AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team will close out the 2021-22 season at the National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championships this week, April 14-16, at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.
"We feel good and have been riding well," head coach Greg Williams said. "We're back to five judges and five riders so we're looking forward to making a run. We need to ride like we did at the SEC Championship and are continuing to get better. If we ride like we're capable of, it's going to be a great week."
The Tigers (10-3) are the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 7 seed SMU at 1:30 p.m. CT Thursday.
"SMU is an extremely good team," Williams said. "They are a much better team than where they are ranked and that's who we open with. I look for this to be a tough match up to start and we'll need to be ready."
FAN INFORMATION
General admission and parking for the three-day championship is FREE.
FAN FEST – WEDNESDAY
There will be a Fan Fest Wednesday, April 13, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. ET. A bouncy house, face painting and autograph signing by student-athletes will be available for fans in attendance.
For more information, please visit the NCEA Championship website HERE.
AUBURN LINEUP
Auburn will have a wealth of experience in the lineup this weekend on the road highlighted by four fifth years, one senior and four juniors.
Western will be led by a trio of fifth years in Taylor Searles, Deanna Green and Terri-June Granger. Searles and Green will ride in both Horsemanship and Reining, while Granger is set to compete in Reining.
Searles leads the team with a 11-1-1 mark in Horsemanship with a 8-5-0 record in Reining. She was recently named the SEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year and secured All-SEC recognition in both Horsemanship and Reining.
Green is 4-0-1 in Horsemanship for the squad and went undefeated at the SEC Championship in Reining. For her efforts, she was placed on the SEC All-Championship Team.
Joining the pair in Horsemanship will be juniors Olivia Tordoff and Maddie Spak. Tordoff leads the team with eight MOPs and secured All-SEC recognition. Sophomore Madison Parduhn, who is 9-4-0 in the event, will also ride and was also placed on the All-SEC team.
Also competing in Reining will be junior Boo Kammerer and sophomore Isabella Tesmer. The pair both have five wins in the event this year.
The Jumping Seat side will be led by senior Emma Kurtz as she is set to compete in Fences and Flat. Kurtz was named the SEC Fences Rider of the Year after putting together a 13-2-1 mark in the event. She also secured All-SEC recognition in Flat with an 11-4-1 record.
Joining her in both events will be junior Ava Stearns, sophomore Ellie Ferrigno and freshman Sophee Steckbeck. Stearns has a team-best 25 wins on the year, while Ferrigno has 23. The duo joined Kurtz on the Fences and Flat All-SEC teams.
Steckbeck was honored as the SEC Freshman Rider of the Year in both Fences and Flat. She has 17 victories this season so far.
Freshman Mary-Grace Segars will ride Fences for the Tigers, having a perfect record in the event this year. Fifth year Helen Ulrich is down for Flat and heads into the weekend with a 7-5-0 mark.
