AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 3 Auburn equestrian team will close out the 2023-24 season at the National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championships this week, April 18-20, at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.
"We're excited to be in Ocala again and are ready to compete for another championship," head coach Jessica Braswell said. "There are eight great teams that will be here competing, and it will be a battle until the very end, which is something we're excited to be a part of it.
"Coaches Taylor Searles and Emma Kurtz have been running great practices these last couple of weeks and the team is prepared for what lies ahead. We came out of SECs with good confidence and want to build on that this week."
The Tigers (9-5) are the No. 3 seed after coming off their sixth-straight Southeastern Conference title last month. The team will take on No. 6 seed Oklahoma State at 1:30 p.m. CT Thursday. The Tigers are looking to capture their seventh national crown this week.
"Oklahoma State is going to be a great opponent for us," Braswell said. "They've had a similar year as us this year, experiencing some ups and downs throughout. They went to their conference championship and took down the No. 1 team in the country to win their fourth-straight Big 12 title. It's going to be a great competition on the first day and we're going to have to bring our best."
Fans can find all things nationals, including live scoring links, live stream link, schedule of events and results on the tournament central page found HERE.
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn lineup will look similar to the one from the 2024 SEC Championship, where the Tigers captured their sixth-straight conference crown.
Auburn's Jumping Seat crew will be the same for both Fences and Flat this weekend.
Fifth year and All-American Ava Stearns along with senior and All-American Ellie Ferrigno lead the way. Stearns is 18-5-1 overall between Fences and Flat, having nine wins in each event. She was placed on the All-SEC team for both Fences and Flat for her efforts this season.
Ferrigno earned All-SEC in Fences, having 10 wins for the Tigers.
Junior All-Americans Mary-Grace Segars and Sophee Steckbeck will also ride for the squad in Fences and Flat. Steckbeck was named the SEC Rider of the Year in Fences, holding a team-best 12-2-0 record. Highlighting Segars year so far are her eight wins in Fences for the squad.
Freshman Avery Glynn will get the starting nod in both Fences and Flat in her first national championship. The SEC Freshman Flat Rider of the Year has 14 total wins on the season with eight in Fences and six in Flat.
On the Western side, Reining will go first and will be highlighted by a wealth of experience.
Seniors Kate Buchanan, Olivia Marino and Isabella Tesmer are set to lead the group with sophomores Caroline Buchanan and Alexia Tordoff joining. Tesmer, the SEC Reining Rider of the Year and All-American in the event, has a 13-1-0 record in the event with three MOPs.
Caroline Buchanan is second on the team with six wins in the event, while Kate, Marino and Tordoff each have five victories.
In Horsemanship, the Tigers are led by Tordoff and classmate Caroline Fredenburg. The pair each have a 10-3-1 record and were named second team All-Americans this season. Fredenburg earned All-SEC honors and was also placed on the SEC All-Championship Team last month.
Joining the duo will be senior All-American Madison Parduhn and freshmen Alexis Potts and Sydney Swallom. Potts has eight wins in her first season on the Plains and was named the SEC Freshman Horsemanship Rider of the Year last week. Parduhn and Swallom each went undefeated at the SEC Championship in March.