Sports > April 7, 2004

By Peter Bergman

Assistant Sports Editor

Coming into the 2003-04 season, the Wake Forest equestrian team had a lot of question marks. Being a club team competing against varsity programs is a headache in itself, but issues with previous years’ teams led to two brand new captains for this year’s squad, something that is rare because usually one of two captains carry over to the next year.

However, led by senior Alannah Dibona and junior Andrea Mosher, the Deacon riders finished strong in their final three shows to cap off an incredulous season that included two first-place finishes. Dibona pointed to the superb chemistry of the team as the reason for their success.

“(Team unity) is something Andrea and I really worked hard on,” she said. “This was our season as captains, and we have been a part of this team as long as we have been at Wake. It had never been really a cohesive unit before. We really have great kids and that is going to keep this team afloat, they surpassed our every expectation.”

At Wake Forest, horseback riding is a club sport, and of the 12 colleges in their region — zone four, region three — many have varsity status at their respective universities — meaning they are heavily funded and equipped. Of the remaining schools, the Deacs are among the lowest funded.

Nevertheless, the 20-member Wake Forest team had one of its strongest seasons ever competing in the region, which includes schools such as Duke, UNC, Virginia Tech and Virginia Intermont — a school devoted to horseback riding.

The Deacon riders have been in action since September, competing in eight shows overall. A show consists of nine events in which a team can earn points, spread out among the different skill levels. Teamwork is of the essence because each rider can only ride within his or her skill level, so a good team must feature all levels of riders.

“The beginning level walk-trot rider is as important as anyone else on the team,” Mosher said. “You can’t be overqualified to compete in a division, you have to qualify to be a beginning walk-trot rider.”

For each event, the first-place rider earns seven points for his or her school, the second five points, then consecutively down for the third through sixth riders. Riders are judged on how they look (called equitation), walking, trotting, cantering and for the advanced levels jumping, as determined by an official known as the “judge.”

Due to weather and other conditions that led to postponements and cancellations, the Deacs have been very busy over the last couple of weeks, competing in two crucial shows and the regional finals.

On March 28, the Deacs hosted a show at their home barn at Riverpoint Farm in Advance. They came to ride and displayed their versatility as they came away with a first-place finish against the 11 other schools — their second straight first-place showing after a previous win at Duke.

Sophomore Holly Burt won the beginning walk-trot class, while freshman Katherine Ciuryla won the advanced walk-trot canter class.

“That was really amazing for us,” Dibona said. “We are this little (program) . . . competing against these big varsity teams. They don’t like us very much because we enjoy ourselves so much, and yet perform so well.”

Next up for the team was a show at Virginia Intermont March 30, the powerhouse school with one of the strongest varsity programs not only in the region, but in the nation as well. Amazingly, the Deacs had another strong showing, finishing third overall as a team.

Senior Lauren Gregg stood out for the Deacs, finishing as the reserve high-point rider, meaning she had the second-most total points of all riders competing. She finished first in the open class flat event and second in the open class fences.

After three straight strong showings, the Deacs were confident heading into the regional finals in Laurinberg, N.C. In order to qualify for the regionals, an individual had to accumulate 35 points throughout the season, and the Deacs had eight such riders.

However, among the stiff individual competition, seven came home disappointed.

Burt was a bright spot for the Deacs, as she continued a strong season by again winning her walk-trot class, which means she will now advance to the zone championships, which consist of three regions. Another win there could send Burt to the national finals.

No matter how Burt fares, she has already exceeded any and all pre-season expectations, and so has the team. While the team has had to overcome a lack of sufficient funding, there is little bitterness among the riders, as they will tell you that funding is not as important as team chemistry.

“Everybody worked really hard this year,” Mosher said. “There was definitely a lot more heart on this team than in previous years.”

Dibona added, “There is a lot of camaraderie on this team. When I am with the team I feel like I am hanging out with my friends.”