Ocala, Florida, here we come! The quaint city of northern Florida hosts the National Collegiate Equestrian Association championship this Thursday-Saturday. The Bulldogs on horseback are the No. 6 team in the country with seven national titles of their own (2003, ‘04, ‘08, ‘09, ‘10, ‘14 and ‘21), looking to make it eight this weekend.
Georgia was eliminated from the SEC Championship in the semifinals, losing to Texas A&M 10-9. The Dawgs saw the Aggies two more times in the regular season, tying one meet 9-9 but out-showing Texas A&M 1676.25-1659.75 and losing the other meeting 12-4. The Aggies went on to face South Carolina in the title bout where the underdog Gamecocks claimed the conference championship. Georgia beat South Carolina twice in the regular season.
Auburn, the only other SEC team and a historic equestrian program with six national titles of their own, split the regular season matchups with the Dawgs. The Tigers were 11-2 on the year, earning the nation’s top spot in the rankings and the No. 1 seed in the conference championship. The SEC’s four equestrian programs have four of the top seven spots in the national rankings: No. 1, No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7.
No. 2 SMU is the back-to-back defending national champs with dual titles in 2023 and ‘24. The 10-4 Mustangs are looking to be the first team to three-peat since Georgia did it in 2008-10.
No. 4 Oklahoma State claimed the 2022 title, their first championship in program history. The Cowboys were the first non-SEC team to win a national title since 2002, the first ever NCEA championship, when Texas A&M won it before joining the SEC in 2012. No. 3 TCU is looking for their first title in school history.
There’s your breakdown on the top seven teams in the country. These heavyweights are the clear favorites to clinch the 2025 title, so how can Georgia top these powerhouses and win their eighth title in 22 years?
The Bulldogs’ head coach Meghan Boeing arrived on campus in 2001 as the first ever coach at the University of Georgia. Her dominance is unlike any other as she has more titles than any other school in the nation. Her experience in this year’s championship will undoubtedly bode well.
Auburn, the next best program with the aforementioned six titles and the No. 1 team in the nation this season, is in their second year with head coach Jessica Braswell. Despite her 12 years on Auburn’s staff prior to being named the head coach, Braswell has yet to claim a national title of her own. She was also upset by the Gamecocks (1-4 in conference) in the SEC semifinal in late March.
SMU’s head coach Brad Kearns is in his first year at the helm of the Mustangs program. He was also on SMU’s staff prior to being named head coach in July 2024. Carol Gwin, the former head coach of SMU, went 25-5 in her final two seasons in which they won national titles. Kearns has led his Mustangs to a 10-4 record on the 2025 campaign, just one loss shy of Gwin’s record in a season less.
SMU took down the Dawgs this season 11-7 while Georgia split the series with Auburn in 2025; henceforth, come postseason, anything can happen, and experience is always highly valued no matter the sport…
To go along with Boeing’s 24 years of head coaching, the Bulldogs roster is comprised of 26 upperclasswomen, including Sophia Pilla and Jordan Toering. Despite the depth in veterans on the 2025 squad, Pilla and Toering are the only two women on this roster that were also on the 2021 national championship team. Both were freshmen.
Now, it’s time for Toering, a fifth-year, and Pilla, a graduate student, to lead this team to a national title of their own. Pilla’s younger sister Sienna is a freshman. How sweet would it be for the Pilla sisters to both claim a national title on the same team? This 2025 squad is ready to hang their cowgirl hats up on the 2025 season as national champions!