Smells Like Team Spirit: USEA Intercollegiate Championships Touch Down at Chatt Hills

By on May 21, 2022 7:00 pm -

Jennifer Mulholland and Casanova riding for Auburn University. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Banners, pompoms, mascots and feather boas are strewn from end to end of Chattahoochee Hills to herald the 2022 USEA Intercollegiate Championships. 12 colleges and universities are represented by a whopping 87 championships entries, all here for one thing: good old fashioned bragging rights.

With some divisions running across show jumping and cross country today, it’s still anyone’s game, but the Auburn University Tigers have taken the early lead with their four-person Auburn War Eagle team which includes Grace Montgomery, Alayna Backel, Kate Midgely, and Gabrielle Yashinsky.

Sierra Shurtz and Master Brooklyn riding for UGA. Photo by Shelby Allen.

The University of Georgia is in second with Gurley’s Gone Wild. UGA, who won the first-ever intercollegiate championship in 2016, presents three teams this weekend.

Lidia Olyha and Something To Scout About for the University of Kentucky. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Third place belongs to the school with the most competitors present, the University of Kentucky Wildcats. They come forward with 12 total teams.

Other schools represented include Clemson University, University of Virginia, University of South Carolina, University of the South, Virginia Tech, Florida State University, University of Florida, Tallahassee Community College and Texas A&M.

Intercollegiate riders range from Beginner Novice to Intermediate level, with the field of play evened by a coefficient system. Competition continues tomorrow — stay tuned for more from the Intercollegiate Championships.

Click here for team scores.