Hollins Welcomes ODAC Schools for Annual Event

FOREST, Va. --- The ODAC Equestrian Championships return to the Hollins University and the Kirby Riding Ring and Stables on Wednesday, April 5, a location at which the conference's annual event has not been conducted since 2011. Each of the ODAC's six competing programs will compete over three rounds of competition beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Scoring for the ODAC Championships differs from that of the IHSA shows, where riders are split into two or three separate sections for competition.  For the ODAC event, each team will feature four riders and will use their own horses.  In IHSA shows, competing riders must use horses provided by the host.  Each ODAC rider will compete in two jumping rounds and earn a score taken from the average of two judges. The low average for each team will be dropped and a point total assigned to each team's combined score in rank order.  The final round, which is competition on the flat, only features two riders per school.

All six schools -- Bridgewater College, Hollins University, Lynchburg College, Randolph College, Sweet Briar College, Washington and Lee University -- will field four-rider teams that feature a balance of past success and new faces. Each will be vying to dethrone Sweet Briar as the Vixens have donned each of the past two ODAC crowns.

The Vixens' run to a repeat title in 2016 was not without drama. SBC owned a five-point lead over Randolph heading into the final round, equitation on the flat. The WildCats' two riders finished first to collect a full seven points, while the Vixens' pair ranked fifth to pull in two points and leave the two squads tied after all regulation competition.

A ride-off ensued to determine the champion. Course A, which was used for the first jumping class, was used for the ride-off. Both schools put forth their top-two riders in the deciding extra round. SBC's Emily Schlosberg and Makayla Benjamin combined for a 159.0 score, clipping the 150.5 points posted by Randolph's Meaghan Hynes and Morgan Hoke for the title.

Sweet Briar's back-to-back top prize was the lone repeat occurrence from 2015. Benjamin earned both the ODAC Rider and Rookie of the Year awards that season. Schlosberg equalled that feat in 2016, capping the All-ODAC 10 riders with an individual 86.500 average during the two jumping classes.

There will be plenty of familiar faces competing at Hollins with 14 of the 24 riders having appeared at Randolph in 2016. That includes 7-of-10 All-ODAC honorees. SBC's Schlosberg and Benjamin topped the list with 86.500 and 85.813 averages, respectively. Washington and Lee features Caleigh Wells and Jane Chiavelli, who finished fourth and seventh last year with 84.000 and 80.500 marks. Lynchburg's Christina Antonucci finished with at 82.500, while Madeline Lohr from Hollins rang in sixth at 82.250 and Randolph's Morgan Hoke claimed the ninth spot at 79.875.

Listed below are last year's full team rankings as well as the 2016 All-ODAC Riding Team.  Also below is information regarding this season's championships.