The No. 4 Texas A&M equestrian team defeated South Dakota State on Friday, Jan. 27, 18-2, at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in College Station.
The Aggies started off the day with a solid win in Flats with a 4-1 score, bolstered by sophomore Brooke Brombach’s 88 points that earned her Most Outstanding Performer honors. Juniors Maggie Nealon and Devon Thomas, and freshman Devan Thomas all scored points.
A&M continued its domination as it won the Fences event with a 4-1 score. Graduate Haley Redifer alongside freshman Alexa Leong and Thomas all scored in the event. Meanwhile, Brombach scored another 88 points to earn her second honor of the matchup.
Senior Emmy-Lu Marsh led the way in Reining as she scored 73 points while sophomore Lauren Hanson, junior Keesa Luers, senior Ariana Gray and graduate Lisa Bricker put their own points on the board. Horsemanship was led by junior Ella Petak after a reride garnered 76 points to best South Dakota State’s Callyn Fox. In addition to Petak, seniors Cori Cansdale and Alexis Robinson and sophomores Ellie Gerbrandt and Hanna Olaussen were the other 4-point scorers.
After the meet, A&M coach Tana McKay told 12thman.com she couldn’t have been more pleased with the results.
“I couldn’t be happier with the way they rode today,” McKay said. “The first meet back after a break, you never really know. They’ve done a lot of work in a short amount of time and sweeping the MOPs is always the icing on the cake.”
Looking ahead in the spring season, McKay said she is preparing her team to compete against No. 3 Auburn.
“There is always homework to do,” McKay said. “There is always something to learn from every ride. We’ll watch the videos and critique everything. With Auburn, you can’t leave anything out there. There are a few little things we could’ve cleaned up from the meet today. We’ll do our homework and get back at it.”
The Aggies will continue their 2023 campaign as they take on the Auburn Tigers back in College Station on Feb. 4 at 1 p.m.