After earning bragging rights for ending the 2010-11 season with a national championship title in Waco, Texas, last weekend, there's not much else for the Auburn equestrian team to do except bask in the glory and prepare for next year's string of obstacles.
"When you win the national championship, it's perfect," said head coach Greg Williams. "It's glorious. It was fun this weekend. It's obviously stressful when you're competing for something like that, but this team deserved to be national champions. I'm glad they were able to finish it."
The Tigers took home three MVP awards for their applaudable precision. Junior Grace Socha for over fences, junior Maggie McAlary for flat and senior Paige Monfore for reining.
"I don't know who to be most proud of," Williams said. "Very few people can endure that (stress), and there's a very, very small number of teams that will ever accept it. They accepted the hard work, they accepted the responsibility of putting everybody else in front of themselves, and that's why they won."
With 10 event wins, an SEC Championship and a Varsity Equestrian National Championship, the season practically unfolded without a hitch.
"Day one we felt really confident," Socha said of nationals. "We were 4-0 on the flat and so in defenses we knew we just had to win one point, but winning one point wasn't enough--we wanted all of them. We all rode really hard and we were rewarded. We couldn't have done it without everybody as a whole."
Though the season was a seemingly effortless one, the women viewed every event as an opportunity to strengthen and polish what skills they already acquired.
"The season was amazing. We really kind of just kept building. We didn't really have a low point, but there were a few meets where we knew we needed to improve."
With an outcome like the one the team has experienced, it's hard to find anything to complain about.
"I thought this season went perfectly," McAlary said. "When I signed, coming in as a freshman this was always a goal for me--winning a national championship. To finally be able to achieve such a high and prestigious goal is just an awesome feeling."
With a strong start in the beginning, an equally strong finish was in sight for the Tigers.
"I couldn't have asked for anything to be different or for anything to be better," Monfore said. "We had so much fun the whole way and worked really, really hard. I truly believe we honestly deserved every win."
Instead of upping practices, the girls were encouraged to stay focused, but relaxed. Overworking them was not something they or their coaches wanted before performing.
"A lot of it was just them being mentally prepared and being in the saddle a lot," said Lisa Helfer, assistant western coach, of the national championship, "just feeling comfortable and confident about anything and everything that was thrown at them. They continued to do what they had been doing all year long and not change anything."
During the summer, many of the girls will travel overseas to continue riding. New recruits will be considered, but the time off is really a chance to "sharpen the ax before swinging again," William said.
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