April 24, 2018
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - A week at Auburn's equestrian camp as a 13-year-old was all it took to chart Alexa Rivard's path to the Plains.
"Got in a car with my dad to drive home and said, 'Dad, this is where I want to be. This is what I want to do." Rivard said, recalling what attracted her so strongly to Auburn from Suwanee, Georgia.
"The coaching staff, and just walking around campus, and just feeling so at home away from home," Rivard said. "I didn't look anywhere else. I didn't want to go anywhere else. This is where I wanted to be."
Nearly a decade later, Rivard earned a spot on the All-Championship Reining team after helping lead Auburn to its fifth national championship Saturday, an accomplishment the equestrian team celebrated Tuesday evening at Toomer's Corner.
"An incredible feeling," Rivard said, her teammates throwing toilet paper into the trees behind her. "It is our second time rolling Toomer's and it just keeps getting better and better. I cannot wait to see the girls bring home more championships so I can come back and do this again with them."
Auburn defeated Georgia 10-5 in the final in Waco, Texas.
"We were all confident in each other," Rivard said. "We knew, and we truly believed that the next girl going in the ring behind me has my back. She's going to get her point, all I need to do is get my point. And it worked out pretty well, I'd say."
Rivard will now cheer for her returning teammates, the same way former Auburn equestrian standout Elizabeth Benson did this season in her role as a graduate assistant coach.
"The Bo Jackson of equestrian [as Auburn coach Greg Williams referred to Benson] is my best friend," said senior Hunt Seat Caitlin Creel. "Having that kind of greatness around you really makes you want to do it.
"She was with me on Saturday when we won. I'd just like to share that special moment, as a senior, it's really incredible, and I really hope every single one of these girls gets to experience that, and I fully believe they can."
Williams, who built Auburn's program from the dirt up, spoke to the crowd, thanking his staff and student-athletes for the long hours they invested to achieve the title.
"You're always dreaming of these times," he said. "But we all know deep down, it's about building a team, it's about building character, it's about doing things right. We've just got to trust that more times than not we're going to get rewarded for it.
"It's so good to see a team that has earned it, has a talent for it and should win, get to win, because it doesn't always have to work out that way."
"It just keeps getting better and better."
🗣@alexa_riv33
Attending an @AuburnEQ camp as a 13-year-old, Alexa locked in on AU.
"This is where I wanted to be." pic.twitter.com/tLCaAzAfnz-- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) April 25, 2018
"This celebration was incredible."
🗣@caitlin_creel on @AuburnEQ Toomer's Corner 🎉 🎈 (and her roommate/former teammate @ebenson759 pic.twitter.com/RlaU2o38Wj-- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) April 24, 2018
"You're always dreaming of these times."
🗣@GregWilliamsAU on @AuburnEQ Toomer's celebration after national championship. pic.twitter.com/SxTslaWprm-- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) April 24, 2018
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer