Oct. 7, 2005

Athens, Ga. – USC hunt seat riders began competition in true champion fashion, dominating Baylor in the first round of competition at the Big Eight English Tournament early Friday afternoon in Athens, Ga..

The University of Georgia is hosting the inaugural tournament at the Animal Science Arena, where the Gamecocks defeated Baylor’s 362 points and ended round one of competition as the top scorer with 414 points. Other teams competing are New Mexico State who finished second with 369 points over Oklahoma State’s 357, Texas A&M who defeated Fresno State 365 to 343 and Georgia who defeated South Dakota State 344 to 261.

Three USC riders defeated their opponents in both equitation on the flat and equitation over fences. Leading the Gamecocks was junior hunt seat rider Kelley Campbell who topped her opponent Shelby White by 26 points in equitation on the flat and 16 points in equitation over fences. Campbell was the high scorer for the day in equitation on the flat with 87 points.

Sophomore Kristen Terebesi and senior Tara Brothers also competed for the Gamecocks on Friday. Terebesi defeated her opponent Susie Foster by 10 points in equitation on the flat and 11 points in equitation over fences, while Brothers topped her opponent by 13 points in equitation on the flat and two points over fences.

“We had a very solid first round,” said USC Head Coach Boo Duncan. “The mistakes we made were minor and our team seems very focused.”

In individual Western competition, sophomore Gamecocks Lindsay Williams and Allison Bradley advanced to Saturday’s finals. After being disqualified in the first round, Williams went on to compete in a consolation round of reining which she defeated her Fresno State opponent by nine points, totaling the highest score of the day in reining with 74 points. Williams will compete against Brenna Well from New Mexico State on Saturday for fifth place. Bradley defeated her opponent from Fresno State in horsemanship by a half of a point and will compete against Georgia’s Kari Ellington for the title on Saturday.

The Gamecock hunt seat riders are looking forward to competing against Texas A&M in Saturday’s semifinal. New Mexico State will take on Georgia and the winner of the two will compete in a championship competition on Saturday afternoon. Results will be available at www.uscsports.com