At the end of the semester, many students kick back and relax to celebrate an end to the hard work and dedication they put in through the past several months.
It's the exact opposite for Penn State's Equestrian Team, which cannot afford such luxuries.
While nearly everybody else will be celebrating the end of finals, the team will be stepping up against the tough competition of the nation's 15 best collegiate equestrian squads at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association's national finals, May 4-6 at the Georgia International Horse Park in Atlanta.
"I've been thrilled this season," head coach Malinda Grice said.
"We've had a really competitive and really successful year."
To get to the nationals, which the Lions last won in 1989, they placed first at the Zone Championships on April 7 in Westbrook, Ct. The Zones match up the region's best teams against each other, with the top two teams going on to nationals.
Penn State came out on top over second place University of Delaware and third place St. Joseph's College (NY).
Sarah Naiditch and Erin Jackson led a stellar team performance at the Zones. Naiditch placed first in skill level five and Jackson placed first in levels three and four. Other strong performers consisted of Marisa Jenkins (second in level 6), Aaron Lake (third in level 2), Greg McIntyre (second in level 1) and Alison Handler (first in level 7 and 8) in the group competition.
Individual placers for the Lions included Tye Gantz (first in level 3), Handler (fourth in level 7), Kate Hess (second in level 2) and Marci Bender (eighth in level 5).
"It was the best I've ridden all year," Gantz said.
With their finishes, both Gantz and Hess individually qualified to compete at nationals.
In addition to her decent showing at the Zones, Handler will be a challenger for the title of National Cacchione Rider. This honor goes to the nation's best collegiate rider each year. Handler racked up 84 points over the course of the year, best in the region, to be a contender for the prize.
To win this prestigious award, Handler will have to beat out a field consisting of the nation's top riders in a two-part competition.
"I've just had a good year and some good luck," Handler said.
"I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun at the nationals."
Penn State is heading south with a confident attitude.
"I think we'll do really well," Gantz said. "We're a good, solid team this year."
Said Grice: "If we ride to the best of our ability, we'll be successful. To (finish) in the top 10 would be great, but to be in the top five would be phenomenal."
Just getting to Atlanta is quite an achievement. IHSA is composed of 302 schools and over 6,000 students nationwide. Only 16 of those schools make the trip down to the Peach State each May for the event.
