AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team won four SEC Rider of the Year awards and 12 Tigers were honored by the Southeastern Conference for their efforts this season as the league announced its postseason awards Monday.
"I'm so proud to see the team honored this way," head coach Greg Williams said. "Each of them has worked hard for this recognition. For Auburn to win half of the Rider of the Year honors is amazing. We tell our athletes at the beginning that we use only the team concept at Auburn, but the individual awards flow in because they buy into this concept."
Auburn won two Rider of the Year awards and finished with two Freshman Rider of the Year accolades.
In addition, Williams was selected as the Coach of the Year for the fifth-consecutive season. Under his guidance, Auburn won its fifth-straight conference championship in March.
"I'm honored to win this award in this prestigious conference," Williams said. "This award only comes because this team and staff strive to keep the long-term commitment to success that was started years ago. Auburn has a great future ahead of it."
Senior Maddie Spak was named the SEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year, marking the fifth-straight season a Tiger has won the award. The Waukesha, Wisconsin product stands at 10-1-2 on the year in the event and finished the regular season with a 4-0-2 mark against SEC opponents.
The All-American also was placed on the All-SEC team for the first time in her career.
Junior Ellie Ferrigno earned SEC Fences Rider of the Year, securing Auburn's fifth-consecutive award in the event. Ferrigno has an 11-2-0 record in Fences this year with six Most Outstanding Performer honors. She went 5-1-0 against the league in the event during the regular season.
In addition, Ferrigno was placed on the All-SEC team for both Fences and Flat. The Newtown, Connecticut product stands at 7-4-2 overall in Flat with a 3-2-1 mark in SEC play.
Alexia Tordoff secured Freshman Rider of the Year honors in both Horsemanship and Reining for the squad. The Powell, Ohio product put together a 9-3-1 record in Horsemanship and a 7-5-1 mark in Reining for the Tigers in her first year on the Plains.
Tordoff led the team with four Reining MOPs and had one in Horsemanship this season. She went 4-1-1 in Horsemanship against SEC opponents.
On top of that, Tordoff was named All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman in Horsemanship and earned a spot on the All-Freshman team in Reining.
All five of Auburn's Jumping Seat riders were placed on the All-SEC squad this season with Ferrigno and graduate Emma Kurtz securing a spot on both Fences and Flat.
Kurtz has a 10-2-1 mark in Fences and a 9-3-1 record in Flat. She's totaled three MOPs in Flat and one in Fences this season. The Hudson, Ohio product finished 4-1-1 in Fences against the league in the regular season and put together an undefeated mark in Jumping Seat at the SEC Championship.
Senior Ava Stearns and sophomore Sophee Steckbeck were each placed on the Fences team. The pair each have an 11-2-0 record in the event, while Stearns has four Fences MOPs on the year.
Sophomore Mary-Grace Segars earned a spot on the Flat team for the Tigers. The Canton, Georgia product is 9-4-0 in the event with two MOPs on the year. She finished 4-2-0 against SEC opponents in the regular season.
Joining Spak and Tordoff on the Horsemanship team was senior Olivia Tordoff. The elder Tordoff is 8-5-0 in the event with a team-best five MOPs.
Juniors Kate Buchanan and Isabella Tesmer picked up the first All-SEC honors of their careers in Reining. Tesmer has a team-best eight wins on the year and went undefeated at the SEC Championship, while Buchanan is 7-4-1 overall in the event.
Freshmen Caroline Fredenburg and Caroline Buchanan earned spots on the All-Freshman teams. Fredenburg put together a 7-6-0 mark in Horsemanship with a perfect record at the SEC Championship, while Buchanan has four wins in Reining for the squad.
