UGA Claims First USEA Intercollegiate Championship Title in 10 Years
Aiken, S.C.—May 17— It’s been 10 years since the University of Georgia claimed victory in the inaugural USEA Intercollegiate Championship, and ever since, the top title has remained just out of reach—until today. In the final day of the 2026 USEA Intercollegiate Championship, three members of team UGA Black delivered double-clear cross-country rounds to secure the win on a score of 75.42.
“Knowing that it was the first time UGA has won in 10 years was, like, super exciting, but there was a lot of pressure going into cross-country, knowing that I needed to complete the job to get there,” said recent UGA graduate Ansley Carroll who rode her own 19-year-old Mustang gelding Sweet Georgia Brown to a third place finish in the Novice Rider A division and whose double-clear cross-country round contributed to today’s team victory. “But, we put a lot of prep into it for the past year, and it really paid off, and it was very exciting.”
Fellow senior graduate Olivia Garza also issued a double-clear cross-country round today aboard her own 17-year-old grade gelding Hillbilly Willie. A Tennessee native, Garza came to UGA specifically to be part of the eventing team.
“I was super lucky to be introduced to this team by Caitlin Parker, who was our last president, and I fell in love with the camaraderie, and just having the support system. Coming as an out-of-state student from Tennessee, it's been really, really nice to have this group of girls and all of these eventing resources in the state of Georgia, so I am super lucky to have spent all four years on the team. I just love the culture of the UGA team, and I'm so proud to rep the red and black.”
Like Carroll, Garza competed at the Novice level, along with team member Devon Tresan, who in addition to helping her team win the championship, won her Open Novice division aboard her mother Carol Tresan’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding EPA Cullen (Dignified Van't Zorgvliet x Punch Clover).
“This weekend was really great for me,” shared Tresan. “I've been so lucky to be part of quite a few different USEA programs. I was in the EA21 program for the past few years, and I got to go to Young Riders last year, and this was honestly just as special. I really love that they added the IEL [Interscholastic Eventing League] as well, and I love seeing all the kids interact with the college students, because hopefully they're going to keep doing it in the future. It's really great. I just really have a huge appreciation for what the USEA is doing for the younger generations coming up.”
The fourth and final member of Team Black was Ella Kay Lane riding her own 22-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Double Dare (Silver Charm x Do It). Lane and “Charm” competed at the Preliminary division and won the Preliminary Rider division as well. Charm is a bit of an Intercollegiate veteran, having competed at the 2017 and 2018 championships with his previous rider Lydia Kennedy to represent Auburn University before switching schools when Lane purchased him in 2019.
“My trainer told me the more rides I could get and the more experience would just help me progress faster, and he said that this horse would really give me the confidence that I needed,” she recalled. “I think we looked at his show records last year, and I don't know how many are on his record now, but it was something around the 130s, and he finished this week with four seconds slow on a dressage score of 29.5. You would never know he’s 22. He loves it, and he loves his job, and I'm really lucky to be able to have a horse like him, because he truly is an amazing animal.”
His former owner is proud to see him still going strong, but maybe not so much donning new colors.
“She actually just texted me,” she said with a chuckle. “When I did the championships my sophomore year, I texted her a picture of Charm in his UGA gear, and I was like, ‘You know, I think Charm may like the Dogs better.’ And today she texted me when she saw that we had won overall and we'd also won our division, and she was like, ‘I'm cheering both of y'all on, but I'm not sure as much I'm cheering on the Dogs.' ”
Tresan is the incoming President for the UGA Eventing Team for the 2026-2027 season, and she feels that the championship is a great experience for all members of their team to participate in.
“It’s so fun. I really, really love it, because I was in Pony Club as a young kid, and it honestly reminds me a lot of that,” she said. “There's so much excitement, and it kind of makes us all very youthful. We all get to have fun—especially during the end of our semester, where everything's really stressful. It's great to come here and just have a great time and be with all of our best friends and our best horses, and just enjoy it.”
This year’s Reserve Champion team was the Randolph Macon team Swarm Warning made up of Caroline Clay Cooke, Lucy Leff Ariana Schmitt-Chow, and Abigail McGowan. This result marks Randolph Macon’s first finish in the top three ever at the championship.
Rounding out the top three teams was the University of Kentucky Wildcats made up by Madyson Hsue, Natasha Quirk, Miranda Donnelly, and Emalie Mullane.
The coveted Spirit Award is nearly as sought-after by teams as the championship title. This year the decision was just as hard, with several teams going above and beyond to showcase their school spirit, not only for their own team, but for other teams in both the Intercollegiate and IEL Championship. After seeing this school cheering on other competitors, adopting single representatives of new schools, and going all out despite their modest size, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was selected as this year’s recipient.
The reserve champion Spirit Award title went to Randolph Macon University, and third place was awarded to University of Kentucky.
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About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program
The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. Many events across the country offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually or in teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty, and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship is a capstone event for the program, which is held annually in the spring. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.
The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Gallagher’s Water, Kerrits, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, Aiken Saddlery, AllStar Tents & Events, Horse & Country, Meybohm Realtors – Deirdre Stoker Vaillancourt, Powell Asset Protection Agency, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, Wendel Mobile Equine, WeRideTogether, World Equestrian Brands, Young Rider Magazine, and 100xEquine for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.
About the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL)
In August 2020, the USEA Board of Governors approved the creation of the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) as an official program of the USEA. The mission of IEL is to unite junior riders who are in the 5th—12th grade and provide a supportive community through which students can continue to pursue their riding interests. A group of junior members in the 5th—12th grade who share a common bond, such as the same barn, school, Pony Club, or other connection, can register with the USEA as an IEL Club. Click here to learn more about the Interscholastic Eventing League.
The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Gallagher’s Water, Kerrits, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, Aiken Saddlery, AllStar Tents & Events, Horse & Country, Meybohm Realtors – Deirdre Stoker Vaillancourt, Powell Asset Protection Agency, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, Wendel Mobile Equine, WeRideTogether, World Equestrian Brands, Young Rider Magazine, and 100xEquine for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.
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