2019 - 2020 Equestrian

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

The Ladies are off to a hot start.  The defending National Champions are Ranked #1 (Still) and are 6-0, counting back to last years 18-0 run, they sit on a 24-0 win streak. So far this year they have wins over #10 UT Martin 17-1, #4 OK State 12-8, #5 TCU 15-4, #7 USCe 14-6, #9 SMU 12-6 and #4 ATM 11-9. The amazing thing is they have done this exclusively on the road 4-0, 1-0 at a neutral site and only 1 home site victory!!! They have also had a exhibition victory 9-1 over Ole Miss. Also a Jump Seat only competition with victories over Suny New Paltz and Sweet Briar College which do not count towards their overall total. Next up is on 15 November against their nemesis and biggest competition the lady dawgs of UGA at 3:00pm in the AU Equestrian center.

[I_M4_AU 7,784]

1 hour ago, AlaskanFAN said:

The Ladies are off to a hot start.  The defending National Champions are Ranked #1 (Still) and are 6-0, counting back to last years 18-0 run, they sit on a 24-0 win streak. So far this year they have wins over #10 UT Martin 17-1, #4 OK State 12-8, #5 TCU 15-4, #7 USCe 14-6, #9 SMU 12-6 and #4 ATM 11-9. The amazing thing is they have done this exclusively on the road 4-0, 1-0 at a neutral site and only 1 home site victory!!! They have also had a exhibition victory 9-1 over Ole Miss. Also a Jump Seat only competition with victories over Suny New Paltz and Sweet Briar College which do not count towards their overall total. Next up is on 15 November against their nemesis and biggest competition the lady dawgs of UGA at 3:00pm in the AU Equestrian center.

Maybe we’ll get a twofer this week.  Beat Georgia X 2.

[Mikey 16,565]

10 hours ago, AlaskanFAN said:

Next up is on 15 November against their nemesis and biggest competition the lady dawgs of UGA at 3:00pm in the AU Equestrian center.

Anybody that hasn't been to see this team perform, it's worth the time. Be there or be square!

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

#1 AU stomps #2 UGA 16-2 at the AU Equestrian arena Wednesday. Good sign for Saturday?  Way to go ladies. The consecutive win streak is now 25-0 

[augolf1716 21,101]

37 minutes ago, AlaskanFAN said:

#1 AU stomps #2 UGA 16-2 at the AU Equestrian arena Wednesday. Good sign for Saturday?  Way to go ladies. The consecutive win streak is now 25-0 

damn that curb stomping

[I_M4_AU 7,784]

Basketball won, Equestrians beat UGA, now it’s time to curb stomp the UGA Football team.  War Eagle.

[jared52 4,354]

2 hours ago, AlaskanFAN said:

#1 AU stomps #2 UGA 16-2 at the AU Equestrian arena Wednesday. Good sign for Saturday?  Way to go ladies. The consecutive win streak is now 25-0 

It was last night and someone on Twitter joked that UGA was letting the football team ride the horses. 😂

[Tigger1985 806]

And we are kicking it on the recruiting trail also

[augolf1716 21,101]

9 hours ago, Tigger1985 said:

And we are kicking it on the recruiting trail also

Do tell

[aubearcat 2,136]

🐎 🤠 

[tigerman1186 537]

This might be a 'dumb' question....do the members bring their own horses??? If they do, who pays for their upkeep???

[AURex 1,990]

I sooooo wish SEC Network would show lots more of the non-revenue sports thru their entire season -- EQUESTRIAN! Swimming & Diving, track & field, etc. Instead we get the bonkers baldy and other crap.

Where's my Auburn Women's Beach Volleyball? I was first to proclaim the urgent need to field a Women's Beach Volleyball team in order to better compete in the Director's Cup. I know that I am not the only person (and Golf) who would be eager to watch these matches.

 

[tigerman1186 537]

If little ole' Stetson Univ. in DeLand, Florida can field a beach team, I'm sure we can have a team too....Stetson made it to the final 8 tourney last year and defeated USC, not South Carolina....Go Lady Hats!!!

[Mikey 16,565]

On 1/16/2020 at 10:16 PM, tigerman1186 said:

This might be a 'dumb' question....do the members bring their own horses??? If they do, who pays for their upkeep???

The school provides and maintains the horses for the team . The horses belong to the school. Each school with a team has their own horses. When an equestrian team goes to another school, they ride that team's horses. At a meet, the horses are assigned by  random drawing, so the home team doesn't get to pick their favorites. That still seems like a huge home-team advantage but with the experienced riders and well trained horses involved it works out quite well.

[slot canyon 1,332]

6 hours ago, Mikey said:

The school provides and maintains the horses for the team . The horses belong to the school. Each school with a team has their own horses. When an equestrian team goes to another school, they ride that team's horses. At a meet, the horses are assigned by  random drawing, so the home team doesn't get to pick their favorites. That still seems like a huge home-team advantage but with the experienced riders and well trained horses involved it works out quite well.

Never been to an equestrian event but wondered about how an "away" event was handled.  That's some interesting insight and impressive if you win using the home teams mounts. So it really is about the rider.  Good stuff....thanks.

[Mikey 16,565]

2 hours ago, slot canyon said:

Never been to an equestrian event but wondered about how an "away" event was handled.  That's some interesting insight and impressive if you win using the home teams mounts. So it really is about the rider.  Good stuff....thanks.

Try to go to an AU home meet, it's worth the time. Free, at the AU horse unit opposite the Vet school on Wire Road.

[slot canyon 1,332]

9 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Try to go to an AU home meet, it's worth the time. Free, at the AU horse unit opposite the Vet school on Wire Road.

Funny you should post the above.  My wife and I just finished watching about 30 minutes of AU equestrian video on YouTube.  We were impressed.  I especially like some of the western stuff.  Our primary interest is in softball but I noticed on Feb 15 AU vs Baylor in equestrian at 11 Am and softball double header starting at 2:30.  Weather permitting sounds like something we might be able to attend  for a fun, educational day.  

[Mikey 16,565]

6 minutes ago, slot canyon said:

Funny you should post the above.  My wife and I just finished watching about 30 minutes of AU equestrian video on YouTube.  We were impressed.  I especially like some of the western stuff.  Our primary interest is in softball but I noticed on Feb 15 AU vs Baylor in equestrian at 11 Am and softball double header starting at 2:30.  Weather permitting sounds like something we might be able to attend  for a fun, educational day.  

Beautiful girls, beautiful horses, wonderful arena, what's not to like? As a student at AU,  I got a 20 hour per week student job working at that horse unit. No-one who was familiar with what it was back then can believe what a fantastic venue it has become. Hope y'all enjoy yourselves.

[tigerman1186 537]

5 hours ago, Mikey said:

Beautiful girls, beautiful horses, wonderful arena, what's not to like? As a student at AU,  I got a 20 hour per week student job working at that horse unit. No-one who was familiar with what it was back then can believe what a fantastic venue it has become. Hope y'all enjoy yourselves.

Just a follow up....how many horses are needed for a meet??? How many horses does Auburn have in its 'stable' for the equestrian team???? Also, since there is no admission, where do they receive their funding??? I'm sure it take A LOT to keep them feed, etc.... 

[Mikey 16,565]

8 hours ago, tigerman1186 said:

Just a follow up....how many horses are needed for a meet??? How many horses does Auburn have in its 'stable' for the equestrian team???? Also, since there is no admission, where do they receive their funding??? I'm sure it take A LOT to keep them feed, etc.... 

The biggest part of the funding comes through the Athletic Department. Then, like almost every sport there are donors. Pat Dye gave Equestrian $500,000 to get it jump-started some years ago.

I've never counted the horses, exactly. I'm guessing that the competition herd numbers about 25 head. There are always reserves needed due to injury, etc. Also, Animal Science and Veterinary students use the horses in teaching labs, so some of the funding comes from the university's general funds. Back when I worked there the herd was about 20 horses total, but that was before there was an Equestrian team.

It can be tough on horses and riders, that's part of the reason for the split seasons. I remember the story about Tommy Tuberville walking through the physical therapy clinic for athletes and saying to the Equestrian coach: "You've got more kids in here than I do!".

[slot canyon 1,332]

6 hours ago, Mikey said:

The biggest part of the funding comes through the Athletic Department. Then, like almost every sport there are donors. Pat Dye gave Equestrian $500,000 to get it jump-started some years ago.

I've never counted the horses, exactly. I'm guessing that the competition herd numbers about 25 head. There are always reserves needed due to injury, etc. Also, Animal Science and Veterinary students use the horses in teaching labs, so some of the funding comes from the university's general funds. Back when I worked there the herd was about 20 horses total, but that was before there was an Equestrian team.

It can be tough on horses and riders, that's part of the reason for the split seasons. I remember the story about Tommy Tuberville walking through the physical therapy clinic for athletes and saying to the Equestrian coach: "You've got more kids in here than I do!".

It  appears that in the close competition yesterday with #4 Fresno State (AU won 10-8) there were 25 horses listed and roughly 4 were used in rides that were not a part of the scoring competition.  

[AURex 1,990]

Equestrian as a sport is a loss leader. Supported by revenues from FB and BB.

As a sport, Equestrian generated zero real revenue in  2019, other than about $1000 in stuff in the category of concessions, tee shirts, parking, etc. The team received $33,569 last year in donations. Total Operating Revenue was  $251,825. Not sure where all that revenue came from.

But 2019 Equestrian Expenses were logged by AU as
$110,202 for coaches
$164,658 for two assistant coaches
$179,467 for support staff, admin, etc
$50,214 for recruiting
$165,504 for travel
and (maybe a typo, maybe not) $2,074,131 total operating expenses

So I'm thinking that a lot of the operating expenses come from scholarships for equestrian riders, and for care and maintenance of the horses. But I don't really have numbers for the program beyond what I've listed.

 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

12 hours ago, AURex said:

and (maybe a typo, maybe not) $2,074,131 total operating expenses

So I'm thinking that a lot of the operating expenses come from scholarships for equestrian riders, and for care and maintenance of the horses. But I don't really have numbers for the program beyond what I've listed.

 

I doubt that is a typo.  I don't know how many horses they have but I could easily see costs for care & maintenance of the horses, equipment & facilities over $2m.  

[augolf1716 21,101]

9 hours ago, LKEEL75 said:

I doubt that is a typo.  I don't know how many horses they have but I could easily see costs for care & maintenance of the horses, equipment & facilities over $2m.  

Insurance on horses ain't cheap and I would assume they insure the horses

[LKEEL75 2,566]

2 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

Insurance on horses ain't cheap and I would assume they insure the horses

Oh they absolutely have insurance on them.