The SEC Champion Georgia equestrian team continues to rein in the accolades as five UGA riders earned seven NCEA All-America honors. The Bulldogs had three first and second team honorees and one honorable mention.
Senior Meg O’Mara was named First Team All-American in Equitation on the Flat and Equitation Over Fences. Senior Liza Finsness was named a Second Team All-American in Equitation Over Fences and received Honorable Mention in Equitation on the Flat. Junior Bailey Anderson earned Second Team All-America Honors in Horsemanship. Senior Claudia Spreng and sophomore Graysen Stroud were named First and Second Team All-Americans, respectively, in Reining.
Earlier this week, O’Mara was named SEC Rider of the Year in Equitation on the Flat and Equitation Over Fences. The Rumson, New Jersey native finished the regular season with a 12-1 record in Equitation on the Flat and an 11-2 record in Equitation Over Fences, before adding two wins in both events at the SEC Championship. O’Mara has claimed five Rider of the Month awards this season, three from the SEC and two from the NCEA. She earned a total of 12 Most Outstanding Performance (MOP) honors, six in each event, and was named to the SEC All-Championship Team in Equitation on the Flat and Equitation Over Fences. Additionally, she is an All-SEC Team selection for both Hunt Seat events.
Finsness rode to a 19-7 overall regular season record, including a 9-4 and 10-3 mark in Flat and Fences events, respectively, before adding two Equitation on the Flat wins at the SEC Championship. The Wellington, Florida native earned one MOP honor in both Hunt Seat events during the season, before riding to an MOP-earning score of 172 in Equitation on the Flat during the semifinal round of the SEC Championship against South Carolina.
Anderson, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, rode to a 10-3 record in Horsemanship during the regular season, earning three MOP honors, before adding two wins and one MOP honor at the SEC Championship. She scored her season-high, 76.5, against Auburn.
Spreng compiled a 9-3-1 record in Reining during the regular season, earning four MOP honors in the event. The New Smyrna Beach, Florida native rode to a season-high score of 72.5 at Fresno State.
A native of Snohomish, Washington, Stroud rode to an 8-4-1 Reining record during the regular season, earning three MOP honors in the event. She received the highest score in Reining of any Bulldog this season with a 78 against Auburn.
The Bulldogs will compete for the program’s seventh national title at the NCEA National Championship at the Extraco Event Center in Waco, Texas April 13-15. As the No. 2 seed, Georgia received a first-round bye and will take on the winner of No. 7 Fresno State versus No. 10 New Mexico State on Friday, April 14. The semifinal and championship rounds will take place on Saturday, April 15.