The stakes and expectations rise for Texas A&M equestrian as it returns to the spring semester with a familiar foe, the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
The Hildebrand Equine Center will be full of rivaling competition Saturday when A&M equestrian (6-1) will rematch with Georgia (6-1) Saturday at the Hildebrand Equine Center to redeem the Aggies’ only loss of the entire season. Junior horsemanship rider Kaci Fisher said having Georgia at home this time around will result in an A&M victory.
“I think the home turf is a big advantage and [Georgia] should be scared coming in,” Fisher said. “We know our horses and we’re at home so we feel more comfortable in our arenas and on our horses usually; and we just have a big ego coming in [the Equine Center].”
The Bulldogs and Aggies were tied at nine points each in their last match, but on the final ride A&M was outmatched giving the final point to Georgia for a Bulldog victory, 10-9. Since their disappointing loss, the Aggies have gone undefeated, winning six consecutive matches.
“They were our first meet of the season, and we knew it was going to be tough going in, and it ended up coming down to the last ride — even at Georgia,” Fisher said. “I think that they found at that we are a lot better than they thought we were going to be this year. I feel like we have a huge advantage going into this weekend… I don’t think it’s going to be that close.”
The Aggies finished their former half of the season early December when they defeated both Kansas State and Delaware State at a three-team meet. A&M finished 6-1 to start off the season, but are looking to begin the latter half where they started back in September with the Georgia Bulldogs.
“I feel really good about it,” Anna Rea said. “We’ve had two weeks to get back into it. We ended last semester on such a high note that we should just keep rolling through. It doesn’t seem like too much has changed [in practice]… We’ve got a really busy schedule, so I think everyone is just ready to dive in.”
Equestrian’s spring semester opener begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Hildebrand Equine Center in College Station. The winner of the meet will be lifted higher into the SEC running with both teams starting the latter half of the season 6-1 as Auburn begins at 5-1.
