Horsing around isn't an option for the No. 1 Auburn Equestrian team.
Having already competed in eight meets last semester, the girls are looking ahead in full confidence to Sunday's challenge against Oklahoma State.
Despite suffering two losses, one at Georgia and the other at home against South Carolina, the girls have high hopes for the rest of their season.
Junior Dottie Grubb explained how difficult it is for an equestrian team in the SEC to go undefeated.
Both Georgia and South Carolina have strong programs with similar riding styles and talent levels equal to Auburn.
"Those losses could have been prevented," Grubb said. "If anything it makes us want to go back and fix the mistakes we made."
Georgia is currently tied with Auburn for the No. 1 ranking and South Carolina is ranked fourth.
Oklahoma State's equestrian team is 3-2 and it faces South Carolina a day before arrival in Auburn.
"I think everyone on the team feels confident going against Oklahoma State," Grubb said. "Their starting line up is much
younger than ours, so traveling meets are probably a little more difficult for them. But, they're not by any means a weak team."
Junior Bailey Dymond said over the holiday break everyone on the team went home to practice individually, focusing on toning up the little things such as body position, strength and conditioning and lots of no-stirrup work in order to prepare for the spring season.
Dymond said devotion makes the team one of the top women's sports at Auburn.
"We work so hard in everything we do, winning for our fans as well as our coaches and each other," Dymond said. "You probably won't find a more dedicated team at Auburn than us."
Grubb said being able to go home and practice is a major advantage this sport has over other team sports.
Head coach Greg Williams said one thing that slows the team down after coming back from the break is laying down the groundwork for the horses and getting them prepped again for competing.
"This week we can start shifting the focus heavily on the girls themselves," Williams said.
Even though the team is still getting back into the swing of things, the
girls are confident they can beat anybody as long as they do exactly what they practice.
"I think our team as a whole is very, very driven," Grubb said. "One of the main characteristics of our team that I don't think a lot of other teams have is that we're united in the sense that we all have the same common goal, and I think that gets lost a little bit because there's a lot of individualism in our sport."
These student athletes work hard in many facets of their lives, spending plenty of time at the barn, practicing and personally taking care of their horses.
"That barn is ours and we keep it going," Dymond said.
And yet, they still have time to make good grades.
Looking toward the Oklahoma State meet, Williams said the western team has been riding especially strong and will be Auburn's main advantage in the upcoming meets with an already proven hunt seat team.
Williams also pointed out the advantage of how close all of the girls on the team are.
"Their belief level right now is so high," Williams said.
After Oklahoma State, the Tigers will have a chance for redemption in a second competition with South Carolina.
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