Georgia and SMU Score Wins Over the Weekend
NCEA
No. 2 SMU Finishes Out Undefeated Fall Season With 8-6 Road Win Over No. 8 DSU
DALLAS, Texas (SMU)— Remaining undefeated throughout the fall, the No. 2 Mustangs enjoyed an 8-6 (1215.5-1202.0) away victory against No. 8 Delaware State at the Delaware State Fairgrounds Friday morning in Harrington, Delaware.
Led by a dominant 3-1 performance by SMU’s reining squad, the Mustangs compiled a conference win over the Hornets that culminated in a perfect 6-0 season, so far. SMU is the only team in the UEC with no losses and one of only two teams in the entire NCEA that remains undefeated.
The Mustangs swept Most Outstanding Player Honors at the meet with Devin Seek in Equitation Over Fences, Vivian Yowan in Equitation on the Flat (her third consecutive Hunter Seat MOP), Megan Waldron in Horsemanship and Aubrey Alderman in Reining, earning top recognition out of all the riders.
On the Hunter Seat side, The Mustangs began the meet with Equitation Over Fences, where the two teams tied the event, 2-2. Yowan, with an 83 on Vinny, beat her DSU opponent 83-69 to clinch the point, while Seek also notched a point riding PJ for an 86.
In the Reining realm, the Mustangs completed an impressive team finish of 3-1. Holly Lansidel riding Minnie for a score of 71, Aubrey Alderman on Smokey for a 72.5 and Savannah Ostner scoring a 71 on Harley added points to the Mustangs’ score.
Horsemanship saw the Mustangs continue the surge for victory. Waldron and Haylee Schoonover on Orkie and Hunter, respectively, both scored at 74 to earn their points, while Michaela Dinger tied with DSU competitor, Blayne Bell both scoring a 73 on Mick.
In Equitation on the Flat, Yowan’s score of a 75 on Vinny came in clutch to seal away the win. Additionally, Nora Gray riding PJ for an 80, helped hold of the Hornets with a tie in the event.
SMU has earned 13 conference honors, 15 MOPs, and has three undefeated individual riders, as well.
Up next, SMU begins readying for the spring season, which includes meets against Texas A&M (Feb. 2), Oklahoma State (Feb. 16), UC Davis (Feb 22), Auburn (March 2) and TCU (March 9) before the team travels to Martin, Tennessee, for UEC Championships (March 22-23) and then, to Waco, Texas for the NCEA National Championship (April 16-20).
No. 9 Georgia Upsets No. 3 Texas A&M in College Station
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 9 Georgia equestrian upset No. 3 Texas A&M, 11-8, for its first Southeastern Conference win of the season at the Hildebrand Equine Complex on Friday afternoon.
Highlighting the meet was junior Maddy Darst and senior Graysen Stroud who earned Most Outstanding Performance honors for their rides in Equitation Over Fences and Reining, respectively.
“Anytime you’re against a great SEC competitor you know there is going to be fierce competition,” Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. “Today was no different than that. With all of this practice that we’ve had with all of these incredibly challenging meets, we were able to rise to the occasion. We were able to risk things, be error free, and put out some exceptional rides against a great team. I am very proud of everyone’s hard work, certainly a great way to head home for Thanksgiving break.”
Georgia (2-3, 1-2 SEC) took an early lead in Equitation Over Fences, 4-1. Maddy Darst earned the first point of the meet by a 10-point margin. Sydney Hutchins followed, edging Texas A&M’s Caroline Dance, 82-81, and Ali Tritschler scored an 83 to defeat her Aggie opponent. The Bulldogs gave up a point before Hayley Mairano concluded the event with a 77-68 win over Grace Boston.
The Aggies (4-2, 1-2 SEC) gained the lead in Horsemanship, 4-0. Both Madison Anger and Taylor Burgess rode to scores of 76, but fell by half a point to their Texas A&M opponents. Senior Graysen Stroud matched Ashley Davidson’s score of 78 to push the point.
Texas A&M held a slight advantage after Equitation Over Fences and Horsemanship, 5-4.
With Equitation on the Flat and Reining happening simultaneously in different arenas, the Bulldogs gave up a point in Flat before Annabeth Payne outscored her opponent, 73-70.5 in Reining. Maddy Darst evened the score for the Bulldogs with a 67-64 defeat of her Aggie opponent and in the opposite arena Jordan Carpenter allowed UGA to regain the lead, topping her counterpart, 71-65, to make the total tally 7-6.
Georgia rode away with the victory in Equitation on Flat with Hayley Mairano and Ali Tritschlersealing the win for the Bulldogs with scores of 75 and 81, respectively.
Georgia’s Courtney Blumer and Graysen Stroud earned the final points in Reining to conclude competition against the Aggies. Blumer scored a 70.5 and Stroud defeated her opponent by half a point to earn MOP honors for her ride.
“It really lets us know how hard work continues to pay off and to keep that investment going,” Boenig continued. “We have a lot more work to do. Mark my words. We are coming back and doing a lot, but seeing those MOPs and feeling that energy, the all-in from every single rider today is an incredible feeling.”
This concludes the fall portion of the equestrian schedule. The Bulldogs will return to action on January 24 on the road at Tennessee-Martin.
