Goharzadeh |
Whittaker |
EASTON, Mass. (April 8, 2022)-Two members of the Stonehill College equestrian team have qualified for the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone 1 Championships, which will take place on Saturday, April 9 at Holly Hill Farm in Hanover, Mass. hosted by Mt. Holyoke College.
This is the third-straight year that equestrian has sent multiple riders to Zone 1 Championships to compete. It also marks the first-ever appearances for Ariel Goharzadeh and Haley Whittaker.
At the Zone 1, Region 4 Championships on Saturday, March 26, Whittaker paced the Skyhawks when she took home first place in the novice flat event for the first time in her career. With her first-place finish, she will represent Stonehill equestrian in the novice flat on Saturday. Prior to her first-place finish at the IHSA Zone 1 Region 4 Championships, Whittaker competed in the novice flat one other time which was in the 2019-20 season in her IHSA debut during the Tufts University Show in which she finished second. Overall in her career, Whittaker competed in novice twice and won first place each time (Stonehill Home Show-Oct. 26, 2019 and Bentley/Wheaton Show-Nov. 2, 2019).
Goharzadeh punched her ticket to the IHSA Zone 1 Championship with her second-place finish in limit flat. In her career, Goharzadeh has two first-place finishes in the limit flat event including last month at the Brandies/UMass Lowell Show. She has several other top-five finishes including second place in limit flat at the Bentley/Wheaton Show (Nov. 2, 2019) and third place in limit flat again at the Bridgewater State Show (Nov. 3, 2019). Goharzadeh also notched a sixth-place finish for the intermediate fences at the Stonehill Home Show (Oct. 26, 2019).
The top two ribbon winners at the Zone 1 Championships from each of the events and the top two teams overall will advance to the IHSA National Championships which will take place from Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa.
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