The No. 2 Texas A&M equestrian team will face No. 7 TCU on Thursday in College Station at the Hildebrand Equine Complex at noon.
Head coach Tana McKay said the Aggies have their work ahead of them as a young team this year, but are continuing to work hard as they prepare for their meet against TCU.
“I mean it is with any meet, we always got our work cut out for us,” McKay said. “The Georgia loss was hard, a little redemption the next day [against Delaware State] but it’s so early in the season and we’ve got some young kids, freshman and sophomores, who still need some more miles in the saddle as far as competition goes. I’m proud of the way the girls have worked.”
The Aggies are coming off a doubleheader on the road, where they were defeated by No. 1 Georgia 14-12, but turned around and topped Delaware State 18-6.
Senior flat and fences rider Alex Desiderio saw A&M’s first loss of the season against Georgia as a good thing for the team, saying it gave them motivation to work harder than ever.
“Coming off of Georgia, their always hard at home for us, so when we go there we know it’s going to be hard. We always expect some tricks, but I feel as though it’s really the best thing that we did lose, honestly,” Desiderio said. “It’s hard to say that, but it tells us that we have things to work on. So, we came home and we just worked harder.”
Fellow rider and junior reining captain, Kalee McCann, added to this idea saying, “we have to stay humble and keep working hard and make sure whether we’re at a home meet or an away meet we keep working harder and pushing harder.”
After defeating TCU in the semifinal of last year’s NCEA championship 16-0, McCann said they are not taking this matchup lightly and have been practicing hard since returning to College Station.
“Our girls have just been really focused, really determined, and making practices the full hour. Going at it and learning as much as we can, so I think it’s going to be a good week,” said McCann. “It’s definitely a team that you can’t underestimate. It’s a great team, they have a great coach, and a really good Reining squad. I really think we just have to keep our heads up, and not let that take over our mindset and keep remembering that we work hard too.”
A&M took home five MOP honors after competing last weekend. Redshirt sophomore, Brianna Peddicord received honors in flat from her two victories against Georgia and Delaware State.
Similarly, senior Madison Bohman was awarded two MOP honors in reining for her victories in both meets, while junior Rebekah Chenelle received the honor in fences for her victory against Delaware State.
Live updates can be found at 12thMan.com and on the Texas A&M Equestrian Twitter page @AggieEquestrian.