No. 1 Texas A&M fell to No. 2 Georgia 12-4 on Friday, resulting in their first loss of the season at the UGA Equestrian Center in Bishop, Georgia.
A&M head coach, Tana McKay said the team made some mistakes while playing a tough team, but are now focusing on their meet tomorrow against Delaware.
“We knew this was going to be a tough meet,” McKay told 12thman.com. “Our kids pulled out some ties and we had some close rides. We made some huge mistakes and you can’t do that, especially on Georgia’s home turf. We have to regroup and get ready for our meet tomorrow in Delaware.”
The two teams began the meet by going neck and neck in the Equitation over Fences event with a final score of 2-1 with Georgia (2-0, 1-0 SEC) on top. Opening the event, freshman Rhian Murphy scored A&M’s lone point against Georgia’s Addy Cord 80-77.
Sophomore Sydney Hutchins then scored the first point for the Bulldogs topping A&M senior Kai DeVoglaer 78-67. Senior Alex Desiderio fell to Emma Mandarino of Georgia 82-69, while fellow Aggies Rachael Hake and Rebekah Chenelle tied against their opponents causing no points to be awarded.
The Bulldogs continued to outscore the Aggies in Horsemanship, 3-1. A&M senior Bailey Cook defeated UGA’s Sammie Johnson 76-74.5 to give the Aggies a point late in the event. Two of Georgia’s points came back-to-back, as senior Bailey Anderson and junior, Graysen Stroud topped A&M’s Sarah Orsak and Alex Albright, 77-75 and 77-74.
Continuing their 5-2 lead going into the halfway point, the Bulldogs won Equitation on the Flat 4-1. Sophomore, Brianna Peddicord began the event by defeating Georgia’s Isabelle Heckler, 67-58. For the duration of Flat, the Bulldogs topped the scoreboard securing four points over A&M.
In Reining, A&M senior Madison Bohman led the event with a 72-71 victory over Georgia senior, Kyndall Harper scoring the only reining point for the Aggies. The Bulldogs lead this event, earning three points against the Aggies and bringing the meet to a final score of 12-4.
Despite the Aggies loss, two riders were recognized for their efforts and earned MOP titles. Madison Bohman was named MOP for her victory in Reining and Brianna Peddicord earned MOP honors for her victory in Equitation on the Flat.
The Aggies will continue their time on the road as they head to Delaware to compete on against the Delaware State Hornets tomorrow at 10 a.m. Live updates can be found at 12thman.com.