On April 26-27, the local equestrian barn, Standing Ovation, competed in multiple events at the Hunt Seat and Dressage National Finals in St. Louis. Juniors Meagan Kelliher and Ella Herold, and senior Lexi Hall were the night’s big winners. The riders competing in events like the Varsity Open Test, Varsity Intermediate Test and JV Novice Test.
Throughout the season, riders compete in dressage competitions hosted by the IEA (Interscholastic Equestrian Association). These competitions allow riders to compete in four different levels: Varsity Open, Varsity Intermediate, JV Novice and JV Beginner.
All riders must compete in five regular season shows and can qualify for the postseason two ways in order to get to the National level. Team mom and organizer, Maureen Kelliher, explained the process. “First, teams compete against other teams at the regular season shows, and if they do well and regularly are a top-performing team in the regular season, they move on to the postseason as a team. They then compete in a postseason competition called zones. Our zone includes teams (slash) riders from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia for our zone. If the team is one of the top two highest scoring teams at zones, they move onto nationals,” Kelliher said.
She continued, “The other way that riders can qualify for nationals is as an individual. They earn individual points every time they compete at the regular season shows, and if they earn enough, they can compete in the postseason zones as an individual rider, too. Once again, if those riders are in the top two at zones, they move onto Nationals.”
Two of Standing Ovation’s riders, Meagan Kelliher and Hall, competed both as a team and as individuals. Kelliher competed in the Varsity Open Dressage Seat and Hall in the Varsity Intermediate Test.
Every rider spent countless hours and days preparing for competition at the national level.
“Training for competition means putting in time both inside and outside of the saddle. There’s only so much you can do on the horse, and doing things like stretching and strength training is really important to be able to ride well,” Meagan Kelliher said.
While riders are scored the same and each is trained to perform with the same technique, it’s clear each rider finds their own way to train. Some riders find it most beneficial to break down the steps, while others like to focus on the feeling.
“Preparing for the Varsity Intermediate Test focuses on rhythm, accuracy, and basics. You work on consistent gaits, precise geometry, smooth transitions and steady contact. It’s about showing control and harmony rather than advanced movement,” Hall said.
Riders at Standing Ovation are no strangers to high levels of success. The art of horseback riding involves the intricate communication between the person and the animal. It also requires coordination between physical skills, body awareness, balance and mental focus.
“Qualifying for nationals in my DSE was really exciting,” Meagan Kelliher said. “My horse at zones was a little spooky, which caused us to have the wrong cantering lead, but I fixed it and had a really great ride otherwise. My mom was also the one handing out ribbons, so I got to give her a hug right away after she gave me the blue ribbon.”
Throughout the course of Standing Ovation’s season, the team was able to overcome adversity in many different competitions to get to their end goal of making it all the way to the national level.
