PrintMaybe it was because Anna Schierholz donned the socks she’s worn annually since her team last won the hunter seat title three years ago. Perhaps it was because Maggie McAlary methodically gave her wristwatch to her mother to hold each time she entered the ring. Or possibly it was due to the team’s hearty pre-finals dinner that included fried chicken, meatballs and macaroni and cheese.
Good-luck rituals aside, Auburn University (Ala.) drew upon the strengths and skills of its riders to win both the hunter seat bracket and overall title (combined English and western squads) at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships on April 16 in Waco, Texas, catapulting them to the top of the 18 Division I equestrian teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The hunter seat reserve championship (and overall reserve championship) went to the Uni-versity of Georgia. Baylor University (Texas) claimed third place in the hunter seat bracket.
Afterward, back at her team’s barn aisle, Auburn associate head coach Lindsay Neubarth was celebrating with her jubilant riders. The scene was awash in a sea of orange and blue as giddy Tigers fans, friends and relatives converged on the athletes.
“Our [No. 1 seed] hunter seat team had a 15-1 record for the year,” said a smiling Neubarth, “and we just came off winning the Southeastern Conference championship. It helped to follow that win and to luck out on drawing horses that matched the right riders so that they were able to perform beautifully on them.”
Neubarth also credited team unity as a significant contributor to Auburn’s performance. “They really just chose
to come together as a team,” she explained, “both hunter seat and western. What really made the difference was their poise, their control and their ability to handle the pressure—this year more than any other previous year. They don’t get rattled, whether it’s the SEC championships or walking into Nationals. They dust off their boots, and they’re ready to go.”
But the Auburn Tigers’ road to victory involved facing off against their most formidable foe. They advanced to the championship rounds (flat and fences) to meet the UGA Bulldogs, whose hunter seat team won the title the past two years, for a total of five times since the championships began in 2002. (Auburn won the hunter seat title in 2008.) UGA’s riders were not only looking to defend their VENC crown, but also to avenge their loss to Auburn in the SEC championships.
VENC finals day began with the flat phase, with Christina Lin, McAlary, Lindsay Portela and Grace Socha representing Auburn. UGA flat riders were Carly Anthony, Michelle Morris, Abby O’Mara and Grace Rogers. Following each rider’s execution of a difficult test on unfamiliar horses, Auburn was ahead by 3 points (Lin, McAlary and Portela), with Morris having scored the lone point for the Bulldogs.
As students began warming up horses for the fences phase in the Extraco Event Center’s indoor arena, the stands quickly filled to capacity. Emotions ran high as fight songs blared on the P.A. system, and school cheers were chanted at top volume.
Finally, the first rider (Anthony) entered the ring and laid down a smooth trip that earned a score of 85 from
