Texas A&M equestrian is gearing up for its first meet of the new year against No. 9 Baylor.
After a 13-7 victory against No. 3 South Carolina, the Aggies finished the fall slate with a 1-2 record.
Junior Grace Boston took home the first Most Outstanding Player, or MOP, honor of the meet after her score of 83-80 in Fences.
Senior Caroline Dance ended the last meet with three victories over South Carolina and obtained a MOP honor for the Aggies.
Another MOP honor was given to junior Hayley Riddle, who scored 76-72 against the Gamecocks. Riddle was later announced as the SEC Co-Horsemanship rider for last fall.
The team returned to Aggieland for practices on Jan. 11 to prepare for the first meet of the semester.
“We are trying to be as efficient as possible in the short amount of time that we have,” A&M coach Tana McKay said. “We really only had less than three weeks of practice, so that adds a challenge to it.”
The horses have also been adequately maintained as preparations for new competitions this season have begun.
“We are in conjunction with the vet school making sure [the horses] are in tip-top shape and have the right supplements,” said McKay.
This will be Baylor’s first competition since March of 2020, and the Bears are introducing nine new riders.
While she thinks the Aggies will have the advantage due to their meet experience from the fall, McKay said they may have some difficulty getting back into a groove after the winter break.
“I do think we will have a leg up since being able to get in three competitions in the fall” said Mckay. “There may be some rusty spots that we may need to work on, and you just don’t see it in practice.”
McKay said it will be beneficial for the team to get back in a competition mindset.
“Every meet is just so valuable because there is just no way to recreate the competition day,” McKay said. “It is such a big learning tool.”
The Aggies currently hold a winning streak against Baylor with four previous victories over the Bears.
The meet will be held at the Hildebrand Equine Complex on Saturday at 11 a.m.