The Geneseo women's equestrian team had a successful run last weekend at their two most recent competitions, hosted by Nazareth and Geneseo at Lehman Farms in Pittsford, NY.
Geneseo placed fourth overall out of 15 teams at both competitions, with three riders winning first place ribbons on Saturday and five riders claiming first place ribbons on Sunday.
Saturday's first place ribbons went to sophomore Ashley Kresge on the flat in the novice class, freshman Katie Roberts over fences in the intermediate class and senior Katie Heishman on the flat in the open class.
Sunday's blue ribbons went to Roberts on the flat in open class, Kresge over fences in novice, senior Cassie Brown on the flat in novice, and senior Megan Talbot and freshman Karina Stamatis in advanced walk, trot, canter.
On Saturday, second place ribbons were also earned by Kresge over fences in the novice class, senior Katelyn Wood on the flat in open, senior Liz Barone on the flat in intermediate, and senior Judy Lim in walk/trot.
At Sunday's show, second place ribbons went to junior Katie Rook for novice over fences, and Lim in walk/trot.
Sunday's show was dedicated to fellow Geneseo varsity athlete, Lindsay Matthews, who died a week prior on Nov. 9. To honor her memory, the team, as well as the horses, wore yellow and pink ribbons, colors her family chose to celebrate her life.
The women's equestrian team also competed at Lehman Farms earlier in the year, on Oct. 25 and 26, where they placed third out of 12 teams the first day and sixth out of 11 teams the next.
The team rides in zone 2, region 2, a competitive division covering such schools as St. Lawrence and Cazenovia.
"Our zone is one of the hardest zones to compete in because there are a lot of top schools," said Heishman. "There are several schools we compete against that have won multiple national championships."
There will be four more shows for the team to show off their talent including two competitions this weekend on Nov. 22 and 23.
Several of Geneseo's women have already qualified to go to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Regionals on March 21.
The strength of this season's team can be attributed to the increased number of teammates, which allows for specialized members in several different areas; with 25 riders, the team is optimistic for the future.