University of Georgia Athletics
Equestrian 2002-2003 Season Review
June 28, 2006 | Equestrian
First Season Closes with a Bang
Georgia's inaugural season of Equestrian was exciting enough in itself. The final month of the season, however, made it unforgettable.
This amazing streak started when the Bulldogs took first place at the Varsity National Championships in College Station, Texas on the weekend of April 18-19. The field of competing teams was comprised of nearly every school in the country which sponsors Equestrian as a varsity sport.
It continued the very next weekend, when Georgia took first-place honors at the Southern Equestrian Championship, a show in Athens that equated to competition for the SEC title. Participating were the three SEC schools that already have Equestrian on the varsity level - Georgia, Auburn and South Carolina - as well as three schools (Florida, Miss. State and Vanderbilt) whose programs hope someday to reach varsity status.
The season concluded at the IHSA nationals in Murfreesboro, Tenn. on the weekend of May 2-4. Three Georgia riders - Lizzie Newsome, Rebecca McNorrill and Ashley Slocumb - represented the Bulldogs. Slocumb, a freshman from Macon, placed third in the Individual Advanced Western Horsemanship class while Newsome finished eighth in Individual Walk-Trot-Canter.
Three Bulldogs Compete at IHSA Nationals
The first-ever season of Georgia Equestrian concluded in fine style on the weekend of May 2-4. Three Bulldog riders, juniors Lizzie Newsome and Rebecca McNorrill along with freshman Ashley Slocumb, competed at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships, held at the Tennessee Miller Arena in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Slocumb highlighted Georgia's effort by placing third among 15 riders in her classification: Individual Advanced Western Horsemanship. A freshman from Macon, Ga., she had also played key roles on the Bulldogs' two biggest victories of the season: the Varsity Nationals and the S.E.C. show in Athens.
Newsome, a junior from Washington, Ga., placed eighth from a field of 18 entries in her class: Individual Walk-Trot-Canter. She, along with McNorrill, had performed well through the qualifying shows. They qualified for the national show by finishing first and second at the zone competition April 6 in Statesboro, Ga.
UGA Wins Southern Championships
Georgia Equestrian won the Southern Equestrian Championships (S.E.C.) on April 26 edging Auburn by 48 points in front of a crowd of 300 spectators. This show served as a precursor to the SEC title competition, and it featured three schools that already have Equestrian on a varsity level - Georgia, South Carolina and Auburn - as well as three (Florida, Miss. State and Vanderbilt) that hope to achieve such status in the future.
At the conclusion of the dual matches, Georgia once again proved its dominance when the Bulldogs beat Florida with a point margin over 100-points. Ashley Greve and Jessica Wittmeyer posted high scores in their classes, English Equitation and Western Equitation, respectively. A score of 818.6 placed Georgia first for the seeding of the remainder of the competition.
In the finals, Georgia faced off against Auburn and South Carolina. As has been the trend this season, Georgia and Auburn were head to head the entire competition until Georgia surged ahead in the third round marking a 72-point margin with Auburn.
Collins Daye marked a high score in the English Equitation Over Fences class with 86-points out of 100. Sarah Meier had the day's high score of 62.9 in Western Reining, where low scores in the 40s were the average of the day. Ashley Slocumb topped her score from the morning matches by 10-points.
The final points for the championship are as follows: Georgia - 819.4, Auburn - 771.3, South Carolina 746.1.
Georgia Equestrian Wins National Crown
The Bulldogs Equestrian team won the Varsity National Championships outright as they outrode the top twelve varsity schools in the nation. Georgia outscored Oklahoma by three points< 42-39. Texas A&M placed third with 36 points.
The Bulldogs won the hunt seat competition overall and placed second in western behind Oklahoma. The Bulldogs win in the hunt seat division was secured by Collins Daye's winning ride in equitation on the flat. Stonehill then placed second and Texas A&M followed behind in third. In western, UGA's second place finish to Oklahoma was marked by a mere three points. Kansas State finished in third only one point behind Georgia.
"I felt very privileged walking out of the arena (at Texas A&M) since it is adorned with banners proclaiming National and Regional Championships," said Georgia coach Meghan Boenig. "And walking out of my former school as a champion was just another step and I was happy to take that step."
Daye won Equitation on the flat class I. Meghan Richardson won second placed in a ride-off in Equitation over Fences class I. Ashley Greve placed eighth in both Equitation over fences and flat in class II. In Equitation on the flat class III, Byerly Vaughn rode away with the blue ribbon.
In the western discipline, Ashley Slocumb won the horsemanship in class II. Carly Veldman placed third in horsemanship in class I and Leigh Heusner placed third as well in class III. In reining, Sarah Meir placed second in class I, Veldman placed sixth in class II, and Heusner took fourth place in class III.
Other Season Highlights
There were plenty more highlights during the regular season. Perhaps foremost among them was Georgia's first-ever home show Nov. 23 at the Animal Science Arena. The Bulldog riders placed first in the Western competition and second in the English discipline. An estimated 1,500 spectators turned out for the first home show in UGA history.
In Georgia's first show of the Winter '03 season, the Bulldogs' Hunt Seat team took first-place honors at the University of South Carolina. The group's total of 45 points represented the highest-ever score in IHSA regional competition.
Equestrian Basics
The NCAA classifies equestrian as an "evolving" sport and does not currently sponsor its national championship. All competitions nationwide are held under the auspices of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The IHSA designs its competitions to allow student riders of any skill level or economic background to compete at their own levels of skill and experience. There are classes designed on specific experience levels, from Beginner Walk-Trot to Open, in such disciplines as -- hunt seat, equitation over fences, western horsemanship and reining. Southern schools typically compete in either hunt seat (English) or western discipline.
The IHSA divides the United States into zones and further into regions.
The UGA team is one of 16 schools in Region 2 of Zone 5.
Not only are riders not allowed to use their own horses < indeed, the hosting school at each show provides the horses < but also personal tack and schooling/warm ups are not permitted. Horses and riders are paired up randomly by drawing. This enables riders to compete on an even keel and truly test their horsemanship ability.
Scoring Basics
Individual scoring - Riders advance through the skill levels by accumulating points at the horse shows. First place is worth 7 points, second place is worth 5, third is 4 points, fourth is worth 3 points and so on. Once a rider has accumulated 35 oints, she advances to the next level. Once riders qualify at the horse shows, winners compete at the regional finals. The top three winners from that competition advance to the IHSA zone finals. The best two individuals from the zone finals progress to the national championships held each year in May.
Team scoring - In addition to qualifying individual riders for nationals, each team strives to be the high point school representing the region at the National Horse Show. This is accomplished in the same manner as individual competitions. However, the coach of each school designates the "point rider" in each division. At this time, the "point rider" is not only competing for themselves but they are representing the school as well.
