March 19, 2010
DOVER, Del. – The fifth-ranked South Carolina equestrian team closes out its regular season on Saturday as the Gamecocks compete against Delaware State at the Gamblers Choice Equestrian Center in Dover. The competition is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
“We’re very excited about closing out our regular season against a very good Delaware State team,” head coach Boo Major said. “After this weekend, we’ll be getting ready to compete in the Southern Equestrian Championships, so this competition will give us one last good look at ourselves as we prepare for our postseason.”
Two Gamecock riders will make their debuts Saturday, as freshman Jeanette Collins will compete in equitation, while freshman Kyla West will compete in equitation over fences.
In equitation, Collins will be joined in the Gamecock lineup by seniors Alex Haskell and Carly Babcock, and freshman Kimberly McCormack and Logan Holler. Haskell and Babcock lead the equitation team with seven wins each, while McCormack is 5-3. Saturday marks Holler’s first competition in equitation as a Gamecock, but the freshman from Columbia won in her only competition this season, a 71-65 victory on Nov. 6, 2009, when South Carolina defeated Tennessee-Martin 17-3.
In equitation over fences, West will be joined in the lineup by seniors Nicole Bourgeois, Katie Stenberg, and Megan Massaro, and the freshman McCormack. Bourgeois and McCormack are both 5-2 this season in jumping, and each has won a pair of MVP’s in equitation over fences this season. Arute has a 4-1 record in her first season of competition and has earned one MVP honor.
In horsemanship, the Gamecocks will compete junior Hailey Thornton, sophomores Taylor Singmaster and Maggie Fortune, and freshmen Kayla Gamble and Elizabeth Fagan. Thornton leads the entire western squad with seven wins this season, all of them coming in horsemanship. Fortune has a 6-4 record this season and leads the western team with three MVP’s this season. Fagan, who has performed the demonstration rides for the horsemanship team this season, posted a 69-68 victory in her first competition this season on Nov. 6, 2009 against the Skyhawks.
In reining, Gamble will remain in the lineup for the Gamecocks as she competes in the event for the first time this season. Joining her will be junior Chloe Gray, and freshmen Amanda Pope, Audrey Jewell, and Melissa Mull. Gray and Pope both lead the reining team with six wins each.
Following Saturday’s competition, the Gamecocks will turn their attention to their two postseason competitions. South Carolina travels to Auburn. Ala. to compete in the Southern Equestrian Championships on March 26 and 27. South Carolina then will prepare to compete in the Varsity Equestrian National Championships April 15-17 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
