LYNCHBURG, Va. – The fifth-seeded Dartmouth equestrian team is ready to take on fourth-seeded Sacred Heart to open the ECAC Single Discipline Equestrian Championship on Thursday at 10 a.m. The entire championship is being hosted by Lynchburg. The winner of the Big Green vs. Pioneers on Thursday will advance to face top-seeded Lynchburg in the semifinals Friday.
 
"We're going down there, ready to do our best on Thursday with hopes of advancing to day two," said Dartmouth head coach Tenley Walsh.
 
The Big Green and Pioneers squared off in the regular season in Connecticut, with Sacred Heart winning, 8-2. Earning team points for the Big Green were senior Leah Branstetter over fences and junior Margot Luria on the flat. Luria was also named the flat Most Outstanding Player with a score of 88.
 
In the fall, Dartmouth faced all five teams competing in the ECAC Championship (also No. 1 Lynchburg, No. 2 Sweet Briar and No. 3 Bridgewater).

 
The Big Green are new to the NCEA and getting better every day.
 
"This is essentially our first full year in the NCEA," said Walsh. "We officially joined at the end of last year, but we didn't have a fall competition season with the NCEA, so this is truly our first full year."
 
Last spring was a start, setting the scene for this year.
 
"We had the opportunity last spring to go down to Auburn University and compete; they were really gracious to host multiple meets while we were there, giving us good exposure to the new format." said Walsh. "We competed in three meets in one day. It's such a different format, it takes some time to adjust."
 
What are some of the differences in the NCEA format?
 
"The way we prepare for these competitions is quite different than how we would have trained in the past," said Walsh. "Two weeks prior to the event, we have access to the flat patterns and jump courses that we're going to be competing over. In those two weeks leading up to the competition, we focus on first memorizing the flat patterns, then fine tuning the details, and practicing certain movements that might be more difficult such as a counter canter or leg yield."
 
Dartmouth has a win under its belt, against now-third-seeded Bridgewater, which the Big Green were excited about. But Walsh is most focused on the student-athletes' and programs' growth.
 
Focus on the process and the results will come.
 
"It is a new process," said Walsh. "One step at a time, we're getting there, so it's been good to see the team grow and see how close some of our scores are coming down to in the head-to-head competition."
 
Experience is vitally important in the program's growth, which the ECAC Championship will certainly provide in a major way.
 
"The more we do it, the better we're going to get at it," said Walsh. "Coachability has been important; being open and willing to train in a new way."
 
All ECAC Championship meets can be seen live on Lynchburg's YouTube Channel. To learn more, please click here.