June 15, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Head coach Boo Major is pleased to announce that Billi Brandner has signed a National Letter of Intent to ride collegiately with the University of South Carolina. Brandner is a hunt seat rider out of Weston, Mass.

Brandner finished first in the Brandywine ASPCA Maclay in 2016. She was also the highest scoring junior at the 2016 Vermont Summer Festival Hunter Derby and took fifth in the 2017 USHJA Derby in Willington, Fla.

“Billi is another great addition to our squad,” Major said. “She’s got a lot of hunter mileage, and she’s been under pressure a lot. I think anybody that is capable of competing in those hunter derbies is capable of competing under pressure, and that will help her a lot when she competes in college.”

Brandner is the daughter of Chris Brandner and Susan Larkin and she has one younger sister, Jesse. She’s a graduate of the K12 International Academy in Herndon, Va.

Brandner already has a connection to the Gamecock family prior to joining the team this fall. She is trained by Gamecock legend and former All-American Amber Henter, along with Valerie Renihan.

A three-sport athlete in high school, Brandner is also very active in her community. She is the President of the Charitable Research Society and completed over 100 hours of community service as a high school student.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks open their 2017-18 season with a scrimmage on Sept. 22, 2017 at One Wood Farm, and they open the regular season a week later against defending NCEA national champion Texas A&M. Carolina hosts five regular-season home meets in 2017-18 and also welcomes the finest conference tournament in the nation to One Wood Farm March 23-24, 2018 as the SEC Championship rolls into town. For more information on the upcoming season, visit GamecocksOnline.com.