The ISU Intercollegiate Horse Show Team has been jumping to new heights the last few months, surprising opponents by finishing near the top of the standings in shows across the Midwest.Last weekend, the team celebrated a fourth consecutive victory with a win at a Hunt Seat show at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. “We won the high point team for Sunday,” said Meaghan McLoughlin, junior in geology and member of the team. McLoughlin said Iowa State tied with another team for point totals Saturday, but Sunday was an outright win. The team is currently ranked second in its area, which consists of 10 schools.Alex Rodeck, senior in animal science and member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Team, said Iowa State didn’t know what to expect going into last weekend’s competition.”We weren’t sure what we were getting into last weekend,” he said. “This was the first show that Carleton had hosted. It was outdoors, and we didn’t know how the horses would react.” Although the team has finished as the high point team at the last four shows, Rodeck said the win at Carleton was still a surprise. “We weren’t expecting to win it,” he said. Hunt Seat, another name for English riding, was derived from fox hunts in England, Rodeck said, and involves a number of skills. “Hunt Seat has both jumping and flat classes and it is judged on how well the rider rides,” he said. Rodeck said 18 team members went to Carleton last weekend, but normally the team is one of the smallest competing.Members of the ISU Equestrian Club also form the ISU Collegiate Horse Show Team. The Horse Show Team consists of both Hunt Seat and Western riding teams and is ranked as one of the top three in the region. However, it hasn’t always faired well.”We’ve been known as a rag-tag team and the underdogs,” McLoughlin said. “We ride against a lot of competition, so our standing is really an achievement.”McLoughlin said the team’s success this year can be attributed to several factors. “As a team, we’re really getting along better,” she said. “When I look at our team compared to others, we have a lot more fun together. We’ll pull into a horse show with the music turned up, and we’ll be dancing in our van.”Rodeck said the wins are also a result of several key team members. “Members such as open rider Meaghan McLoughlin give us a steady base of points at nearly every show,” he said.The team is looking forward to Regionals March 13. Riders qualify for Regionals after they achieve a set point total over the course of the regular season. Seven members of the Hunt Seat team have acquired the necessary points and will be competing in Regionals at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. A win at Regionals sends the riders to Zones. A win at Zones qualifies the rider to participate in the National Horse Show, held in Conyers, Ga. at the Olympic show park, Rodeck said. To follow the team’s progress in the upcoming weeks, check out show results that are posted on the equestrian club’s Web site located at www.scc.iastate.edu/equestrian/.”We’re really hoping to send a few people to Zones,” McLoughlin said. “We have a really good chance, and we’re riding very strong.”