2019 - 2020 Equestrian

[gulftiger66 166]

I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to meet several members of the equestrian team at an Auburn Alumni Club social.  Here are some of my observations:

1). They come from all over the country.

2) They find Auburn, not vice versa.  Auburn's reputation as a great equestrian school is what brings them in.  I assume the coaches at AU go through applications to select who they want/need.  Maybe there is more to recruiting than that, but I don't know. 

3) The girls are extremely athletic and most have been riding since they were very young girls.   Most seem to come from well to do families and have their own horse(s), thanks to their fathers/grandfathers.  

4) Auburn's equestrian coach started the program and he still coaches them.  He Is obviously very talented and we're extremely lucky to have him.

5) The ladies are very attractive.  My wife says that I only picked out the most attractive to talk to but of course I disagree. I remember thinking that I wished that there had been an equestrian team at Auburn when I was in school.  Then I realized that even if there had been, they would probably have been out of my league.  But they were still very nice to this old man at the social and I appreciated that.

War Eagle, girls.  Keep up the good work.

[I_M4_AU 7,783]

Auburn beat UGA yesterday by a score of 12-8.

https://auburntigers.com/sports/equestrian/schedule?path=equest

[AURex 1,990]

Next up is Baylor. Auburn has a losing record against Baylor. Time to change that! Go EQ-Girls!

 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

51 minutes ago, AURex said:

Next up is Baylor. Auburn has a losing record against Baylor. Time to change that! Go EQ-Girls!

 

Well since 2012 we are 7-1 against them and haven’t lost overall in almost 2 years, I like our odds. 
 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

The girls last loss was in the SEC Championship in May of 2018. 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

No. 1 Tigers down No. 9 Baylor, 15- 4 AUBURN, Ala. –

The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team returned to the Plains for the first time in 2020 this Saturday and downed No. 9 Baylor, 15-4, at the Auburn University Equestrian Center. The win moved the Tigers to 11-0 on the season.

"Our practices have been incredible this week," head coach Greg Williams said. "We're not really missing a stride and they've actually picked it up this spring. They continue to make improvements where they need it and we're really coming together as a unit."

The Tigers enjoyed success in both Western and Jumping Seat, earning all four MOP honors in front of a great crowd.

"Auburn fans are the best," Williams said. "Our team just rides better because they want to perform well for the fans. They make a big difference for us."

"It was really awesome being home this weekend," sophomore McKayla Langmeier added. "We want to thank everyone coming out today and we love seeing the support."

The Western corps went 9-1 on the day, starting with a sweep in Horsemanship.

Junior Taylor Searles kicked off the event with 78 points in her win as she secured MOP honors for the third time this season. Senior Kara Kaufmann followed with a 75-74.5 edge over Kacie Scharf and freshman Maddie Spak bested her opponent by seven with 74 points. Junior Deanna Green scored a 76.5 in her 10th win of the season and freshman Olivia Tordoff closed out the event with a 75.5-69.5 victory.

The Reining corps capped the day with a 4-1 victory over the Bears. After Baylor picked up the first point, freshman Kayla Shelnutt followed with a 72.5 to best her opponent. Junior Terri-June Grangersecured her team-leading ninth win of the year with 73.5 points and freshman Jen Kasper extended her win streak to four with a 71.5-70 edge over Jenna Meimerstorf. Green earned MOP recognition with her 74.5-68 win.

Flat opened the day for Jumping Seat with three victories. Langmeier was awarded her fifth MOP of the year in the event with her 85-81 win. Classmate Emma Kurtz scored 82 points for her ride to take the team point and junior Taylor St. Jacques bested Caroline Weaver, 84-77. Freshman Ava Stearns and her opponent finished in a 91-91 tie.

The Tigers edged Baylor in Fences, 3-2, behind a big ride from St. Jacques. The Glen Allen, Va., product tied the team's best score of the season in the event with a 92 as she also took home MOP honors. Stearns opened Fences with an 86-83 victory and Langmeier bested her opponent, 87-81

Auburn takes a week off of competition before returning to the Auburn University Equestrian Center on Feb. 29. The Tigers face South Carolina in an SEC match up and the meet is set for 11 a.m. CT.

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

Equestrian 2/29/2020 3:41:00 PM

No. 1 Auburn extends winning streak with 13-5 win over No. 3 South Carolina

• FINAL RESULTS

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team put together another solid showing Saturday afternoon, downing No. 3 South Carolina at the Auburn University Equestrian Center, 13-5. The Tigers improved to 12-0 overall and 5-0 in Southeastern Conference action.

"I told the team today to just go out there and have fun and they really did," head coach Greg Williams said. "This team just keeps raising the bar. I hope we can do this in the postseason as well. They are just united as a team and if they keep that up, there is nothing that can stop us.

Another great crowd was on hand to see the team extend its winning streak to 33 meets.

"The fan support is absolutely incredible," junior Taylor St. Jacques said. "So many people come out and it's really special. We're really grateful for this community and all of our fans."

"The crowd was great today," junior Terri-June Granger added. "It means a lot to us having this support and we love the fans for being here for us."

The Tigers kicked off the meet with an 8-1 lead following Horsemanship and Flat.

"That was huge for us," Williams said. "It got the crowd into the meet early. Coach Mary Meneely and Coach Jessica Braswellare just incredible. Day in and day out, they have the team riding at such a high level and it showed from the start today."

The Horsemanship squad put together its second-straight meet without dropping a point as the crew went 4-0-1 vs. the Gamecocks. Freshman Maddie Spak tied her opponent with 72 points before junior Deanna Green scored a 76.5 for her team-leading 11th win on the year. The Ocala, Fla., product also earned MOP honors for her performance.

Junior Taylor Searles followed with a 74.5-69 win over SC's Caroline Gute. Freshman Olivia Tordoff continued to excel in the event, scoring a 75 to top her opponent by 6.5 points and earning her 10th win of the year. Senior Kara Kaufmann closed out the event with a 73-72 edge over Natalie Vargo.

The Auburn Flat corps finished 4-1 in the first half, starting with an 82-76 victory from freshman Ava Stearns. Sophomores Emma Kurtz and McKayla Langmeierfollowed with a pair of wins for the Tigers and junior Taylor St. Jacques capped the event with 87 points and the victory. St. Jacques was awarded MOP on her win, upping her season total to six in Flat.

Following intermission, the Fences squad went 3-2 vs. the Gamecocks to win the event. Stearns once again led off with a win, scoring an 81 to edge Grady Lyman's 78. Sophomore Meghan Knapic snapped her three-match skid with a 79-75 win over SC's Alice Kass. The Gamecocks took the next two points before St. Jacques sealed Jumping Seat action with another 87 and the team point.

The two teams split Reining, picking a pair of points apiece. Freshman Jen Kasper kept her unbeaten streak intact as she tied her opponent, 71.5-71.5. Searles, making her first official start in the event of her career, bested Sloane Vogt with 70.5 points.

The Gamecocks took the next point before junior Terri-June Granger earned her 10th victory of the season with a 71.5-70 win. Her performance also gave her MOP recognition. SC closed out the meet with a point in the last match up.

Auburn closes out the regular season at home, hosting nationally-ranked Texas A&M, March 7. The Tigers and the Aggies will face off at 11 a.m. CT at the Auburn University Equestrian Center and the team will honor its senior class during the meet.  

 

 

[AURex 1,990]

Equestrian 3/7/2020 4:47:00 PM

Top-ranked Tigers win regular season finale to remain unbeaten

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team capped a perfect regular season with a nail-biting win over No. 7 Texas A&M, edging the Aggies at the Auburn University Equestrian Center, 10-9. The victory moved the Tigers to 13-0 overall and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference.

"This team never quits," head coach Greg Williams said. "They stayed dialed in all the way through the last ride. We've been reminded why every point matters and we have to go after each one with that attitude. I have said since the start of the season that Texas A&M is a very good team and will ride hard. They did that today."

It all came down to the last ride Saturday afternoon as the teams were tied 9-9. Junior Terri-June Granger drew the final spot in Reining and went into the ring having to top Emmy-Lu Marsh's 70. The Dothan, Ala., product came away with a 70.5 to help the Tigers keep their perfect record intact.

"I would say I was slightly nervous given the situation," Granger said. "However, I felt very confident and comfortable with my horse and knew we could win. I had to win my point because this team deserved this win so I went in with the mindset we've carried all year long and rode for them. It was a great feeling winning the final point and hearing my team cheer when we knew we had won. I am thankful for all my teammates and am proud of how we all competed today."

Adding to the excitement was the recognition of Auburn's seven seniors during the meet – Emma Crosbie, Kara Kaufmann, Becky Kozma, Haley Pembroke, Anna Claire Smith, Caroline Walker, and Lillian Wagner.

Auburn held a 6-3 advantage at intermission after strong performances in Flat and Horsemanship.

The Flat corps finished 4-1 on the day and junior Taylor St. Jacques earned her second-straight MOP honor in the event and seventh overall. After the Aggies picked up the first match, sophomores McKayla Langmeier and Emma Kurtz followed with a pair of one-point victories. Freshman Ava Stearns followed with an 87-81 win over Kaitlyn Lovingfuss and St. Jacques sealed the event with 89 points in her 10-point victory.

The Tigers went 2-2-1 with the Aggies in Horsemanship, starting with a victory from junior Taylor Searles. Freshman Olivia Tordoff upped her win total to 11 on the season with a 76-74 win over Ashley Davidson and classmate Maddie Spak earned an important 72.5-72.5 tie with Alex Albright.

Auburn saw two wins in Fences from Kurtz and Langmeier. Kurtz topped Carolina Passarelli, 83-78, and Langmeier edged Lovingfuss, 79-77.

Freshman Kayla Shelnutt kicked off Reining with a 69-65.5 win for the Tigers and Granger ended the event with her 70.5-70 victory. With the win, Granger improved to 11-2-0 on the season to lead all Reining riders and earned her second-straight MOP recognition.

Auburn now looks to the postseason where it hopes to defend its Southeastern Conference title, March, 27-28. The league meet will be held in Bishop, Ga., and is hosted by Georgia.

 

[AURex 1,990]

The SEC and NCEA Championship meets have been canceled.

Since Auburn Equestrian went undefeated for the season and defeated every other team ranked in the top 10, should Auburn claim the National Championship for the 2019-2020 season? [Reminder: This is not a sport with recognized NCAA championship.]

 

[steeleagle 2,945]

15 hours ago, AURex said:

The SEC and NCEA Championship meets have been canceled.

Since Auburn Equestrian went undefeated for the season and defeated every other team ranked in the top 10, should Auburn claim the National Championship for the 2019-2020 season? [Reminder: This is not a sport with recognized NCAA championship.]

 

No. If it isn't played then no one had the opportunity to win it.

We won what we won. And any championship not played should remain vacant. 

[AURex 1,990]

6 hours ago, steeleagle said:

No. If it isn't played then no one had the opportunity to win it.

We won what we won. And any championship not played should remain vacant. 

You are obviously not a Bammer. hahaha

Well, at least Auburn was the 2019-2020 regular season champion. Undefeated in SEC.

 

 

[steeleagle 2,945]

16 hours ago, AURex said:

You are obviously not a Bammer. hahaha

Well, at least Auburn was the 2019-2020 regular season champion. Undefeated in SEC.

 

 

Ha. HEck no. It's interesting that they have won far more National Championships than SEC Championships. I think it's like 6 or 7 to 2. 

I know there has to be so many colleges that offer this sport for NCAA to sanction it. I wonder how close they are in numbers to making that happen? Probably not many schools that have the capability of having horse facilities.

And I can't believe that the Blue Grass state school and home of the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky, of all schools doesn't have an equestrian team.

[AURex 1,990]

Last time I counted, there were 30 Vet schools in the U.S. Mostly at land-grant universities. Yes, you'd think there would be more that offer equestrian, especially in horse country states like Kentucky and Virginia. There are currently 17 Division I equestrian programs. Some in pretty unexpected places, like Brown (R.I.), Cornell (NY), Sacred Heart (Conn.), South Dakota State, Delaware State, etc. And there are 8 Division II and III schools. I don't know how many Div I schools woukd be required to get NCAA listed. Do you?

 

[steeleagle 2,945]

3 hours ago, AURex said:

Last time I counted, there were 30 Vet schools in the U.S. Mostly at land-grant universities. Yes, you'd think there would be more that offer equestrian, especially in horse country states like Kentucky and Virginia. There are currently 17 Division I equestrian programs. Some in pretty unexpected places, like Brown (R.I.), Cornell (NY), Sacred Heart (Conn.), South Dakota State, Delaware State, etc. And there are 8 Division II and III schools. I don't know how many Div I schools woukd be required to get NCAA listed. Do you?

 

I think I read there has to be 40 division I and II schools to be sanctioned. 
considering it involves using an animal as a part of the sport you would think the NCAA would allow it to be lifted or lowered. 
 

but maybe it’s no big deal what the organization is that runs it as long as they have competition and championship criteria  

 

[Mikey 16,565]

11 hours ago, steeleagle said:

I know there has to be so many colleges that offer this sport for NCAA to sanction it. I wonder how close they are in numbers to making that happen? Probably not many schools that have the capability of having horse facilities.

In Alabama, Montevallo University and Judson College have equestrian teams that compete at their levels. A friend's daughter got a scholarship to a JUCO in Texas that has a team. I think there are more around than we might suspect but not that many that can compete at the level of AU, Baylor, UGA and so forth.

[AURex 1,990]

Here are the Equestrian teams that are members of the NCEA (National Collegiate Equestrian Association). This is the organization that sponsors championship competition.

https://collegiateequestrian.com/sports/2019/5/2/EQUEST_0502195449.aspx

There are a lot more schools that are members of the IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association). Scroll down this page.

http://www.scholarshipstats.com/equestrian.html

Whew! Look at how much Auburn offers for scholarships! No wonder we attract top riders.

 

[steeleagle 2,945]

13 hours ago, AURex said:

Here are the Equestrian teams that are members of the NCEA (National Collegiate Equestrian Association). This is the organization that sponsors championship competition.

https://collegiateequestrian.com/sports/2019/5/2/EQUEST_0502195449.aspx

There are a lot more schools that are members of the IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association). Scroll down this page.

http://www.scholarshipstats.com/equestrian.html

Whew! Look at how much Auburn offers for scholarships! No wonder we attract top riders.

 

Here is an interesting article related to your information.

It's an Alabama article but read it all as it references Auburn having the wealthiest Equestrian program and raises more money for it than any of the other sports programs at Auburn. Interesting..

https://wvua23.com/university-of-alabama-halts-equestrian-team-funding/

[Mikey 16,565]

2 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Here is an interesting article related to your information.

It's an Alabama article but read it all as it references Auburn having the wealthiest Equestrian program and raises more money for it than any of the other sports programs at Auburn. Interesting..

https://wvua23.com/university-of-alabama-halts-equestrian-team-funding/

I question a good bit of that last article. Lisa Dorsey is not AU's head coach, she's the director of the Equestrian center as well as an assistant coach. Secondly, I seriously question that Equestrian raises more money than football, basketball and so forth. I'm fairly certain that's not correct. Annually, it costs more to maintain JHS than it did to build the entire Equestrian complex. As to the Mississippi coach's remarks, that sounds like sour grapes. Since EQ is a rich man's sport, why doesn't Ol' Miss have a better team than AU? They produce a lot of lawyers and doctors over there.

In the final analysis, Bammer couldn't compete and win against AU, UGA, A&M and so forth so they decided to pick up their marbles and go home. Typical UAT move.

[Mikey 16,565]

16 hours ago, AURex said:

Whew! Look at how much Auburn offers for scholarships! No wonder we attract top riders.

That's the amount that every full scholarship at AU is worth. Some athletes, like football and basketball, get the whole amount. Others, baseball, softball, equestrian and so forth share partial scholarships.

[steeleagle 2,945]

 

19 hours ago, Mikey said:

I question a good bit of that last article. Lisa Dorsey is not AU's head coach, she's the director of the Equestrian center as well as an assistant coach. Secondly, I seriously question that Equestrian raises more money than football, basketball and so forth. I'm fairly certain that's not correct. Annually, it costs more to maintain JHS than it did to build the entire Equestrian complex. As to the Mississippi coach's remarks, that sounds like sour grapes. Since EQ is a rich man's sport, why doesn't Ol' Miss have a better team than AU? They produce a lot of lawyers and doctors over there.

In the final analysis, Bammer couldn't compete and win against AU, UGA, A&M and so forth so they decided to pick up their marbles and go home. Typical UAT move.

I think it is a little confusing because of how we look at the Auburn Equestrian team, but the article is right about Lisa Dorsey. They are referring to the IHSA when talking about her. Here is a link showing her the Auburn University IHSA Head Coach AND Greg Williams as the Auburn University Equestrian Head Coach. 

https://www.auburnequestriancamp.com/camp-staff.html

[Mikey 16,565]

22 hours ago, steeleagle said:

I think it is a little confusing

I'm easily confused anyway, so confusing me on this one was easy!

[Tigermike 3,022]

The Auburn equestrian team dominated the sport from start to finish in 2020.

link

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

CLAIM IT!!!!!

[AUBwins 10,068]

1 hour ago, AlaskanFAN said:

CLAIM IT!!!!!

If there was ever a claim to a title not fought over, it would be our Equestrian team still undefeated after going undefeated last year. Champ until proven otherwise. 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

SEC decides to recognize Auburn as conference champion

AUBURN, Alabama – The SEC was unable to conduct its SEC championships in equestrian, but the conference decided Tuesday to crown Auburn as the conference champion.

Auburn was rewarded the Tigers their third overall title, including their second straight, despite the SEC canceling the championship because of coronavirus pandemic. Auburn was undefeated heading into the postseason for the second straight year and was the favorite to win the program's seventh national title.

“I didn’t know how we could have ever topped a year like last year, but this team found a way,” head coach Greg Williams said in a statement. “Finishing the regular season as the No. 1 team and No. 1 in every event puts an exclamation point on the meaning of a perfect season. Being a member of the SEC is an honor alone and having the conference present such a coveted trophy to this outstanding group of young women makes me beyond proud.”

 

Auburn becamse the first NCEA equestrian team to finish a season undefeated in history in 2019 and was on pace to do so again in 2020.

The 2019-20 Tigers finished the year with a 13-0 overall record and a 6-0 mark in conference action. Auburn outscored its league opponents, 76-41, over six meets and picked up 17 of a possible 24 MOPs honors vs. the SEC. 

 

Auburn finished first in all five national rankings announced by the NCEA. The Tigers finished the season No. 1 in the overall team rankings following another perfect season. 

Auburn finished first nationally in Flat, Fences, Horsemanship and Reining. Williams believed Auburn would win the national title before the season ended prematurely.

 

“I had this one this year, I felt like,” Williams says on an episode of The Social Club. “I feel like we can be good for a while because we really, a lot of it is because we had to. I’ve been blessed with a lot of good coaches around me at Auburn that have let me pick their brains all the time. If you just look at the history and you just follow the tracing of all the great coaching wisdom that goes down to each one of these coaches here through the years, I try to fast-froward that into our sport. I pick their brains like crazy. I feel like the culture we’ve got is going to be sustainable for a while. We’ve got an incredible staff. This town and university are great for this sport. Most of the people are really from all over the country and really didn’t know much of anything about Auburn, but when they come and see it, they fall in love with it. It’s a great fit for our sport.”

https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/SEC-decides-to-recognize-Auburn-equestrian-as-2020-conference-champion-146304687/