Over the weekend, the Georgia Equestrian team traveled to Waco, TX to compete in the NCEA National Championships. They set off with all the gusto of a young girl ready to ride her Shetland pony. Needless to say, it did not end well.
The competitors in Waco were brutal to say the least, including all 3 squads that had defeated the Bulldogs in the 2011-2012 campaign. To learn in greater detail how the Dawgs fared, hit the jump...
The weekend began well enough as Georgia squeaked by Kansas State in Western competition and Oklahoma State in Hunt Seat. Both matches resulted in a 4-4 tie but Georgia was the victor each time due to the raw score. Unfortunately, the taste of victory was short lived as the Dawgs fell to eventual National Champion Texas A&M (Hunt Seat) 6-2 and Oklahoma State (Western) 5-3. No word on whether Coach Meghan Boenig distributed green notebooks prior to the match. Regardless, the Dawgs were unable to exact revenge for their regular season losses to the Aggies and Cowgirls(?).
The Dawgs redeemed themselved somewhat on Sunday as they ended the season of the Horseytigleswomen of West Opelika (Hunt Seat) 6-2 and the Gamecocks of South Carolina (Western) 6-3 in the consolation round. Sunday's victories resulted in the Dawgs placing 3rd in Hunt Seat, 3rd in Western, and 2nd Overall in the competition.
Despite the colossal bummer in Waco, there were some positives to take away from the weekend. Georgia's Carly Anthony and Megan Hawkins were named All-Americans while Michelle Morris, Abby O'Mara, Kylee Arbuckle, Maria Salazar, Paige Stawicki, Samantha Belcher, and Mackenzie Lantz all earned Honorable Mention recognition. And furthermore, UGA is your 2012 Overall Reserve National Champion!!! Yippppeeee!!!
What is a reserve national champion you ask? I searched for more than an hour and was unable to find anything with Google. The NCEA 2011-12 Rulebook was similarly unhelpful. In consulting past champions and championships, I have surmised that its basically a really fancy way of saying you came in second place. Its sort of like being first runner up in a beauty pageant. Theoretically, if the Texas A&M equestrian team was unable to fulfill its duties (due to simultaneous death or the release of adult oriented photos, perhaps), Georgia would be the National Champion I guess? Its like being the prettiest fat girl at prom... or South Carolina in football. Regardless, I think we can all applaud the accomplishments of the Georgia Equestrian team without claiming some ridiculous "kinda" National Championship. I mean, its not like we're Alabama. Let's just congratulate the girls on a great season, pat the All-Americans on the back, and move on.
Since it is season's end, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for choosing DawgSports for all of your University of Georgia Equestrian needs. We are proud to provide you with all you need to know about hunt seats, western seats, reserve national championships, reining, dead horses, people who are dead because they fell off horses, and the continued underachievement of the University of Georgia's athletic program*.
Until next season...
GO DAWGS!!!
*/TotallyJoking
//OkayNotTotally....ButMostly