The No. 2 Texas A&M equestrian team was defeated 12-8 by the No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the UGA Equestrian Complex.
With this loss, the Aggies move to a 6-3 record (1-3 SEC) and the Bulldogs move to a 3-4 record (2-2 SEC).
A&M was unable to secure an early lead after Equitation Over Fences. The Aggies earned their first point of the meet with sophomore Caroline Dance’s 88-84 victory over Georgia’s Hayley Mairano. Dance was also named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) for the meet. Senior rider Rebekah Chenelle finished the event with a 87-86 win over Georgia’s Ali Tritschler. Despite this, A&M fell to Georgia in the first event of the meet 3-2.
In Horsemanship, the Aggies evened the scoreboard. Senior rider Sarah Orsak defeated Georgia’s Lexie Lane, 75.5-75, before Senior Katie Conklin edged out Georgia’s Taylor Burgess, 71-70. Sophomore Alex Albright closed out the event after knocking off Georgia’s Sara Lewis, 76-72.5.
Equitation on the Flat put the Bulldogs back in the lead. The lone point for the Aggies was scored by Chenelle, who defeated Gerogia’s Maddy Darst, 73-71.
A&M was unable to close out the meet with a victory in the final event of the day, Reigning. Two points were scored for the Aggies during this event. The first by Senior Kalee McCann, who defeated Georgia’s Courtney Blumer, 73.5-70. The last point was earned by sophomore Marissa Harrell, who topped Georgia’s Julia Spreng, 71-70.
The Aggies will face Sweet Briar College on Friday, Feb. 15 at the Rogers Rider Center in Sweet Briar, VA.