No. 3 Gamecocks Stumble at No. 7 Texas A&M

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 3 University of South Carolina equestrian team fell to the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies, 13-7 on Thursday at the Hildebrand Equine Complex.

Carolina (0-2, 0-2 SEC) got the day started with some over fences action. After dropping the first two points sophomore Madeline Schaefer put the Gamecocks on the board with her 84-point ride on Chapman. Junior Trinity Hammerschmidt took the next point with an 80-point ride on Converse, but the Aggies (1-2, 1-2 SEC) took the final point to close over fences with a 3-2 lead. 

Texas A&M took control of the meet during the reining competition, taking the first four points before junior Sloane Vogt helped avoid the sweep, winning her point 69.5-68.5 and earning the first reining Most Outstanding Player award of her career before sending Carolina into the halftime break down 7-3. 

The Gamecocks could not get a rally started when action picked back up on the flat as the Aggies took the first four points to secure the win before freshman Maya Clarkson won her debut matchup, 73-68, to make it 11-4 with the horsemanship points remaining.  

Carolina kept fighting through the horsemanship competition with sophomore Kiersten Beckner winning the first point, 70.5-69. Junior transfer Kamiah McGrath made her South Carolina debut after transferring from Texas A&M in the offseason and picked up a 74.5-69 win, while senior Taylor Kellam snagged her point 73.5-72 before the Aggies won the final point to hand Carolina a 13-7 loss. 

“We made quite a few silly mistakes that really cost us in the end,” head coach Boo Major said after the meet. “The effort was there, we just need to execute better.”

The Gamecocks aim to bounce back and finish the fall strong when they welcome No. 4 Georgia for fall finale next week. The action is set to get underway at 2 p.m. from OneWood Farm on Nov. 13.