Pace Paw Print

Sophomores Caroline O'Connell and Hillary Quinn represented the Pace equestrian team by riding on April 12 in the horse show for Zone 2 finals held at Skidmore College.

The finals for the team's Zone is the level right before the National stage.

During the finals, O'Connell earned eighth place out of approximately 200 riders from schools all over Westchester, upstate New York, New York City, Long Island, and Northern New Jersey.

"Getting a ribbon at Zone finals my first year riding for Pace is something that I truly wanted," said O'Connell. "The competition at Zones and even season shows is so substantial for every level. I try to go into every class accurate and competitive. I think the judges see it."

Other members of the equestrian team showed their support for O'Connell.

"Caroline has a clear understanding for every horse she rides, which makes her successful at every horse show," said Jackie Smith

Unfortunately, O'Connell's teammate Quinn was unable to place during the Zone 2 finals. Despite not placing though, O'Connell had some encouraging words for her teammate.

"Hillary is one of the most effective riders on the team," O'Connell said.

Two weeks prior to the Zone finals, O'Connell and Quinn, along with teammates Smith, Rebecca Page, Nicole Papaioannou, Jan Kutscher and Ina Yildiz, placed fourth as a team in the Zone's Regionals.

Quinn won her class in the Regional finals which helped her qualify for the Zone finals.

The Regional finals were held at Centenary College in New Jersey.

O'Connell's placing unfortunately made her fall short of qualifying for Nationals, but Pace Equestrian Coach Lisa Tomaselli qualified for the National round in Los Angeles.

"Our Coach Lisa is nothing short of fantastic," O'Connell said. "Unlike other coaches, she does Alumni at our shows. No other coach in our Zone does that; and it's nice to see someone actually do what they teach."

Tomaselli was happy about the way the Pace equestrian season turned out, and she saw a lot of good things for the team that practices out of the Sleepy Hollow Riding Academy.

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