The No. 2 Texas A&M equestrian team defeated No. 3 University of South Carolina 13-6 at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in their second meeting of the season.
The Aggies started off the meet with a strong showing from all riders in the Equitation of Fences event, outscoring the Gamecocks 4-1.
Freshman Haley Redifer, senior Rebekah Chenelle and sophomore Caroline Dance all received scores in the 80’s to outscore their competition by a combined margin of 24 points.
The high scoring performance was consistent with the three rider’s domination of the event this season with Redifer tallying her ninth win and Chenelle and Dance racking up their fifth wins.
Horsemanship, the second event of the day, proved to be a much tighter competition for the two teams. In one of the closest matches of the day, A&M’s Sara Orsak was edged out by a half a point by South Carolina’s McKensize Matthews.
The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the day, Ashely Davidson, prevailed by a point in a close matchup with Sloane Vogt to help put the Aggies back on top. The first western event of the day ended with an Aggie victory 4-1.
Equitation of the Flat also proved to be a competitive event between the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams. The Aggies’ Nicole Leonard tied with South Carolina’s Madison Sellman in the event, resulting in no point being awarded. Both teams rode well in the event and the final hunter seat event concluded with a 2-2 tie between the two riders.
In the final event of the afternoon the Aggies rallied, riding to a 3-2 victory in Reining. Harell and McCain fell in tight matches, but Ashton Dunkel, Courtney Yohey and Darby Gardner carried the Aggies in the event with dominant performances.
Head Coach Tana McKay said credited the win to their preparation and performance, especially against a ranked SEC opponent.
“I’m proud of the girls for how they rode across the board,” McKay told 12thman.com. “Our Fences team was phenomenal, and anytime we’re playing an SEC team we know we have to lay it out there and give it all we’ve got.”
With a victory over South Carolina, the Aggies improve to 8-3 on the season and 2-3 against SEC opponents.
A&M will face No. 1 Auburn on March 1 at 11 am in their final home meet of the regular season.