Congrats 2015 SEC Equestrians and Coach of the Year!

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference has announced its 2015 equestrian awards, recognizing standout performances throughout the past season. The awards were voted on by the league’s four head coaches and announced on Tuesday.

The SEC Riders of the Year included: Auburn’s Elizabeth Benson (Equitation Over Fences); Georgia’s Kylee Arbuckle (Equitation On the Flat); Georgia’s Paige Stawicki (Horsemanship); and Georgia’s Lauren Garmon (Reining).

The SEC Freshman Riders of the Year included: Texas A&M’s Alex Desiderio (Equitation Over Fences); Georgia’s Addyson Cord (Equitation On The Flat); Georgia’s Bailey Anderson (Horsemanship); and Georgia’s Kyndall Harper (Reining).

Georgia’s Meghan Boenig was named the SEC Coach of the Year and Auburn’s Allie Dusha was the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Benson finished the season with a 12-2 record, including a 5-1 mark in SEC competition with an average score of 81.33, in equitation over fences. She was named to the SEC All-Championship Team in Equitation Over Fences. Benson has earned five MVP honors this season, including three in conference play, which ranked first in the SEC this year. She scored a 90 or better on two occasions. This season, Benson broke the school’s career win record with 36 and her 12 victories on the year ties for the most single-season wins in Auburn history.

Arbuckle posted a 12-3 record with two MVP honors in equitation on the flat this season. She was a two-time SEC Rider of the Month this season and averaged a score of 80.4. She averaged a 4.8-point margin of victory on the year and went 2-0 at the SEC Championship to help her team to the SEC title. Her 11 victories were the most of any SEC athlete during the regular season and her six SEC wins were the most in conference only competition.

Stawicki logged an 11-3-1 record with six MVP honors in horsemanship this year. She was a two-time SEC Rider of the Month and earned NCEA Rider of the Month honors in October. Her nine victories during the regular season were the second-most of any SEC athlete and Stawicki charted a league-best five MVP honors during the year. Her score of 80.5 is tied for the second-highest of any SEC athlete this year.

Garmon charted an 11-2-1 record in reining during the 2014-15 campaign with two MVP honors on the season. She posted an average margin of victory of 3.3 points on the season. She is tied for the most individual victories in the SEC (all competitions) with 10. Her reining score of 148.5 was the second highest in her discipline at the SEC Championship against Texas A&M.

Desiderio posted an 8-5 record in equitation over fences, which tied her for the most wins on her team in that event. She holds her team’s second-highest score of the season at 86. Six of Desiderio’s eight wins came against top-10 programs and four of those were by a double-digit margin.

Cord rode for the Bulldogs in five meets this season with a 2-2-1 record. She posted an average score of 80.6. Her highest score of 86 came against nationally ranked Kansas State on the road and she defeated her opponent from the Wildcats by 12 points.

Anderson rode in each of her team’s 15 meets this season with an 8-4-3 record in horsemanship. She has tallied two MVP honors and charted a season-high score of 78. She ranks among the top-five scores in the SEC this year with her best score of 78 and is among the top-five in wins in the conference this year.

Harper competed in 13 meets for Georgia this season, logging an 8-5 tally in reining. She charted three MVP honors on the year, which were the most on UGA’s reining team. In her debut performance for the Bulldogs, Harper scored a 73 and earned MVP honors. She tied for the third-most individual victories among SEC riders this season (all competitions) with seven.

Dusha holds a 4.00 grade point average with a double major in exercise science and fitness, conditioning & performance. She has thrice been named an Academic Top Tiger, an award presented each year to Auburn student-athletes who have maintained a minimum 3.0 grade point average for the last academic year or for their careers. She finished the season with a 7-2 record in reining with three MVP honors, including a 2-0 tally at the SEC Championship.

Boenig was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career after leading the Bulldogs to their first SEC Championship this past season and a No. 1 national seed for the upcoming NCEA Championships. Under Boenig’s direction, Georgia is the six-time overall NCEA National Champion, including winning last year in Waco, Texas.

The 2015 NCEA Championship presented by the City of Waco and McLennan County will take place April 16-18 in Waco, Texas.

2015 SEC Equestrian Awards

 

Coach of the Year: Meghan Boenig, Georgia

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Allie Dusha, Auburn

Equitation Over Fences Rider of the Year: Elizabeth Benson, Auburn

Equitation On The Flat Rider of the Year: Kylee Arbuckle, Georgia

Horsemanship Rider of the Year: Paige Stawicki, Georgia

Reining Rider of the Year: Lauren Garmon, Georgia

Freshman Equitation Over Fences Rider of the Year: Alex Desiderio, Texas A&M

Freshman Equitation On The Flat Rider of the Year: Addyson Cord, Georgia

Freshman Horsemanship Rider of the Year: Bailey Anderson, Georgia

Freshman Reining Rider of the Year: Kyndall Harper, Georgia