July 4, 2011

Click here to view the full 2011-2012 Equestrian schedule

COLUMBIA, S.C – The South Carolina equestrian team announced its 2011-2012 competition schedule on Monday.

The Gamecocks will have 13 regular season competitions on the schedule this year, and all six home meets will take place at One Wood Farm in Blythewood.

“We have put together a strong schedule for 2011-2012,” South Carolina head coach Boo Major has said. “We’ll compete twice against Auburn and Georgia like we do each season, and we have added some strong teams for both home and away meets.”

The Gamecocks open the 2011-2012 season on Fri. Sept. 23, as South Carolina hosts Fresno State. One week later, on Fri., Sept. 30, the Gamecocks will host TCU. The riders then hit the road for three meets at Auburn (Oct. 8), at SMU (Oct. 28), and at New Mexico State (Oct. 29). The competition against SMU on Oct. 28 in Dallas will be a head-to-head competition of both team’s Hunt Seat squads since the Mustangs do not have a Western team. The Gamecocks close out the fall portion of their schedule when they host Georgia on Fri., Nov. 4, at 1 p.m.

The spring portion of the schedule begins Jan. 29 when South Carolina hosts Oklahoma State at 10 a.m. After opening the spring at home, the Gamecocks travel to Georgia (Feb. 4) and to Tennessee-Martin (Feb. 11). South Carolina will close out the month of February with a pair of weekend competitions, as the Gamecocks will host Auburn (Feb. 25) and Baylor (Feb. 26). Both of those competitions are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

The Gamecocks close out the regular season with a weekend road trip, as South Carolina will compete at Delaware State (Mar. 16) and at Sacred Heard (Mar. 17).

Post-season competition begins with the 2012 Southern Equestrian Championships, which will be held Mar. 30-31 at the University of Georgia’s facility in Bishop. The tenth annual competition is between Georgia, Auburn, and South Carolina. The team with the best conference record advances to the championship competition on Mar. 31. The two remaining teams compete against one another on Mar. 30, with the winner advancing to the championship competition.

The 2012 Varsity Equestrian National Championships will be held Apr. 12-14 in Waco, TX. The Gamecocks have won two overall national championships (2005, 2007) and three hunt seat national championships (2005, 2006, 2007).

Admission to all South Carolina equestrian competitions is free.