Equestrian Team competes in Holiday Tournament of Champions

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics

Mount Holyoke College’s Equestrian Team competed in a Holiday Tournament in early December.

By Elodie Muller ’29

Staff Writer

As the cold of winter approaches Mount Holyoke College, the equestrian team has had a great month. The Lyons tied for second place out of nine teams at the Trinity College Show on Sunday, Nov. 2, at Folly Farm in Simsbury, Connecticut. On Saturday, Nov. 8, Mount Holyoke finished third out of 11 teams at the Bentley/WPI Show, held at Maplewood Farm in Berlin, Massachusetts. They placed second out of 11 teams at the Mount Holyoke Show, located at the Equestrian Center on Mount Holyoke College’s campus in South Hadley, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Nov. 15.

“We started the season off really strong, but we didn’t do as well as we would have liked in our last couple of shows,” Cloe Hinck ’28 said in an email to Mount Holyoke News.

Unlike typical equestrian competitions, this competition did not affect the standings of the teams participating whatsoever. Instead, these riders competed out of love and enjoyment of the sport.

Though the months of the calendar dwindle as the end of the year swiftly approaches, the equestrian season will continue into the spring.

“We still have three shows in the spring, which we are excited and ready for,” Hinck shared.

The future of Mount Holyoke’s hunt seat team is filled with optimism for 2026 as they look forward to competitions at UMass Amherst, Springfield-Westfield State and Mount Holyoke College in February and March.

Since writing, Mount Holyoke’s Equestrian Team has participated in the Holiday Tournament of Champions, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Centenary University in Long Valley, New Jersey. The tournament featured one rider from each division and did not have any impact on Mount Holyoke’s standing in the division. Mount Holyoke’s hunt seat team will next participate in the UMass-Amherst Show on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Muddy Brook Farm in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact checking.