After over two months since its last outing, the No. 2 Texas A&M equestrian team outlasted No. 4 Baylor 10-8 on Saturday, Jan. 29 in the first match of the spring.
Despite the long hiatus, the Aggies didn’t miss a beat getting back into action. With the win on Saturday, A&M evened the season series after Baylor handed the Aggies their lone loss on Oct. 15. The meet was highlighted by strong performances from senior Haley Redifer in Fences, fifth-year senior Caroline Dance in Flat and senior Hayley Riddle in Horsemanship, all receiving Most Outstanding Performer in their respective events.
A&M coach Tana McKay said she was enthusiastic for the rest of the season following the victory.
“I’m really excited about today’s win. It’s been a short couple of weeks, so we haven’t had a lot of time to get back into the swing of things,” McKay told 12thman.com. “It was a little bit of a cold-turkey situation, but the girls handled it really well. Baylor’s always a good team, so I’m happy with the fact that we can come out with a win. This sets a good tone for the rest of the season.”
The meet began with a back-and-forth equitation over Fences. The Bears struck first with a 89-86 victory by junior Savannah Hemby over sophomore Devon Thomas. Redifer responded in impressive fashion by scoring a career high 92 in her victory over senior Caroline Fuller. Both teams would score again to finish Fences in a 2-2 draw.
A&M was able to gain momentum with three consecutive points in Horsemanship after strong performances from Riddle and graduate MacKenzie Chapman, scoring 76.5 points each. With the victory today, Chapman has improved to 7-0 in Horsemanship this season. Baylor retaliated with two consecutive victories of their own from junior Gabrielle Marty and senior Marley Mainwaring, resulting in a score of 3-2 for Horsemanship.
The Aggies held a 5-4 lead heading into the break.
The Bears struck quickly after the intermission with a victory by Fuller over senior Nicole Leonard with a meet high score of 93-80 in Equitation on the Flat. This victory was short lived as the Aggies went on to win four consecutive points, finishing 4-1 in Flat.
The Bears showed a sense of urgency and went on to win the final event of the day, Reigning, by a score of 3-1. Despite the strong final effort from Baylor, A&M was able to hold on for a 10-8 victory.
In what has become the winningest start to a season for A&M since their 2017 NCEA Championship run, the Aggies continue to impress as they extend their win streak to six.
A&M returns to conference play on Feb. 12, when the Aggies head to Athens, Ga., for a rematch with Georgia.
