuels- Champion
Fences
Nora Crist- Champion
Novice Individual
Flat
Jessica Anselmo - 8th place
Rachel Samuels - Reserve Champion
Christine Jordan - 3rd place
Fences
Jessica Anselmo - competed
Rachel Samuels- Champion
Christine Jordan- 4th place
Novice Team
Flat
Kim Kalosy - Champion
Fences
Lexy Lass - Champion
Walk/Trot/Canter Individual
Amy Carter - Reserve Champion
Victoria Ecret - 7th place
Walk/Trot/Canter Team
Heather Bowen - Reserve Champion
Walk/Trot Individual
Michelle Rizzolo - competed
Walk/Trot Team
Megan Tritsch - Reserve Champion
Noelle Castagna Named Centenary’s Equine Student of the Month.
- Noelle Castagna with her Centenary-owned horse Tigger.
April 13, 2007 - It is our pleasure to acknowledge Ms. Noelle Castagna as Centenary College’s Equine Student of the Month for March 2007.
Ms. Castagna is receiving this award for her countless assistance with horse shows, clinics and competitions during her four years here at Centenary College. Her sacrifice and commitment has been instrumental in the success of many of the college’s events. Noelle’s willingness to assist anyone in the barn from the management to an individual rider is unparalleled. There is not a single function or activity that the faculty cannot remember Ms. Castagna’s participating in one form or another.
She has completed a teaching practicum for two semesters in Novice III. Mrs. Donna Martin had Ms. Castagna as a teaching assistant in the Spring ’07 semester and said that Ms. Castagna was a pleasure to work with, very thorough with her responsibilities, and very helpful in the ring. Ms. Castagna’s favorite Centenary-owned horse is Tigger.
Ms. Castagna has been riding for 13 years and is a member of IHSA and USEF. Noelle has two younger sisters, a dog named Mocha and a cat named Tigger. She is presently interviewing for several positions at Hunter/Jumper barns in the region. Her life long goal is to own a Hunter/Jumper barn. In addition, Ms. Castagna has a strong interest in the training and a sale of ponies.
Tiffany Neidhardt named Centenary's Equine Student of the Month
- Tiffany Neidhart riding her horse Toby.
March 7, 2007 - It is our pleasure to announce that Tiffany Neidhardt is Centenary College’s Equine Student of the Month for February 2007.
Tiffany is the recipient of this distinct honor for her numerous contributions to the equine program, the equine teams, the horses and her fellow students. From the moment that Ms. Neidhardt entered the equine program, she was an excellent student and began taking on a leadership role. She has been the Team Captain of the Intercollegiate Hunt Seat Team for the past two years. Under her leadership, the IHSA Team has been Regional Champions 2006 and 2007, Zone Champions 2007 as well as earning 6th place at Nationals in 2006. And with any luck and her quality leadership ability, Tiffany will lead her team to the 2007 National IHSA Championship.
In addition, Ms. Neidhardt, has represented on many other championship teams such as The Tournament of Champions and the American National Riding Commission Team. The ANRC Team had an outstanding show at the 2007 Championships taking the Reserve Championship honors. Also, Tiffany has been known to put on the white britches and switch saddles to perform for the dressage team when necessary! Aside from being a very accomplished rider and team leader, Tiffany has taken on many additional responsibilities while at Centenary. In her senior year, she undertook an event management internship that has required her to be an integral part of fundraising, organizing and managing the many events that have happened at the equine center this year. These include the USEF Licensed Officials Clinic; the ANRC National Championships; the IDA Nationals Dressage Championships and many other events.
In her “spare” time, Tiffany can be seen riding her Palomino horse named Toby or walking her Jack Russell puppy named LuLu.
The word is out in the industry about Tiffany. As she is packing up her things and moving on, Tiffany already has an employment offer with Jennifer Bauersachs who is one of the top professionals in the area and owner of Spring Hill Farms.
We will miss Tiffany Neidhardt at Centenary College, but the equine industry has gained a valuable asset. We wish her every success in her future endeavors.
The Equine Student of the Month demonstrates exceptional abilities, interest, and/or compassion in horsemanship. This distinction is reserved for those individuals who have gone above and beyond what is expected in horse care, equestrian management, intercollegiate events, community service, and activities associated with Centenary College’s Equestrian Center. This student exemplifies the principles and standards of Centenary College and what is expected in the equine industry.
The Centenary College Equine Student of the month is
proudly sponsored by Beval Saddlery Ltd.
Results of March 4th - All Region Horse Show
College Results:
1st Place: CENTENARY COLLEGE 38 Points
2nd Place: Drew University 32 Points
3rd Place: USMA 30 Points
4th Place: Pace University 29 Points
5th Place: Stevens 28 Points
6th Place: Sarah Lawrence 24 Points
Regional Standings:
1st Place: CENTENARY COLLEGE 287 Points
2nd Place: Pace University 215 Points
3rd Place: Stevens 198 Points
4th Place: USMA 185 Points
5th Place: Sarah Lawrence 179 Points
6th Place: Drew University 177 Points
Cashion Cup Standings:
1st: Liz Stitzel 69 Points
2nd: Holly Fatula 68 Points
3rd: Ashley DiBongrazio 67 Points
4th: James Fairclough 61 Points
5th: Kathrine McGhee 58 Points
6th: Tiffany Neidhardt 58 Points
BOLDED individuals have qualified for Regionals in their respective classes
Kimberly Kalosy named Equine Student of the Month
- Kimbery Kalosy with Finely Mine.
February 28, 2007 - Ms. Kimberly Kalosy (’10) has been named Centenary College’s Equine Student of the Month for January 2007.
As a first-year student, Ms. Kalosy has spear-headed the Equestrian Center’s rehabilitation program designed to provide physical therapy to horses recovering from lameness related conditions.
In January, Kim selflessly volunteered 10 days of her winter break to travel to New Orleans as part of the college-wide Hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort. Along with six fellow equine students, Kim worked tirelessly on the reconstruction of damaged stalls in a racing and boarding facility to enable displaced horses to return to their former home.
Ms. Kalosy is from Fredon, New Jersey where she lives with her horse named Finely Mine, her two dogs named McCoy and Captain, and her two parrots named Bob and Carol. Kim has been riding since she was 6 years of age and has shown in hunters and jumpers. Ms. Kalosy is an excellent student and is an active participant with the IHSA and Hunter/Jumper Teams.
The Equine Student of the Month demonstrates exceptional abilities, interest, and/or compassion in horsemanship. This distinction is reserved for those individuals who have gone above and beyond what is expected in horse care, equestrian management, intercollegiate events, community service, and activities associated with Centenary College’s Equestrian Center. This student exemplifies the principles and standards of Centenary College and what is expected in the equine industry.
The Centenary College Equine Student of the month is
proudly sponsored by Beval Saddlery Ltd.
Results of IHSA Horse Show on Feb. 24th
College Placings:
1st: Stevens
2nd: Pace
3rd: Sarah Lawrence
4th: Centenary College
5th: USMA
6th: William Patterson
Regional Standings:
1st: Centenary College 249 Points
2nd: Pace 186 Points
3rd: Stevens 170 Points
4th: Sarah Lawrence 155 Points
5th: USMA 153 Points
6th: Drew 145 Points
High Point Rider Championship:
Ashley DiBongrazio Open Fences: 1st Place, Open Flat: 1st Place
Reserve High Point Rider Championship:
Kendra Merrigan Intermediate Fences: 1st Place, Open Flat: 2nd Place
Cashion Cup Standings:
Holly Fatula 58 points (currently in Second Place)
Ashley DiBongrazio 57 points (currently in Third Place)
Tiffany Neidhardt 45 points (currently in Sixth Place)
Ashley DiBongrazio Awarded Equine Student of the Month.
- Ashley DiBongrazio with Karat.
January 9, 2007 - Ashley DiBongrazio has been named Centenary College’s Equine Student of the Month for December 2006. Ashley is the recipient of this distinct pleasure for her numerous contributions to the equine program, the horses and her fellow students.
Ms. DiBongrazio continually sets her best foot forward as a concerned horsewoman, as well as setting examples for other students. Her work ethic and positive attitude make her a fine role model for underclassmen. She has been very active in the production of many functions at the Equine Center. Aside from being an outstanding student, Ashley has become an accomplished rider and represented Centenary College at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Tournament of Champions and Nationals. She has represented Centenary at ANRC Championships for the past two years.
As a senior, she is the only Equine Studies major who serves as a First Year Leader for the Freshman Experience. She will be traveling to New Orleans this January to volunteer in the rebuilding efforts. Ashley enthusiastically student teaches in Michael Dowling’s Novice Limit Hunt Seat riding class and gives tours to prospective students. She has been working in the equine field under such reputed professionals including Reagan Roberts, Robin Fairclough and most recently Steven Weiss. Ashley will be graduating in the spring of 2007 and is from Hightstown, NJ.
The Equine Student of the Month demonstrates exceptional abilities, interest, and/or compassion in horsemanship. This distinction is reserved for those individuals who have gone above and beyond what is expected in horse care, equestrian management, intercollegiate events, community service, and activities associated with Centenary College’s Equestrian Center. This student exemplifies the principles and standards of Centenary College and what is expected in the equine industry.
The Centenary College Equine Student of the month is
proudly sponsored by Beval Saddlery Ltd.
Centenary Places 7th in Tournament of Champions Invitational.
Cazenovia, NY, December 4, 2006 - Virginia Intermont College made their return to the top of collegiate riding December 3, once again winning Champion Team at the 15th Annual Holiday Tournament of Champions Invitational collegiate team tournament. The event, hosted by Cazenovia College, near Syracuse, New York, marked Intermont’s return to the top ranking after Mount Holyoke College had beaten them at the 2006 Preseason Classic Invitational in September, and previously at the 2006 IHSA Nationals in May. Prior to 2006 Nationals, Intermont had won four straight national level tournaments, and National Championships in 2004 and 2005. This was the third straight Holiday Tournament of Champions win for Intermont, and fourth of the last five years.
Virginia Intermont coach Eddie Federwisch depended upon the consistency of their performances to finally bring them the win over Cornell in the final class of the day, the only class that Intermont could manage a win. Every Intermont rider had finished 2nd in their classes until Jennifer Kelly won the final class to give her team a one-point win over Cornell, 37 points to 36.
Chris Mitchell’s Cornell team enjoyed their best day ever in national level competition, placing every entry but one in the top three places, and getting wins from Caroline Schulman and Erika Oziemina. Cornell competes in a very tough upstate New York region against Skidmore, among others.
The New York area schools dominated the top placings in general. After the top two teams ran away with the top spots, the next several places were extremely competitive, many decided by the tie-breaker class of Open Equitation on the Flat. Cindy Ford’s Skidmore team easily took 3rd Place with 31 points. The home team rode well, as Caz scored 26 points to give them 4th place. St Lawrence University finished 6th, and Centenary College from northern New Jersey took 7th, by virtue of tie-breaker.
Reigning National Champion Mount Holyoke College had another typically consistent day, scoring 22 and 20 with two teams in the competition, placing 5th Place overall with the higher score. Another southern school rounded out the team placings, with North Carolina- Charlotte in 8th place.
The Tournament of Champions Medal class fielded the best competition yet, including a couple former Cacchione Cup National Champions. Riders held up very well to an extremely difficult medal course that included halt and trot jump tests, and an inside rollback option to a hand-gallop jump. Mount Holyoke Alumnus Leana Ramond rode a spectacular course to follow up her solid flat work and win the Medal over Holly Fatula of Centenary and Liz Redding of Cazenovia.
The next Tournament of Champions event will be January 26 in Athens Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia. Many of the invitations are already offered, but interested teams or riders may contact event organizer Jim Arrigon at jimarrigon@hotmail.com The Tournament of Champions Series Champion Trophy will be awarded following that show.
Team and Medal results:
Champion: Virginia Intermont College 37 points
Reserve Champion: Cornell University, 36
3rd: Skidmore College, 31
4th: Cazenovia College, 26
5th: Mount Holyoke College, 22
6th: St Lawrence University, 22
7th: Centenary College, 22
8th: UNC-Charlotte, 21
Stonehill College 10
University of Georgia 10
Cazenovia – Gold team 7
Penn State University 5
Xavier University 5
University of Wisconsin 5
Princeton University 4
Rutgers University 3
Holiday Tournament of Champions Medal Class:
Champion: Leana Ramond, Mt Holyoke Alumnus
Reserve Champion: Holly Fatula, Centenary
3rd: Liz Redding, Cazenovia
4th: Jessica May, Virginia Intermont
5th: Brittany Denton, Virginia Intermont
6th: Jackie Miller, Cazenovia
7th: Jesse Vannucci, Cazenovia
8th: Amanda Pettingill, Mt Holyoke
9th: Quinn Traendly, Stonehill
10th: Tiffany Neidert, Centenary
11th: Samantha Pandolfi, Penn State
12th: Clara Hall, Cornell
Centenary College Competitors:
Molly Brown- Novice Flat (1st Place)
Nora Crist- Intermediate Fences (1st Place)
Ashley Dibongrazio- Open Fences
Erin Evans- Walk/Trot/Canter (4th place)
Deborah Hyland- Walk/Trot
Jennifer Januzis- Open Flat (6th Place)
Alexa Lass- Novice Fences (5th Place)
Rachel Samuels- Intermediate Flat (5th Place)
Kara Mitchell Awarded Equine Student of the Month.
- Kara Mitchell with Chelsea.
November 30, 2006 - Kara L. Mitchell has been named Centenary College’s Equine Student of the Month for November 2006. She is the recipient of this distinction for her recent duties and commitment to the horses at the Equestrian Center.
Ms. Mitchell has personally coordinated the digital identification and the routine testing for Equine Infectious Anemia (Coggin’s Test) for all of the horses at the facility. In addition, she has volunteered her services on several occasions including holidays, weekends, and off-hours for such tasks as vaccinations, post-operative care, routine medical treatments/procedures, and general care around the facility.
On one occasion in November, Ms. Mitchell volunteered her services to the barn manager for a Sunday when she was not even employed or obligated to do so. Ms. Mitchell student teaches with Ms. Donna Martin’s Introduction to Jumpers class. Kara Mitchell will be concluding her Centenary College education next month and aspires to own a Western horse stable in the future. She is presently submitting applications for a number of different employment opportunities.
Ms. Mitchell lives with her 7 month-old Sheppard/Rotwieller female dog named Abbagail.
Michelle Rizzolo Awarded Equine Student of the Month.
- Michelle Rizzolo, October 2006 Equine Student of the Month.
October 28, 2006 - Centenary College and the Equine Studies Department are proud to announce that Michelle Rizzolo is the first recipient of the college’s Equine Student of the Month Award.
Ms. Rizzolo received this distinction in the month of October for her tireless efforts and proactive nature that she assumes in the care of the Equestrian Center’s horses and facility alike. Ms. Rizzolo personally and without prompting designed and implemented management protocols such as the “Feet Sheet” and “Tail Detail” for the horses at the facility.
Throughout the entire summer, Michelle sacrificed her personal sleep time at 5 am to provide turnout for the horses in the cooler morning hours. Ms. Rizzolo is a sophomore Equine Studies student and an active member of the IHSA. In addition, she is a Residence Assistant in Bennett-Smith Hall. She is originally from Hazlet, NJ where she lives with her mother and her Lhasa Apsa named Jeffie. Ms. Rizzolo has been riding for several years and has a strong fondness for the Centenary-owned horse named Puma.