“It shows all the hard work and dedication that I’ve put in with my trainer,” said Babb, 16, who rides as part of the team at TerryAllen Farms under the tutelage of Samantha Borkoski. “She’s put in a lot and kind of shaped me to who I am today. We’ve been doing lots of no stirrups and testing within our lessons and mainly just putting in a lot of riding time to get ready.”
An invitation to compete in the Varsity Open Championship was extended to the high point open division rider from each of the 10 IEA Zones, as well as to the top two riders in the Varsity Open division at the Hunt Seat National Finals.
Babb qualified as both the top rider from IEA Zone 1 and a top rider in the Varsity Open division, and now, as the class winner, he will receive a spot at a 2020 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program Regional Training Session.
“It’s exciting,” said Babb, who has been competing in the IEA for five years and who also claimed an individual championship in the Intermediate division at the 2018 IEA Hunt Seat National Finals. “In the IEA, you get the opportunity to do this without having to own your own horse. It’s refreshing to get on other mounts and do just as well.”
The IEA is a membership partner and affiliate of the USHJA, and, as such, Babb and all of the individual champions were presented with USHJA trophies.
Among those trophy winners were Sophia Olivero and Emma Repenning. Olivero, of Katonah, Ny., earned the USHJA Varsity Intermediate on the Flat championship, while Repenning took the top honor in the USHJA Varsity Intermediate Over Fences.