The College of Charleston equestrian team won second place at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Nationals, which took place May 1-4, 2014, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa.

There is no bigger stage in intercollegiate equestrian than the IHSA’s National Championship Horse Show held at the beginning of May each year. The IHSA has 457 member colleges and over 10,000 student-athletes participating in regional and zonal competitions throughout the year in order to qualify for the National Championship Horse Show.

RELATED: Read more about the Cougar’s performance at the IHSA National Championship.

Equestrian National ChampsThe strong finish earned the Cougars their third reserve championship in program history and first since 1991. Under the guidance of head coach Bob Story, the Cougars reached collegiate riding’s pinnacle by championing eight of 10 of their regular season shows, and continuing to ride impressively in the postseason.

The Cougars were represented at nationals by Eliza Hay (Open Fences/ Flat), Trudy Noll (Intermediate Fences), Malka Fox-Epstein (Intermediate Flat), Victoria Bauer (Novice Fences/ Flat), Julie Barton (Walk-Trot-Canter), and Victoria Gonzalez (Walk-Trot).

RELATED: Watch a video of the equestrian team preparing for nationals.