With the team’s 13th National Collegiate Equestrian Association title within grasp, Texas A&M equestrian fell short of the trophy, falling to the top-ranked team in the nation. The Aggies finished their season as national runner-ups for the fifth time in program history.
After defeating No. 6 Baylor handily in the first round of the NCEA tournament, A&M faced off with another in-state top-10 opponent, No. 7 SMU, on Friday, April 15. The Mustangs didn’t do much better, however, falling 14-5 to the Aggies in the semifinals.
A&M took the majority of the points in every practice, earning four of the five points in Fences, four of four in Reining and splitting both Horsemanship and Flat 3-2 with SMU.
With another championship on the horizon, A&M had an opportunity to win its first since the 2016-17 season. The team in A&M’s way was No. 1 in the nation — the Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
The 14-5 Aggies faced off with the 15-2 Cowgirls on Saturday, April 16 in Ocala, Fla., and A&M took the early lead. Up 3-2 after Reining was senior Marissa Harrell, gaining a team-high score of 217.5. But, the score would leave the teams tied after Flat, when a 3-2 advantage by Oklahoma State evened it all up at five.
After the break, the Cowgirls maintained their momentum, taking both Horsemanship and Fences by a score of 3-2, bringing the final total to 11-9 in Oklahoma State’s favor.
“It’s a long week and long three days of competition, and we couldn’t be more proud of the way the girls performed,” A&M coach Tana McKay said. “They’ve been mentally tough for three solid days. We knew Oklahoma State was going to be tough and ending it in a tight competition; they need to still hold their heads high because they rode well and left it all out in the arena.”
Despite falling short in the end, the team took advantage of the moment to reflect on the time spent with all the seniors on the team who had competed in their last collegiate event.
“We have a great senior group. All the girls back in the barn taking care of the horses, we know that everything is in great hands. All the girls hyping us up on meet day, we know they have our backs,” junior Cori Cansdale said. “This team has just been a family, and I’m so proud of how everyone rode and how close everyone has grown together.”