Auburn Equestrian Goes 1-1 in a Pair of California Meets
The departure of some key All-American and All-SEC talent in the offseason meant dual-meet road trips like the one Auburn experienced this weekend would be more difficult to navigate unscathed.
The Tigers definitely experienced some scathing.
Going in, Friday’s meet against UC Davis wasn’t expected to be so dramatic. The Aggies are relatively new to big-time college equestrian and had lost convincingly to Auburn in their previous meeting back in 2020.
Oh, how long ago that seems.
The meet started with Auburn’s two strongest events: Fences and Horsemanship. Each Tiger squad handled itself well, but the potential was certainly there for Auburn to have performed even better.
In Fences, Auburn senior Ava Stearns, junior Ellie Ferrigno, and sophomore Sophee Steckbeck each won their matchups.
In Horsemanship, senior Maddie Spak, and the freshmen duo of Alexia Tordoff and Caroline Fredenburg took home points for the Tigers.
Auburn’s 6-4 halftime lead seemed like the beginning of another strong day for the Tigers, but things quickly turned unpleasant.
The Flat event was bogged down with rerides and close decisions that seemed to keep Auburn out of rhythm. Sophomore Mary-Grace Segars earned the Tigers’ lone point in the event. A pair of ties in the event produced a 2-1 score in favor of UC Davis, and put them within one point of the Tigers heading into the final event.
Needing only a pair of Reining points to avoid losing the meet overall, Auburn’s riders came up just short. Junior Olivia Marino was the only Tiger to notch a win in the event, with UC Davis rider taking the other four.
The 10-8 final score gave UC Davis the upset, and also the biggest win of their program’s five-year history. It also suggests this Auburn team has some work to do if it hopes to remain among the top teams in the sport.
That work would begin after a three-mile bus trip down to Fresno and the sunrise of a new day.
Just as the day before, Fence and Horsemanship would kickoff the Tiger’s meet.
Horsemanship saw Auburn jump out to a commanding lead they would never relinquish. Junior Madison Parduhn got the Tigers on the board, with senior teammates Olivia Tordoff, Maddie Spak, and Caroline Fredenburg also winning their points.
Meanwhile, an even performance was unfolding from Auburn’s Fences squad. Ellie Ferrigno took the Most Outstanding Performance honors in the event, and all four of her teammates (Sophee Steckbeck, Mary-Grace Segars, senior Ava Stearns, and graduate Emma Kurtz) won points as well.
Auburn’s explosive first-half performance opened up a 9-1 lead that all but guaranteed victory, but the Tigers weren’t done. Perhaps motivated by lackluster results the day before, the Tigers’ Flat and Reining squads were determined not to let up.
On the Flat, Auburn saw Steckbeck, Segars, and Kurtz win their matchups, with Ferrigno earning a no-point tie as well.
Then in the final event, Auburn’s Reiners produced a near-sweep with Alexia Tordoff winning the MOP, and senior Boo Kammerer, junior Isabella Tesmer, and freshman Kate Buchanan also winning points. Junior Caroline Buchanan also notched a tie with her ride that denied Fresno State any points in the event.
The 16-2 final score reflected just how dominant this Tiger performance was, and gave hope that maybe the ceiling on this Auburn Equestrian season isn’t quite as low as it looked the day before.
EXTRA TRIVIA: For those new to the sport, here’s some perspective on what Auburn was up against this weekend.
College equestrian teams rarely travel with their horses, so home teams have a built-in advantage of familiarity with the animal athletes being used. Another home advantage occurs when the visitors ride against multiple schools during the same road trip. Since each meet usually has its own set of riding patterns, the home teams spend all their practice time preparing for the single set of patterns, while the visitors have to divide their practice time among the two.
SCORESHEETS:
Auburn 8 - UC Davis 10
FENCES:
Ava Stearns (AU) def Elizabeth Bunt (UCD): 83-82
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) def Keely Laughlin (UCD): 83-75
Jessie Rechs (UCD) def Mary-Grace Segars (AU): 80-79
Carly Sweeney (UCD) def Emma Kurtz (AU): 84-69
Ellie Ferrigno (AU) def Sierra Gundersen (UCD): 86-85
FLAT:
Mary-Grace Segars (AU) def Keely Laughlin (UCD): 93-90
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) tied Nicole Beales (UCD): 94-94
Margaret Franke (UCD) def Ellie Ferrigno (AU): 98-93
Sierra Gundersen (UCD) def Ava Stearns (AU): 85-84
Emma Kurtz (AU) tied Carly Sweeney (UCD): 86-86
HORSEMANSHIP:
Malena Palmer (UCD) def Madison Parduhn (AU): 73.5-71.5
Alexia Tordoff (AU) def Gracie Howell (UCD): 74-67.5
Caroline Fredenburg (AU) def Ruby Nahum (UCD): 73-71.5
Natasha Replogle (UCD) def Olivia Tordoff (AU): 74-69
Maddie Spak (AU) def Kayla Hickey (UCD): 74-50.5
REINING:
Lauren Langbaum (UCD) def Isabella Tesmer (AU): 70.5-69
Macey Newkirk (UCD) def Caroline Buchanan (AU): 69.5-65
Olivia Marino (AU) def Amber Nusser (UCD): 71-70.5
Emma Dillon (UCD) def Kate Buchanan (AU): 71-70.5
Kendal Scheiner (UCD) def Alexia Tordoff (AU): 73-69.5
Auburn 16 - Fresno State 2
FENCES:
Ellie Ferrigno (AU) def Ana Bertozzi (FS): 83-76
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) def Elle Martin (FS): 73-69
Mary-Grace Segars (AU) def Olivia Ferro (FS): 78-73
Ava Stearns (AU) def Taylor Holstead (FS): 81-68
Emma Kurtz (AU) def Sara Tuck (FS): 75-72
FLAT:
Ellie Ferrigno (AU) tied Jillian Spencer (FS): 72-72
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) def Sara Tuck (FS): 70-63
Mary-Grace Segars (AU) def Taylor Holstead (FS): 70-62
Elle Martin (FS) def Ava Stearns (AU): 60-58
Emma Kurtz (AU) def Ana Bertozzi (FS): 70-68
HORSEMANSHIP:
Madison Parduhn (AU) def Alex Krebs (FS): 72.5-72
Hannah Buijs (FS) def Alexia Tordoff (AU): 76.5-73
Olivia Tordoff (AU) def Emily Maul (FS): 72.5-72
Caroline Fredenburg (AU) def Ella Storch (FS): 74.5-69.5
Maddie Spak (AU) def Kendra Lee (FS): 74.5-72.5
REINING:
Boo Kammerer (AU) def Ashley Jackson (FS): 65-64.5
Alexia Tordoff (AU) def Brogan Hill (FS): 69-67
Caroline Buchanan (AU) tied Julianne Kelley (FS): 67-67
Isabella Tesmer (AU) def Sarah Semrau (FS): 66.5-65
Kate Buchanan (AU) def Shelby Robinette (FS): 66-65.5
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