Georgia Equestrian Closes Out Fall Season Undefeated

Western Riders Sweep Berry 13-0

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia equestrian finished undefeated for the fourth consecutive fall season as it galloped past Berry College 25-5 in an all-day event on Sunday at the Animal Science Arena.

The western riders captured all 13 points to sweep Berry in both the horsemanship and reining events.

“I am so thrilled with the fact that we went undefeated,” said assistant coach Carly Veldman. “I always say, jokingly, that I want us to go undefeated, but I never actually expect it, especially with this many riders showing. The girls have worked so hard, and it has paid off.”

In seed one of horsemanship, senior Kara Preston and junior Andrea Turnbull both scored a 71 to lead all horsemanship riders on the afternoon. Turnbull would scoop up MVP honors in the event.

“Andrea (Turnbull) has been awesome for us all weekend,” said Veldman. “She has improved so much throughout the fall and gave a stellar performance. I wouldn’t have changed anything about it.”

Junior Kristy Akins also put forth a winning ride in seed one with a 69. The Bulldogs swept the second seed division 3-0. Leading the trio was sophomore Caitlin Tenewitz with a 70. Following just behind Tenewitz was junior Allie Hush and sophomore Lauren Moore who both posted a 69.5.

“The horsemanship competition was so great because most of those riders had never shown in western,” said Veldman. “It was so important for them to go out and have great rides, and that’s exactly what they did.”

The reining seed one division featured senior Tricia Fowler, junior Lindsey Stier and Turnbull. Fowler and Turnbull both scored a 69, while Stier roped in a 66. In addition, Fowler was the judge’s choice for the day’s reining MVP.

“Tricia (Fowler) totally deserved to be MVP today,” said Veldman. She took advantage of her schooling time and fixed the problems that the previous rider had on that horse. She had a really solid ride.”

Senior Tori Moore (69.5) and junior Catherine Pennington (68.5) secured the final two victories in reining for the Bulldogs in seed two of the event.

“This is the first time Tori (Moore) has ever competed in reining,” said Veldman. “It was really great to see her out there and made me proud as a coach to see all that hard work pay off.”

The English riders also enjoyed a successful day of competition tallying a final score of 12-5 over Berry.

“We had a very good competition here today,” said head coach Meghan Boenig. “It was a long day, but also a great way to finish out the fall season.”

In seed one of equitation over fences Berry took the 2-1 advantage. Junior Kaitlin Johnston scored the lone point for the Bulldogs with a 78. Following seed two, the score was all tied up at 3-3 with sophomores Allison Brock (83) and Lauren Kulwicki (85) registering wins for Georgia. Kulwicki was awarded with the event’s MVP award at the conclusion of the competition.

“Lauren (Kulwicki) did a great job today,” said Boenig. “She had a difficult horse to ride, but still rode very smart and very precisely.”

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the day in English after the third and final seed of equitation over fences. Both senior Leslie Immel (78) and sophomore Lauren Moore, who traditionally shows on the western side, (86) outpointed their Berry opponent to give the 2-0 edge to the home team.

Georgia was dominant in equitation on the flat winning with a combined total of 7-2. Senior Leslie Webb, sophomore Katie Hand and freshman Kate Johnson swept their competition in seed one winning 3-0. Hand tallied the highest score with a 79. Webb came in just behind her with a 77, while Johnson registered a 67.

Scoring the highest of all equitation on the flat riders for the afternoon was Kulwicki with an 82. Sophomore Alison Brock (81) joined her in the winner’s circle of the event’s second seed. Brock’s solid performance awarded her with equitation on the flat MVP honors.

“Alison doesn’t always have the easiest time on the flat, but today she nailed her pattern,” said head coach Meghan Boenig. “She had a great ride, and I am very proud of her.”

In the third seed senior Brooke Davidson (80.5) and Immel (72) recorded wins for the Bulldogs.

Georgia equestrian will begin its spring schedule on February 17, when it hosts the Auburn Tigers at the Animal Science Arena. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. (ET).

University of Georgia Athletics

Georgia Equestrian Closes Out Fall Season Undefeated

Related Videos