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Annual Equestrian Awards Banquet Held
Amidst the good food, good company, and shiny trophies, the Albion
College equestrian club, hunt seat, and dressage teams celebrated the
closing of another great year on Saturday, April 14, 2007. Over 50
students, parents, and staff members came together in the Mary Sykes
Room of Baldwin Hall, where each student was presented with an award for
their hard work during the school year.
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At the start of the evening, equestrian center director and dressage
team coach George Halkett briefly recapped the events of the past
several months, highlighting the special moments for each, which
included two dressage riders
qualifying for the Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) National
Championships to be held April 27 through 29th and two hunt seat riders
qualifying for the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA)
Regional competition. From the Regional, hunt seat rider
Merrill Howland '09 (East Grand Rapids) qualified for the Zone
Finals one week later, the first rider since the inception of Albion's
equestrian program to do so. During the meal, guests were treated to a slideshow and
video montage of moments from the past year, including horse show
footage from IDA and IHSA competitions and club activities. Each
team member then received a paper plate award from their captains and
equestrian club officers presented club members with awards as well.
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Merrill Howland '09 receives
her award
from hunt seat coach, Mia Zetting. |
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Hunt seat team coach Mia Zetting then spoke briefly about the hunt
seat team and presented team members with their varsity letters.
Following her, dressage team coach George Halkett spoke about his team's
accomplishments and presented letters to his riders.
Equestrian Club president Halley Sissom '08 (Chelsea) and vice
president Kate Van Ness '09 (Spring Lake) next took center stage
to present awards that honored the time and commitment that
everyone had shown in making the club the largest and most
active it had ever been. Club advisor Randi Heathman '03
was also presented with an award for her service. |
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Halley Sissom '08 and Mark
Lampen '10 share the
Most Valuable Rider Award for dressage. |
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The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the equestrian
teams' four perpetual trophies. Merrill Howland was named Most Valuable Rider for the
hunt seat team and the dressage team had a tie for Most Valuable Rider,
with national qualifiers Halley Sissom and Mark Lampen '10 (Zeeland) sharing the honor.
Lampen
was also awarded the Coaches' Award from dressage team coach George
Halkett for his success as a first-year member of the dressage team.The award for Most Improved Rider went to first-year student and hunt
seat team member Mallory Fellows '10 (Jenison).
Each perpetual trophy will remain on permanent display in the lounge
area of the Held Equestrian Center and will be engraved with the names
of the 2007 winners. Individual silver bowls commemorating their
awards were given to the recipients at the banquet. |
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Mallory Fellows '10 receives the Most Improved
Rider award from Coach Zetting. |
At the conclusion of the evening, it was agreed that everyone had
enjoyed a wonderful evening and are looking forward to the year to come,
one that will no doubt be filled with more horses and good friends.
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