Tournament of Champions

Team photo after Pre-Season Tournament of Champions win Photo Credit: Fanny Eaton

Goucher Places Third

While the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) is the main venue Goucher competes in, the Gophers also participate in the Tournament of Champions series. The series is an off-shoot of the IHSA created by IHSA coach Jim Arrigon. It is a series of invite-only competitions, where about 20 of the top colleges and universities face off, similar to a mini-national. The series consists of four shows and has a series champion and reserve.

The Gophers had a strong start to the season. The first show was held at Goucher, and the Gophers finished the day with a commanding lead of 41 points. That was five points ahead of the second-place Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) yellow team. (SCAD would go on to win the national championship later in the year.) At the winter tournaments in Ohio and Virginia, Goucher earned additional points that helped it advance into third place in the tournament series. Heading into the series finale at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina, the top three schools were Savannah College of Art and Design with 36 average points, Mount Holyoke with 34, and Goucher with 31.5.

At the final tournament, the Gophers earned 26 points, which pulled the Goucher average total points to just 0.5 points short of tournament reserve champion. Nevertheless, Goucher ended up third in the tournament series. This is the best placing in Goucher Equestrian’s history. Go, Gophers!