The No. 5 Aggies lost to No. 4 Auburn on Friday, Nov. 11, 10-6 at the Auburn University Equestrian Center in Alabama. The meet was the National Collegiate Equestrian Association’s Meet of the Week.
Head coach Tana McKay said the maroon and white fought hard despite the loss. In Fences, fifth-year Haley Redifer earned an 86, the highest score for the Aggies. In Flat, junior Devon Thomas and sophomore Rylee Shufelt earned an 84, the highest scores for the Aggies. In Horsemanship, senior Alexis Robinson scored 74.5 in a tie, the highest score for the Aggies. Senior Cori Cansdale was the only rider to capture a point in Horsemanship with a 73. In Reining, graduate student Lisa Bricker earned the highest score, 71.5.
McKay told 12thMan.com she knew Auburn was going to be tough, especially at home.
“Auburn is always a great program that has talented riders and is always well coached,” McKay said.
The Aggies were completely shut out in Flat 5-0. They also fell short in Fences 3-2. A&M put up a fight in Horsemanship with two ties but came up short 2-1. The maroon and white dominated Reining 3-0, tying the Tigers for the other two points. McKay told 12thMan.com that the team battled hard.
“Our girls had a lot of clean and mistake-free rides, and I thought our Reiners had a really strong performance today,” McKay said.
A&M will take on Fresno State again on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m., at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in College Station. For updates, follow the A&M equestrian team @AggieEquestrian on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or visit 12thMan.com for the full schedule.
Megan Wedhorn is a journalism sophomore and contributed this piece from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.