The No. 9 Texas A&M equestrian team will host No. 5 Georgia at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Hildebrand Equine Complex, marking the first of three consecutive home competitions.
The Aggies (2-3) have been on the road since Oct. 25, and after suffering close losses to No. 3 South Carolina and No. 4 Auburn, are still searching for their first SEC victory of the season. Undefeated at home this season, A&M looks forward to competing in College Station again.
“The girls are ready to be on their home turf, number one,” said head coach Tana McKay. “Number two, this is going to be the first time that an SEC school has been in this facility. They’re really the first ones to see it. Our girls are proud of it, but they don’t take it for granted either. It’s always tough when you’re on the road, so it’s just a little bit of a comfort factor when you’re at home.”
The loss to Auburn was easily equestrian’s closest competition of the season. The Aggies fell 9-11 to the Tigers and were unable to clinch this season’s first road victory. It was the second week in a row that a match was decided on the final ride.
“Kind of like the match before [Auburn], the girls all rode really well,” McKay said. “It came down to that last ride and that’s what’s difficult with all-SEC meets. We had a couple of mistakes that we definitely need to clean up. You can’t afford any mistakes when you’re playing SEC schools. [We need to] clean up some things and still ride with a purpose.”
The Bulldogs (2-2) are coming off a 13-6 win over Auburn and enter this weekend’s competition with two NCEA October riders of the month, senior Paige Stawicki and freshman Kyndall Harper. Georgia’s two losses have come while on the road, and the McKay believes now is the time to notch a conference win.
“If we can ride mistake-free and penalty-free, it’s completely doable,” McKay said. “It’s what we’ve been practicing. You have to ride every little moment and ride every little step. Push the envelope on each particular horse, and just be very smart about your ride and stay out of the penalty box and stay mistake-free. It’s completely doable.”