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Mailing Address

South Carolina Equestrian
1304 Heyward Street
Columbia, SC 29208

Contact Information

Phone: (803) 777-9099
Fax: 803-777-8820
 

     

Boo Major • Head Coach • 20th Season
Boo Major
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Full bio.

Since returning to her alma mater, Boo Major has turned the Gamecock equestrian program in to one of the best in the country. As the longest serving head equestrian coach at the college level, Major’s teams have set the bar for excellence both in the competition arena and in the classroom.

Among some of her many coaching highlights at South Carolina, Major guided the equestrian team to three overall national championships (2005, 2007, 2015) and three straight Hunt Seat national championships (2005, 2006, 2007). She also led the Gamecocks to back-to-back SEC Championships in 2013 and 2014, as the equestrin team is the only team in South Carolina history to win consecutive SEC titles.

During the 2011-2012 season, the Gamecocks upset two No. 1 teams during the season en route to capturing the 2012 Southern Equestrian Championship.

Major is the primary coach for the Gamecocks’ Equitation on the Flat team.

Ruth Sorrel • Associate Head Coach/Western Coach • 12th Season
Ruth Sorrel
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Like head coach Boo Major, Western coach Ruth Sorrel is a Gamecock alum, and was a former-student athlete at the University of South Carolina. Sorrel graduated from the Darla Moore School of Business in 2000.

From 1998-2000, Sorrel was a member of the equestrian team, serving as team captain during the 1999-2000 season. During her student-athlete career, she earned two SEC Academic Achievement awards and was a member of the Dean’s list. She finished seventh at the IHSA Championship in 2000 in the AQHA Trophy Class.

Under Sorrel’s guidance, current Gamecock Johnna Letchworth has garnered three straight NCEA All-America selections while boasting the best individual Horsemanship record since the 2010-2011 season. Sorrel has also had five of her Western riders qualify for the National Reining Horse Derby.

As the team’s Western coach, Sorrel is the primary coach for both the Horsemanship and Reining squads.

Kristen Terebesi • Assistant Coach/Hunt Seat • 1st Season
Kristen Terebesi
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Gamecock legend Kristen Terebesi was hired as an assistant coach for the Carolina equestrian team prior to the 2017-18 season. She will work with the hunt seat squad and assist in the day-to-day operations of the Gamecock program.

“I could not be happier that Kristen Terebesi has returned home and joined our program as the assistant coach in charge of the hunt seat team,” Major said. “Kristen is one of the very best hunt seat riders in collegiate equestrian history, and we have remained close since her graduation. I have long hoped that she would one day return to our program to begin her coaching career, and now that it has happened I can’t wait to accomplish great things together.”

“There is this palpable and contagious energy for greatness that the University and Gamecock Athletics carries – this spirit I am so humbled to be coming home to,” Terebesi said. “The opportunity to engage in shaping the future of our student-athletes and equestrian sport is incredible. I simply can’t wait to get started.”

A native of Glenmoore, Pa., Terebesi was a four-year starter both in equitation over fences and equitation on the flat from 2004-08. She led the Gamecocks to NCEA overall national championships in both 2005 and 2007 and was part of the team’s hunt seat national title in 2006. In her senior season of 2008, Terebesi became the only rider in history to win individual national championships in both hunt seat disciplines in the same season.

Terebesi was a team captain in 2007-08 and was voted Carolina’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year at the end of the academic year. She was a four-time Gamecock Team MVP and a three-time MVP at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships event.

Maggie Barton • Barn Manager • 3rd Season
Maggie Barton
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Maggie Barton is in her third season as the Gamecocks’ barn manager.

As South Carolina’s barn manager, Barton is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations at One Wood Farm. She also manages the facility, supervise the care of the horses, and manage the barn staff.

Barton joined the Gamecocks after spending three years at Deer Creek Farm in Awendaw, S.C., where she trained horses and riders.

Barton began riding riding when she was seven years old. She trained primarily with Tracie Shutt in the Hunter/Jumpers during her beginner and junior years. She also trained with Paige Rassas-Sorce, Anne Morgan, Nancy Hoffman, and Greg Best.

In 2007, Barton traveled to Europe as a working student, studying dressage and jumpers for a year and a half. She returned to the United States where she completed her International Business degree from UNC-Greensboro, graduating in 2011.

Rob Walden • Asst. Media Relations Director • 1st Season
Rob Walden
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Rob Walden is currently in his first year as the Media Relations contact for the equestrian team and his second year at South Carolina. A 2008 graduate of Newberry College in Newberry, S.C., Rob is responsible for maintaining the team’s website on GamecocksOnline.com, along with writing all press releases and game recap stories.

Rob travels with the team to most of its away meets, as the Gamecocks are the only team in the country to provide Live Scoring at both home and away competitions.

Outside of his equestrian duties, Rob is the primary contact for the Gamecock track & field program and also works with the South Carolina football team.