Murfreesboro, TN -- Stanford fielded seven team riders at the 2009 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships held at the Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, TN. Hoping to equal or improve on their 2008 tenth place finish, the team exceeded all expectations by finishing third in the nation.

Justine Thomas, one of the three freshmen representing Stanford this year, started the team competition off for the Cardinal, competing in Novice Equitation Over Fences. Despite a rough start, Justine recovered to finish strongly, though just out of the ribbons in 11th place. Freshman Laura Hansen and sophomore Jaslyn Law competed in Intermediate and Novice Flat, respectively, struggling with tough draws that put them out of the top 6.

Of the seven Stanford equestrians competing at Nationals, only Team Captain Sarah Scharf had ever made a post-season appearance prior to this season. She earned Stanford their first points of the show with a fourth place finish in Open Flat Equitation. Freshman Chase Hickok added 5 points to the Stanford total with a beautifully-ridden second place finish in Walk/Trot/Canter.

Stanford entered day 2 of competition in fifth place. Sophomore Kelly Staves put in a respectable performance in Intermediate Equitation Over Fences and finished on a score that put her in twelfth place. Senior Alex Jacobs finished the day for Stanford in Walk/Trot Equitation. Almost a year to date after he climbed on a horse for the first time in a Stanford P.E. class, Alex bested the competitive field of 18 riders to become this year's Walk/Trot National Champion in the team competition.

Going into the final day of team competition, Stanford was in third with only one class to go. Despite the pressure to maintain the top three placing, team captain Sarah Scharf laid down a confident round to finish in sixth, securing Stanford's third place finish.

The final top-ten point totals from the team competition:

Post-season schedule and regular season results and recaps available by clicking on Shows.