
Despite the Covid-19 shortened collegiate equestrian season, the Savannah College of Art & Design had already wrapped up the 2020 Tournament of Champions Series Championship and had done it in historic and record-breaking fashion. While the Finale of four Tournament events was Corona-cancelled along with all other collegiate Spring sports, SCAD had a substantial enough lead that they statistically could not have been caught in the standings even if they had not attended the Spring Classic. The Spring Classic was to be hosted by the University of Findlay in Ohio on March 14.
SCAD set the all-time Tournament point record at December 2019 Holiday Tournament, hosted by Penn State at the Grier School, with a team score of 54. They were just a red ribbon away from a perfect score, while scoring the highest point total ever recorded in nearly 30 years of Tournament history. Not to be taken for a fluke, SCAD followed up a month later with a score of 50 at the Winter Classic show, hosted by SCAD. Since the Series Champion is the team with the highest two-show total of the four-show series, their 104-point total was statistically unbeatable before the last show invitations went out. For perspective, the second place team had a high score of 36 and a two-show total of 71. Want more perspective? Consider that SCAD had won the 2019 Series Championship with 86 points, and in 2018 with 81 points, and that each of THOSE had been the highest totals ever in Tournament history.

Mount Holyoke College finished the 2020 Tournament Series in Reserve Champion with 71 points, and Mount Hoyoke’s Sarah Hearn won the High Medal Championship at the Winter Classic. The rest of 2020 Series results were as follows…
2019-2020 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS SERIES TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – TOP TEN
Champion: Savannah College of Art & Design 104 points
Reserve Champion: Mount Holyoke College 71
3rd: University of Massachusetts 56 (tie broken by highest single score)
4th: Goucher College 56
5th: Delaware Valley University 52
6th: Bridgewater College (VA) 50
7th: Penn State University 48
8th: Sacred Heart University 47 (tie broken by highest single score)
9th: Miami University of Ohio 47
10th: Boston University 39