Gamecocks Shine in Exhibition/Scrimmage on Saturday
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina equestrian team knocked off some holiday rust on Saturday, hosting the Ohio State University western team for an exhibition, and a jumping seat inter-squad scrimmage at OneWood Farm
Most of the action took place in horsemanship where seven Gamecocks faced off with Buckeyes instead of the traditional five-on-five. Senior Madelynn Herlocker started things off right with her 70-point ride on Amos, securing the first Carolina point of the day. After the Buckeyes took a point to make it 1-1 junior Mira Clavecilla came through with a 73 on Jazz to put Carolina back on top, 2-1. Junior Nikita Cope earned Most Outstanding Player honors with her 74-point ride on Frosty to push the Gamecock lead to 3-1 ahead of sophomore Alexa Thorpe’s 73 on Paddy giving Carolina a 4-1 lead. Ohio State ended the run by taking one final point before sophomore Michaela Schrim capped off the horsemanship competition with a 68.5 on Stoner to seal the 5-2 win.
Sophomore Graycen Hess opened the reining competition with a 68.5 on Nike to earn a point before Ohio State rallied to take the other two points to win, 2-1, but lost the overall western competition 6-3.
The jumping seat competition saw the Gamecocks split into Garnet and Black squads as the women got things going with some fences action. Junior Rawleigh Harris took the first point for the Black team with her 81-point ride on Quentin, but freshman Nina Columbia responded with an 83 on Mack for the Garnet team to even things up at 1-1. Sophomore Caroline Bald broke the stalemate with her 85 on Toby, giving the Black squad a 2-1 lead, but sophomore Mackenzie Suffy came up big for Garnet, scoring an 86 on Kenny to earn MOP honors and wrap up fences in a 2-2 tie.
On the flat junior Tyler Petrie opened things up with an 80-point ride on Cal, securing MOP honors from the jump, and giving the Garnet team an early 1-0 lead. Sophomore Kit Cunningham added to the Garnet lead with her 77.5 ride on Tattoo before freshman Madeline Schaefer got the Black team on the board with her 76-point ride on Glen. Junior Kate Bonham sealed the win for the Garnet team with her 73 on Joe, handing Garnet a 3-1 win on the flat and a 5-3 jumping seat win.
The Gamecocks are back in action next weekend when they host Sweet Briar for a jumping seat competition on Friday, January 31, and a full team meet against South Dakota State on Saturday, February 1. Both meets are at OneWood Farm.
