Auburn Equestrian Eyes Seventh National Championship in Ocala

The Tigers Will Face SMU in First Round of the Three-Day Tournament

Auburn Athletics

College equestrian’s biggest prize will be up for grabs this weekend, and a loaded Auburn squad is one of the favorites to take it home.

Auburn didn’t enjoy the usual dominant regular season that’s become custom the past few years. Three times Head Coach Greg Williams’ bunch found themselves watching another team celebrate at the end of a meet.

But even with those losses, Auburn put together the second-best record in the nation, behind only top-ranked Oklahoma State.

Then three weeks ago, Auburn defeated Texas A&M to win a record fourth-straight SEC title and reaffirmed themselves as one of the leading contenders to raise the National Championship trophy on Saturday.

Auburn Takes a Loaded Roster Into the Tournament

In an equestrian meet, each event is limited to five riders. Over half of Auburn’s projected lineup has earned first-team, second-team All-American awards, or were honorable mentions.

Here are some of the (many) Tiger riders to keep an eye on this week:
FENCES: Emma Kurtz, Ava Stearns, and Ellie Ferrigno
FLAT: Kurtz, Stearns, Ferrigno, and Helen Ulrich
HORSEMANSHIP: Deanna Green, Taylor Searles, Olivia Tordoff, and Madison Parduhn
REINING: Searles

You can probably tell from that list Auburn will have an advantage over most teams in every event except Reining. The Tigers’ plan is to likely take what they can get in that event, and then lean heavily on the other three to advance.

Who the Tigers Will Face

The single-elimination tournament begins Thursday, April 13 at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.

As the 2-seed, Auburn will meet 7-seed SMU in the quarterfinals. Auburn defeated the Mustangs 11-7 when the two teams met in October, but I expect this meet could be even closer.

SMU is probably under-seeded in this tournament. Auburn Coach Williams admitted as much on last Thursday’s Tiger Talk when asked about the matchup: “It’s just surprising to me that they winded up this low of a seed. They’re the best of the low-seeded teams.”

Here are the SMU riders Auburn will be most concerned about on Thursday:
FENCES: Devin Seek, Elli Yeager
FLAT: Taylor Madden
HORSEMANSHIP: Nya Kearns, Payton Neiberger, Mallory Vroegh
REINING: Taylor Zimmerman

The Rest of the Field

After defeating the Mustangs, Auburn would face the winner of 3-seed Texas A&M and 6-seed Baylor in Friday’s semifinals. Those two teams split their pair of regular-season meets, and each would pose challenges for Auburn. Baylor boasts a very strong Reining squad, while A&M relies on their powerful Horsemanship lineup to give them the edge over most opponents.

Top-seeded Oklahoma State is expected to advance over 8-seed Fresno State in their quarterfinal meet but would face stiff competition in a semifinal meet against the winner of 4-seed TCU and 5-seed Georgia.

TCU has the country’s best Reining squad and will hope that gives them enough of an edge in Ocala.

Georgia has a lineup resembling Auburn’s in sheer talent. The Bulldogs excel in Fences, Flat, and Reining, and despite their relatively low seeding are probably the dark horse pick to win it all.

How to Follow the Action

Fans can follow the live-action online at the NCEA’s Tournament Central page.

The tournament will be live-streamed through the league’s online partner, Horse & Country. There is a fee involved, but for $10/ month you could subscribe and watch the top collegiate programs square off at one of the sport’s premier venues.

Most teams’ official social media accounts will post live updates throughout the action. Auburn Equestrian’s twitter account is very good at keeping fans informed of the scoring as it happens.

And of course, I’ll be at the tournament giving my own set of updates and analysis, which I post through my Twitter account as well.

Want to Learn More About the Sport?

Heading into the SEC Tournament, I wrote a pretty comprehensive preview that answers most casual fans’ questions about Auburn Equestrian and how the sport works. Check it out for more details.

But whatever your interest level, you’re sure to appreciate the excitement surrounding Auburn Equestrian’s ride to win another national championship.

Thankyouverymuch.