No. 4 Texas A&M Hansdles No. 2 Auburn, 10-6
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 4 Texas A&M equestrian team outperformed No. 2 Auburn, 10-6, to continue their five-meet winning streak Thursday evening at the Hildebrand Equine Complex.
The Aggies (6-1, 3-0) defeated the Tigers (5-2, 2-1) in Jumping Seat and Western disciplines, 5-3 each. Most notably the Maroon & White went undefeated in Fences (4-0) and Reining (3-0). The victory marked the first over Auburn since 2017 when A&M won in tie-breaker fashion, 9-9 (1520-1335.50).
Kaitlyn Lovingfoss (Fences) and Taylor Masson (Reining) highlighted the meet earning Most Outstanding Performer honors in their respective event. Despite not earning MOP, MacKenzie Chapman moved to 6-0 in Horsemanship on the season.
Texas A&M asserted themselves early capturing four of the five available points in Fences, including all five Aggies scoring an 85 or higher. Lovingfoss set the tone with an 86 on Chapman, which proved to be good enough to defeat Ava Stearns by two. The MOP marked the second consecutive meet earning the honor and was the 15th career victory in the event for the junior.
Haley Redifer followed with an 86 on Carerra, defeating Sophee Steckbeck by three to earn her fifth win on the season. Riding Benji, Brooke Brombach defeated Emma Kurtz, 85-77, and riding Zinnia, Grace Boston defeated Meghan Knapic by one, 85-84. Devon Thomas and Ellie Ferrigno each scored an 85 with Rio, as no point was awarded.
Hanna Olaussen and Chapman each secured points in Horsemanship. Olaussen defeated Jacqueline Frimodt, 75-73, on Max, while Chapman outmatched Maddie Spak on Vaquero, 74-67.
Texas A&M led Auburn at the break, 6-3.
The Tigers clawed their way back winning Flat, 3-1, as the Aggies lead diminished to 7-6 after three events. Caroline Dance scored the lone point for the Maroon & White with an 84 on Queen, winning 84-79 over Steckbeck. Nicole Leonard and Kurtz each scored an 85.5 with Risky as no point was awarded.
In Reining, the final event, Malena Lopez earned the first point outscoring Olivia Marino by one, 70-69, on Tank. Emmy-Lu Marsh edged Isabella Tesmer, 70.5-70, with Otis and Masson bested Taylor Searles, 74-70.5, on Uvalde. Lisa Bricker matched Terri-June Granger’s ride of 73 on Dixie, while Marissa Harrell matched Boo Kammerer ride of 68.5 on Peanut, leaving two points unclaimed.
No. 2 Tigers down No. 3 Baylor on the road, 13-7
WACO, Texas – The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team capped the fall season with an exclamation point, besting No. 3 Baylor in Waco, 13-7, at the Baylor Equestrian Center. The win moved the Tigers to 5-2 on the season.
Auburn swept the Most Outstanding Performer honors with senior Emma Kurtz leading the way. The Hudson, Ohio, product took both in Fences and Flat. Fifth-year senior Taylor Searles earned her second MOP in Reining this season, while junior Olivia Tordoff captured her fourth MOP of the year in Horsemanship.
The Tigers kicked off the meet with a 6-3 lead following Fences and Reining.
The Fences corps went 3-2 vs. the Bears, starting with the MOP win from Kurtz. She bested Savannah Hemby, 87-85. Senior Meghan Knapic followed with a 78-77 edge over Dominika Silvestri and junior Ava Stearns capped the event with an 80-79 win over Emma Fletcher.
Auburn went 3-2 in Reining, seeing big scores from the squad. Sophomore Isabella Tesmer earned a career-best 74 in her win and was followed by junior Boo Kammerer’s 72.5-70.5 victory. Searles rode to a career-best 76 to defeat her opponent by three.
The Western crew returned to action following intermission and came away with a 4-1-0 mark over the Bears in Horsemanship. Sophomore Madison Parduhn totaled 75.5 points in her win to get things started. Tordoff rode to a 79.5-78 victory, earning MOP. Searles followed with another 79.5 to set another career high on the day. Junior Maddie Spak earned a career-best 78.5-74 win over Gabrielle Marty.
Three Tigers bested the Bears in Flat to close out the meet. Sophomore Ellie Ferrigno kicked things off with a 78-67.5 win over Caroline Fuller. Stearns put together a 79.5-70 victory and Kurtz capped the meet with her MOP win, 86-83.
Hornet victorious in weekend equestrian
DOVER, Del. --- The Delaware State equestrian team turned in strong performances in victories over University of California Davis and South Dakota State this weekend.
The Hornets began the weekend with an 11-8 victory over Cal Davis, highlighted by a 7-3 edge in the Western rides and a sweep of the Most Outstanding Performer awards.
Delaware State closed out the weekend by defeating South Dakota State 12-5. The Hornets won the Jumping Seat and Western competitions, and swept MOPs for the second consecutive meet.
In the Western rides against Cal Davis, DSU posted a 4-1 victory in Horsemanship and was a 3-2 winner in Reining.
DSU's Aniela Cortina was MOP in Horsemanship with a score of 74.5 aboard "Rocky." Sierra Kane (75), Kelsey McArthur (73) and Justina Johnson (71.5) also earned points for the Hornets in the Horsemanship competition.
Grace Wilson continues to collect awards this fall, earning the MOP in Reining, riding "Dunnit" to a score of 71.5 to lead all competitors.
Aiden Stetzer (69.5) and Anastasia Brugger (70.5) were also winners in Reining for the Hornets in the Cal Davis match.
Delaware State fell 5-4 in the Jumping Seat matches, although DSU's Olivia Brown (83 aboard "Tillie") was MOP in Fences and Victoria Croston earned the award on the Flat with an 81 on "Finnigan"
Gabrielle Fournier (79) and Jordan Wicklund (82) were also winners in Fences for DSU.
In the South Dakota State match, the Hornets took the Jumping Seat rides 7-3 and posted a 5-2 Western win.
Brown collected her second MOP of the weekend with a strong Fences score of 87 on "Tillie" to top all competitors.
Fournier, Wicklund and Maranda McCarthy also tallied points for the Hornets in the 4-1 Fences win.
Fournier won a MOP of her own on the Flat with an 87 on "Finnegan." McCarthy and Croston also picked up points on the Flat for DSU.
On the Western side, Ashley Grasso was MOP in Horsemanship with a 76, while Cortina, McArthur and Alexis Grogan also tallied points for the Hornets in the competition.
DSU's Amber Van Segbrook was MOP in Reining vs. South Dakota State.
Mustangs Show Out With Impressive 17-2 Win Over Fresno State
DALLAS, Texas – No. 7 SMU showed nothing but dominance in the fall finale at the Dallas Equestrian Center on Friday afternoon as the team defeated No. 6 Fresno State by a final score of 17-2. The 15-point margin checks in as the second largest winning margin in program history.
The Mustangs (5-4, 2-1 ECAC) swept two events and all four Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors in their second matchup of the season against the Bulldogs (4-4, 1-1 Big 12). Fresno State earned a slim 11-7 victory when the two competed in Fresno, California on Nov. 6.
The Mustangs came out of the pens on fire as they swept all five Horsemanship points against the Bulldogs in the day's first event. Senior Mallory Vroegh kicked off the action with an event-high score of 79 that earned her the MOP honor. Senior Megan Waldron and sophomore Nya Kearns won their points as each scored a 77.5 while junior Lily Anderson won her matchup 77-71.5. Senior Payton Neiberger completed the 5-0 sweep thanks to a score of 76.
SMU continued its hot start with a 4-1 win in Flat. Graduate student Madi Johnson claimed the first point with a 77 and was followed by junior Madigan Eppink, who earned the event's highest score and MOP honor with an 85. Freshman Hensley Humphries kept things going as she claimed her first collegiate point, scoring an 83 in her first start. After Fresno State won their first point of the day, sophomore Katy Merchant defeated her opponent 81-62 for the fourth and final Mustang Flat point.
The second half of Friday's action saw just as much success for the 'Stangs as they earned the day's second event sweep in Fences. An MOP-winning ride from junior Alex Pielet earned a score of 85 and claimed the first point for SMU. She was followed by freshman Elli Yeager, who scored a 76, Humphries, who tallied an 81 to go undefeated on the day, senior Devin Seek, who finished with an 83, and junior Emma Jolly, who won her matchup 75-55.
With the SMU win already clinched, the two teams headed into Reining. The Bulldogs claimed the first point, but it was all Mustang power after that. Freshman Maria Richards won her matchup with a 72 before sophomore Chalyce Head tied her opponent at 73. Juniors Taylor Zimmerman and Dani Latimer picked up the final two points with tallies of 69.5 and 72.5, respectively. Latimer's ride earned her the MOP title.
The impressive 15-point win is the biggest difference for the Mustangs this season and finishes behind a 17-1 victory against TCU on Feb. 29, 2020 for the second largest in SMU Equestrian history.
No. 3 Baylor EQ Handles No. 6 Fresno State, 11-7
WACO, Texas – No. 3 Baylor equestrian (4-2, 2-1) handled No. 6 Fresno State (4-5, 1-2) in an 11-7 meet to close out the fall season Saturday afternoon at the Willis Family Equestrian Center in Waco.
BU jumped out to an early lead, 6-2, at halftime behind strong performances in Fences and Reining. The Bears set the tone early with four rides at or above 80 on the Jumping Seat side, as Caroline Fuller, Savannah Hemby, Dominika Silvestri and Maddie Vorhies recorded points.
Meanwhile in the Western arena, Andie Pratt scored a season-high 76.5 and Shelby Clausen added a tally as the Bears took the event 2-1.
After the break, two big rides helped the Bulldogs take Flat, 3-2. It was Madison Mitchell and Silvestri who scored the points for BU. Then, in Horsemanship, Baylor held off Fresno State’s comeback bid with a solid 3-2 event win. Marley Mainwaring, Elsie Naruszewicz and Ellen Schrotenboer were the point-winners that put the meet out of reach.
Sweet Briar Takes Down South Dakota State; Atherton, Larson-Jackson Named MOP
SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The Sweet Briar NCEA team (3-2) concluded its fall season with a victory at the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center against South Dakota State (1-5-1) today. First-year Katherine Atherton (Montpelier, Va.) was named Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) in fences while senior Britt Larson-Jackson (Washington, D.C.) earned the honor in flat.
In fences, Atherton captured her third-straight MOP title after scoring an 80 on Jetson. Adding to the Vixens’ point total was Larson-Jackson who came out two points ahead of Cali Karbler with a 75 on Covey. Rounding out Sweet Briar’s three points was sophomore Paige Kennedy (Purcellville, Va.) who worked with Dorado for a 73.
In flat competition Larson-Jackson secured her second-career MOP in flat with a 77.5 on Taco. Sophomore Rachel Perry (Rockville, Va.) came out nearly 10 points ahead of Julia Werkhoven on Dance with a 74.
Junior Kacie Freeburg (Orlando, Fla.) also contributed to the Vixens’ point total with a 79 on Mulligan.