April 21, 2018
WACO, Texas ââ'¬" The 2018 edition of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association Championship featured seven possible chances to take home a trophy. The Auburn equestrian team took home five of them Saturday in the Extraco Event Center in Waco, Texas.
"This was a big day for our program," head coach Greg Williams said. "As great as Auburn is, this really makes a statement on what coach Jessica Braswell and coach Mary Meneely are doing both at practice and in competition for this team. I have two of the best position coaches in the country. We have a bright future with what we're doing in Auburn."
The Tigers advanced to all four event finals ââ'¬" Equitation Over Fences, Reining, Equitation on the Flat, and Horsemanship. The newly expanded NCEA format includes four team-seeded brackets as squads compete for four event titles. Auburn was seeded second in both Equitation on the Flat and Horsemanship, while earning a No. 3 seed in Equitation Over Fences and Reining.
All four events concluded in a 2-2, relying on the raw score to determine the winner.
In Equitation Over Fences, freshman Taylor St. Jacques and junior Caitlin Boyle picked up wins in the event to finish the full week undefeated individually. After No. 5 Oklahoma State narrowly took the first point, St. Jacques, of Glen Allen, Va., edged Katie Schell, 169-168, and locked it at 1-1. OSU responded with another narrow victory before Boyle bested her opponent by 22 points (171-149) to seal the raw score win.
The Tigers also captured the Horsemanship event title after defeating the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in raw score. Highlighting the match was freshman Deanna Green's ride in the first face off. Her opponent, Madison Anger, opened the event with a big score of 152. Green buckled down and rode to a 153 to earn the team's first point. The Bulldogs responded with a 144-140.5 win before redshirt junior Kelsey Jung outscored her opponent, 149-142.5. Sophomore Kara Kaufmann put up a solid score of 145, but was bested by Payton Anderson's 148 to tie the match at 2-2. The Tigers held to take the match with a 587.5-586.5 raw score win.
It was another nail biter in Reining where the third-ranked Tigers faced No. 4 Texas A&M. Senior Alexa Rivard was just edged out by Madison Bohman, 144.5-144, as the Aggies took the first point. Junior Blair McFarlin gave Auburn the advantage with a 139.5-138 win, but TAMU moved ahead at 2-1 with a 144.5-137.5 victory. Freshman Terri-June Granger locked the match at 2-2 with a 141-135.5 win over Darby Gardner. The Aggies, however, took home the Reining title by .5 points, 562.5-562.
The final event of the day was Equitation on the Flat as top-ranked Georgia and No. 2 Auburn battled for the last time this year. St. Jacques put an exclamation on her solid first year on the Plains with a 169-148 win over Grace Bridges. A pair of Bulldogs followed with back-to-back wins before Boyle claimed the final point of the week, 177-173. Georgia took advantage of an Auburn 0 to win in raw score.
In addition to the national championship earlier in the day and two individual titles, Auburn also claimed both the overall Hunt Seat and the overall Western crowns after advancing all four event squads to the event finals.
The NCEA also recognized its All-Championship team at the conclusion of the busy week. St. Jacques and Boyle each earned a spot on both the Flat and Fences teams. St. Jacques was undefeated in both events, while Boyle only dropped one point in Flat. Iannotti joined the pair on the Flat team, while Alexander was placed on the Fences squad.
Rivard was honored with a placement on the All-Championship Reining team.
EQUITATION OVER FENCES
vs. Oklahoma State ââ'¬" W, 2-2 (677-658)
Abigail Brayman (OSU) def. Hayley Iannotti (AU), 173-171
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Katie Schell (OSU), 169-168
Carly Barrick (OSU) def. Ashton Alexander (AU), 168-166
Caitlin Boyle (AU) def. Hanna Janson (OSU), 171-149
HORSEMANSHIP
vs. Georgia ââ'¬" W, 2-2 (587.5-586.5)
Deanna Green (AU) def. Madison Anger (UGA), 153-152
Graysen Stroud (UGA) def. Taylor Searles (AU), 144-140.5
Kelsey Jung (AU) def. Bailey Anderson (UGA), 149-142.5
Payton Anderson (UGA) def. Kara Kaufmann (AU), 148-145
REINING
vs. Texas A&M ââ'¬" L, 2-2 (562.5-562)
Madison Bohman (TAMU) def. Alexa Rivard (AU), 144.5-144
Blair McFarlin (AU) def. Kalee McCann (TAMU), 139.5-138
Ashton Dunkel (TAMU) def. Betsy Brown (AU), 144.5-137.5
Terri-June Granger (AU) def. Darby Gardner (TAMU), 141-135.5
EQUITATION ON THE FLAT
vs. Georgia ââ'¬" L, 2-2 (668-516)
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Grace Bridges (UGA), 169-148
Addyson Cord (UGA) def. Ashton Alexander (AU), 170-0
Maddy Darst (UGA) def. Hayley Iannotti (AU), 177-170
Caitlin Boyle (AU) def. Madison Newman (UGA), 177-173
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