The girls equestrian team won the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) regional finals on Sunday, January 29, at Folly Farms, qualifying the team for the IEA Zone 1 finals for the first time in program history.

The finals for Zone 1, which comprises all six New England states, take place in early April at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass. A first-place finish at zones would send the team to the IEA nationals at the end of April.

At Sunday’s show, the team started the competition with impressive showings from its youngest riders. A fourth-place finish from freshman Cathy Zhang, a third-place finish from freshman Maia Wijnberg, and first-place finishes from freshmen Emilia Cisneros and Mary Stanton Bryant and sophomore Michaela Howe launched the team to the top of the leaderboard.

“They showed a tremendous amount of composure as young riders, and they should be thrilled with their performances,” said head coach Carolyn Mainardi.

Junior Leah Ozgun capped off the five-team event with a fourth-place finish in her show, securing the victory for Loomis.

The team will spend the next couple of months training and preparing for zones. Training leading up to the event will include a team trip to Florida during March break.