Inaugural SEC Equestrian Championship is This Weekend in Auburn

The inaugural Southeastern Conference equestrian championship will take place Friday-Saturday, March 29-30 at the Auburn University Horse Center in Auburn, Ala. Admission to the two-day event is free and open to the public.

The four equestrian programs of the SEC all are ranked among the nation’s top eight, according to the latest coaches poll of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association. Georgia is the nation’s top-ranked team, while host Auburn checks in at No. 2. South Carolina is No. 6 nationally, while Texas A&M is ranked No. 8.

Each of the four teams will compete in a semifinal round on Friday, beginning at 10 a.m. CT, in pairings based on seeding. Top-seeded Auburn will square off with fourth-seeded Texas A&M, while second-seeded South Carolina will face third-seeded Georgia. The consolation round will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. CT, while the championship round will commence at 2 p.m. CT Saturday.

This will mark the first new championship for the SEC since it first contested a championship in softball beginning in 1997.

Live scoring for this weekend’s SEC Equestrian Championship will be available here: http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/w-equest/live-scoring.html

Though the SEC is in the first year of sponsoring the sport of equestrian, its member institutions are no stranger to success. The four current members of the SEC are the only teams in the history of the sport to win National Collegiate Equestrian Association Overall Team National Championships.

Georgia has tallied a league-leading five overall national championships, including three consecutive from 2008-10. Auburn, South Carolina and Texas A&M each have two overall national titles to their credit.

Texas A&M is the defending NCEA overall team national champion and has won four consecutive NCEA Western championships.

The three schools of the formerly 12-member SEC have been contesting a yearly Southern Equestrian Championship since 2003, which in 2012-13 will be replaced by the inaugural SEC Championship, involving all four schools.

For all of the latest information on SEC Equestrian, please log on to www.SECDigitalNetwork.com or follow @SEC_Sean on Twitter.