Stanford Equestrian Hosts Beerbaum Clinic

The team's clinicing riders with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum

On February 4, members of the Stanford Equestrian Team received a welcome interlude from a busy show season in the form of a mounted clinic with renown international equestrians Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum at the Stanford Red Barn. The day's mounted events, which included a Q&A session and a clinic for local and professional riders in addition to the collegiate clinic, were followed by a cocktail dinner and an evening talk by Meredith.

Sophomore Erin Gray on Kartouche

Meredith and Markus, fresh off a win and top placings in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at Thermal on February 3, started by answering questions from riders on the Stanford Equestrian Team. Questions ranged from how to balance a successful riding career with schoolwork to the differences between the fundamentals of European versus American riding.

Coterm Rachel Kolb on Kandinsky, as the Beerbaums look on

The riding portion of the clinic then included six riders from the Stanford Equestrian Team: sophomore Claire Margolis (on Stanford's Fresno), coterminal master's student Rachel Kolb (on Stanford's Kandinsky), senior Alison Smith (on Stanford's Landor), sophomore Erin Gray (on Stanford's Kartouche), freshman Bailey Martinez (on Stanford's Armani), and junior Macey Sanchez (on her own Deliah). The Beerbaums embraced the foundational principles of collegiate riding, speaking to the Stanford riders as well as to the auditing crowd of over 200, which included many collegiate (IHSA) and high school (IEA) riders as well as several other local riders and trainers. Both Beerbaums explained their strategies to approach catch riding and starting a new partnership with a horse. Markus said, "You quickly learn that you can't change a horse in a short period of time. You have to work with what you have and try to find a common language." Meredith drew parallels between the IHSA and the final four at the WEG Nations' Cup, where riders have to swap horses. "I always start any ride by asking for extension, collection, moving right and left, to see where strengths and weaknesses might be."

Markus Beerbaum

All six Stanford riders, after warming up and receiving general feedback on the flat, each jumped several courses on their horses. In the jumping portion, both Beerbaums emphasized the importance of consistently evaluating pace, track, and straightness and also encouraged riders to think on course and pursue a working connection with their mounts. "It was amazing to ride with Meredith, a rider that I have grown up watching ride," said Erin Gray. She added (about the reception held later in the evening), "Her commitment to her riding and her horses that she shared at the reception truly inspired and reminded me why I love riding so much."

Freshman Bailey Martinez receives feedback on Armani

The second section, held at 1.30m-1.40m, featured several local and top competitive jumper riders: Adrienne Dixon, Taylor Harris, Erika Wright, Daniel Zilla, and Nicole Bloom. After adjoining from the Stanford Red Barn and their equine partners for the day, riders and guests attended an evening event in which Meredith discussed her career in greater depth. While showing competition footage throughout (most notably with her World Cup and international partner Shutterfly), she narrated the multifaceted aspects of a successful equine partnership, from persistence to continuous self-improvement and empathy. The evening provided a memorable capstone to the day's purpose: to highlight and to bring awareness of top-tier equestrian sport to the Stanford campus, the riders of the Stanford Equestrian Team, and the local equestrian community.

Sophomore Claire Margolis navigates a course on Fresno

All events were generously organized and sponsored by the Coulter family, and the mounted clinic was free and open to the public.

Members of the Stanford equestrian community following the evening event

Stanford Wins Back-to-Back Championships in Hunt Seat and Dressage

Stanford wins at UC Berkeley 

Stanford had a busy weekend, with the hunt seat team travelling to UC Berkeley on Saturday, January 26 and the dressage team hosting Stanford's only dressage show of winter quarter on Sunday, January 27. Both teams posted big wins, thanks to strong riding across the board.

On Saturday at Graceland Equestrian Center in Castro Valley, CA, the Cardinal faced off against teams from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Sonoma State, Cal Poly SLO and COS. Sophomore and team captain Claire Margolis kicked things off with some impressive riding over fences, earning the win in Open Fences. Margolis continued to show her strength in the saddle later in the day when she claimed a matching blue ribbon in Open Flat on “Jolly,” which clinched her high point rider honors for the day and extended her lead in the region's Cacchione Cup race to almost 30 points with just two shows left in the regular season.

Fr. Bailey Martinez

Freshman Bailey Martinez took a ribbon over fences in Intermediate, but showed her dominance on the flat with her win on “Rafael." The victory now gives Martinez two blues and a red in her first year showing for the Cardinal on the flat. Sophomore Erin Gray and freshman Bella Peyser both took ribbons over fences, with Gray earning a fifth in Novice and Peyser taking a sixth in Intermediate.

So. Veronica Patterson

Moving into the flat-only phase, a parade of first-year riders kept Stanford on top for the day. Sophomore Veronica Patterson had a strong ride in Advanced Walk Trot Canter and scored her first-ever IHSA victory in her first year of showing. She was matched by senior Eliza Richartz, who began riding with the team in spring of 2012. Richartz has been on a winning streak, taking her first blue two weeks ago at UC Davis and matching the win with another great ride at Berkeley. In addition, freshmen Haley Harrington and Hannah Grace put in solid rides and earned points for Stanford with a pair of seconds (Harrington in Novice and Grace in Beginning Walk Trot Canter).

Stanford finished the day with the team championship and a score of 40, followed by Davis, 24; Santa Cruz, 23; Sonoma, 16; Berkeley, 15; Santa Clara, 12; and COS, 3.

Stanford Dressage wins team champion at home

Stanford’s dressage team hosted the Red Barn’s lone IDA show of the season on Sunday to bright skies and judging by Ivetta Harte. The Cardinal kicked off the day with First Level rides by senior Kristen Malinak on "Tommy" (kindly loaned to the team for the show) and freshman Maria Filsinger on "Jackson." In this field of seven riders, Stanford’s two riders tied with a score of 67.77%. A tie-breaker based on rider marks swung the advantage in Filsinger’s favor.

Senior Patrick Freeman winning at Upper Training

Senior and team captain Patrick Freeman represented Stanford in Upper Training, which wound up being the highest scoring division of the day. Thanks to his polished ride on “Jake” (donated to the program by Mary Hufty), Freeman's score of 72% won the class and gave Stanford an advantage. Sophomore Tori Greenen rode next in Lower Training on “Toby” and put in a wonderful ride that earned her a red ribbon, which placed Stanford firmly in championship contention going into the last class of the day.

High point rider Monika Huss

The team's success came down to grad student Monika Huss in Intro, who pulled “Chili” for her ride. Not only did Huss lay down a gorgeous test, but her score of 76.4% was also the highest of the day by a large margin and earned her high point rider honors for the day, her second this season. Thanks to the top rides put in by Huss and her teammates, Stanford was victorious for the day, taking the win over Cal Poly SLO (second), UC Davis (third) and Santa Cruz (fourth).

This weekend it is the western team's turn to show, this time at UC Davis on Saturday, February 2 and Sunday, February 3. The Cardinal then returns to host its last regular season home show (hunt seat) at the Red Barn on February 9 and 10.

Stanford Off to Strong Start in 2013

Freshman Holly Grench takes back-to-back wins and high point rider

Stanford's hunt seat team returned from nearly a month off over the holidays to a show at a chilly UC Davis on January 12th. Having had only four days of practice since returning from winter break, Stanford brought a young team up to the Davis Equestrian Center and had a great showing with five wins, as well as high point and reserve high point rider honors for the day.

Sophomore Claire Margolis kicked things off for the Cardinal, winning Open Fences with a fluid and forward round on Ohelo. She followed up her win with a nice ride in Open Flat that earned her a red ribbon. With a combined score of 12, Margolis finished as the reserve high point rider for the show, her third straight high point or reserve high point finish this year.

Margolis was only bested by freshman Holly Grench from St. Louis, MO. In only her second IHSA show, Grench mastered two great draws, winning back-to-back blue ribbons in the A section of Novice Flat and Fences, earning her high point rider honors for the day. Also in Novice were strong showings by freshman Bella Peyser, who won the B section of Novice Flat on Katie; sophomore Erin Gray, who took third in the A section of Novice Fences; and sophomore Ellen Kettler, currently in her first year of IHSA showing, who took third in her section of fences and fifth on the flat.

Senior Eliza Richartz taking her first blue in Walk Trot

Another highlight of the day was senior Alison Smith qualifying for the Regional Finals with her ribbon in Intermediate Flat. Alison has made two appearances at the IHSA National Finals for Stanford, but this will be her first individual postseason appearance. The only other senior showing for the team was first-year team rider Eliza Richartz, who (after spending three years on the varsity sailing team before joining equestrian this year) took her first-ever win in Walk Trot. Another first-year rider, sophomore Natasha Aguirre, placed just behind Richartz in the class.

Two other first-year riders showed for the day, completing Stanford's run of ribbons. With a pair of placings, freshman Bailey Martinez took sixth in Intermediate Fences and sophomore Veronica Patterson showed at her first away competition and came in sixth in Advanced Walk Trot Canter. All in all, the day was a great showing for the young team with all riders in the ribbons. Stanford holds on to its 52-point lead in the region as it heads into its next show, held Saturday, January 26th at UC Berkeley.

Back-to-Back Wins For the Cardinal at Home

Sophomore Claire Margolis won High Point Rider honors on Saturday and Sunday

The Stanford Equestrian Team rounded out the fall show season with a pair of wins, as it hosted its first pair of home horse shows at the Stanford Red Barn on November 10 and 11. On Saturday, the Cardinal's returning riders showed their strength, taking eight wins and posting a score of 45 points (out of a possible 49), taking the championship over UC Santa Cruz (24pts), Sonoma State (22pts), Cal Poly SLO (21pts), and UC Davis and UC Berkeley (both with 14pts).

Sophomore Erin Gray tied for High Point Rider on Saturday with two wins in Novice

In addition to the team championship, Stanford claimed dual High Point Rider honors on Saturday with sophomores Erin Gray and Claire Margolis both winning their fences and flat classes (Gray in Novice and Margolis in Open). A favorite draw of the day was Stanford’s Kamari (the 2011 Zone 10 Green Hunter Champion), pulled by both Margolis and senior Alison Smith, who rode the small hunter to a win in Intermediate Flat, with freshman Bailey Martinez finishing right behind in second. Sophomore Tori Greenen also contributed a second place to Stanford’s team total with her ride in Advanced Walk Trot Canter.

Freshman Haley Harrington won Stanford's second class in a row on Toby

While Margolis, Gray, and Smith all have experience showing for the Cardinal at the 2012 National Finals, the team’s first year riders demonstrated the hunt seat squad's overall depth, continuing Stanford's strong showing on the flat. Freshman Haley Harrington won her section of Novice Flat after posting a strong second place finish the previous weekend at Santa Cruz. Though Harrington came to Stanford with experience on the Arabian horse circuit, she has been working hard to make the transition to hunt seat equitation. Freshman Hannah Grace was also a winner, earning a blue ribbon with her ride in Beginning Walk Trot Canter.

Stanford capped off the successful day with a win in Walk Trot by Wei Ling Heng. Hailing from Malaysia, Heng finished fifth at the National Finals last year and is about to qualify for the Regional Finals in the class. However, the team’s new, hard-working Walk Trot riders include senior Eliza Richartz, who joined the team in spring of 2012 and finished fourth at Stanford on Saturday in her first home show.

The Stanford team after day 2 win

On Sunday, the team got off to a good start with Margolis doubling down on her High Point Rider honors. She took first on the flat and second over fences in Open, putting 12 points on the board for Stanford. Martinez and Smith reversed their one-two punch in Intermediate Flat with the freshman taking first on Sunday and Smith riding in second. Freshman Holly Grench made her competition debut for Stanford, earning a second place with her ride in Novice Flat on teammate Ellen Kettler’s Ace of Spades.

Senior Alison Smith on Stanford's Kandinsky ("Ronny") and freshman Bailey Martinez on Kartouche ("Handsome")

After some difficult draws by her teammates in subsequent classes, Greenen put Stanford back into the running in Advanced Walk Trot Canter, winning another red ribbon for the Cardinal. Senior Gladys Delgadillo had a great ride on Stanford's Chili, finishing fourth in her first-ever Beginning Walk Trot Canter class. Stanford’s up and coming Walk Trot riders, Richartz and sophomore Natasha Aguirre, rounded out the day with two ribbons, leaving the Cardinal undefeated for the season. Look for Stanford's hunt seat team to return to competition on January 12, 2013 at UC Davis.

Senior Eliza Richartz and Sophomore Natasha Aguirre

Winning Start for Stanford Hunt Seat

The hunt seat contingent of the Stanford Equestrian Team started its regular season on November 3 with an away show hosted by the University of California, Santa Cruz at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville, CA. The young team -- composed mainly of first-year riders -- belied their inexperience with a strong streak of blue and red ribbons to win the team championship for the day.

Highlights of the day included sophomore (and hunt seat captain) Claire Margolis taking second in both Open Fences and Open Flat to win Reserve High Point Rider honors for the day. Freshman Bailey Martinez, in her first showing for the Cardinal, took second in Intermediate Fences, while senior (and two-time IHSA National Finals competitor) Alison Smith was close behind in third. (Smith would also gain a fifth place later in the day in Intermediate Flat.)

Freshman Bailey Martinez in Intermediate Fences

The show heated up for Stanford in Novice Fences and Flat, where sophomore (and outreach officer) Erin Gray won her section of Novice Flat after taking fourth in Novice Fences. Freshmen Bella Peyser and Haley Harrington also put in great rides, each taking second place in their respective sections of Novice Flat.

Sophomore Erin Gray and freshman Haley Harrington go 1-2 in Novice Flat

Sophomore Tori Greenen, one of the team's horse managers, then took the blue in Advanced Walk Trot Canter, while freshman Hannah Grace placed third in Beginning Walk Trot Canter in her first show. Senior Eliza Richartz, fresh to the Stanford Equestrian Team after transferring from Stanford Sailing, and sophomore Natasha Aguirre, also in her first year of competing for the Cardinal, rounded out the day with strong showings in Walk Trot. Aguirre took second while Richartz took fourth.

Stanford's hunt seat team now anticipates the season's first set of home shows, a double-header weekend at the Red Barn on November 10 and 11.