July 1, 2009
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – Head coach Boo Major has once again assembled a challenging schedule for the South Carolina equestrian team as the 2009-10 lineup will include eight of the top nine finishers from last season including a home and home series with national champion Georgia.
The Gamecocks will host six full competitions at One Wood Farm, and four of those will come from teams that placed in the top five at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships last season. Home dates will include reigning national champion Georgia, third place finisher Oklahoma State and the two teams that tied for fourth place in TCU and Auburn. Carolina will also host Fresno State in addition to holding a Western team competition against Ohio State.
“Our schedule is always difficult knowing that two of the powerhouses in equestrian are in the SEC and we must play them a total of three times each before we even get to nationals,” Major said. “Opening against TCU in September will not be a cake walk either. I like our schedule this year and think it has an even balance throughout the year. We will end our home schedule rather early this year since our last home meet is scheduled for February 6. We will have a lot of away meets after that which will better prepare us for nationals. We have the opportunity to have an excellent year if we stay focused and keep a positive attitude.”
The Gamecocks open the fall season at home against TCU (Sept. 20) before traveling to SEC rival Auburn on Oct. 2. Three consecutive home dates follow with Georgia (Oct. 23), UT-Martin (Nov. 6) and Fresno State (Nov. 7) all coming to One Wood Farm before Carolina ends the fall season on the road against Baylor (Nov. 20) and New Mexico State (Nov. 21), both in Las Cruces, N.M.
Carolina opens the spring with their final two home meets with Oklahoma State (Jan. 30) and Auburn (Feb. 6) coming to Blythewood. The team will split squads on Feb. 13 with the Western team hosting Ohio State and the Hunter Seat team traveling to an SMU team that only competes in the Hunter Seat division. The schedule concludes with road trips to Georgia (Feb. 27), Delwaware State (March 20) and Sacred Heart (March 21).
The Southern Equestrian Championships will be held in Auburn, Ala., this season from March 26-27. Head-to-head season match-ups between South Carolina, Auburn and Georgia determines seeding for the S.E.C championship with the top seed earning a bye to Saturday’s championship round. Last season marked the first time that all three teams held 2-2 records in conference action, but Georgia earned a tiebreaker to claim the top seed. One of the three SEC teams has won the national championship every season since the current varsity format was adopted in 2003, making the regular season competition and championship strong tests for the Gamecocks before the Varsity Equestrian National Championships that will be held April 15-17 in Waco, Texas. Auburn has one national title, South Carolina holds two and Georgia has four.
