No. 4 Gamecocks Fall at No. 5 Georgia
BISHOP, GA. – The No. 4 University of South Carolina equestrian team battled both wintry conditions and the No. 5 University of Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, eventually succumbing to the Bulldogs 10-6 at the UGA Equestrian Complex.
“We rode with a lot of confidence today,” head coach Boo Major said after the meet. “I’m disappointed with the loss for sure, but we saw improvement from our last away meet.”
The Gamecocks (1-3-0, 1-3-0 SEC) got off to a strong start when sophomore Jordan Allen took the first point of the day with her 85-point ride on Chico, notching the highest over fences score of the day and her second Most Outstanding Player honor in as many meets. Fellow sophomore Madeline Schaefer followed Allen with an 83 on D-Jan, tying Georgia’s Jordan Toering in the matchup. From there the Bulldogs found the edge, taking the final three points to win over fences 3-1.
UGA kept that momentum in the western ring, taking the first two reining points before senior Addie Cromer prevailed with a 71.5 on Odie to win her season debut. Junior Sloane Vogt took the next point with a 69.5-point ride on Phoebe, notching her third straight reining win to cut the Georgia lead to two, 5-3, but the Bulldogs took the final reining point to enter halftime with a 6-3 lead.
Junior Caroline Bald started the action on the flat with her 70 on Leo, taking the first point. After Alice Kass tied Toering in the second matchup the Bulldogs claimed the third, and senior Billi Brandner earned a tie in the fourth matchup with her 65 on Una. Finally, junior Trinity Hammerschmidt came through with a huge 73-point ride to take the final flat point, giving Carolina a 2-1 edge on the flat but entered the horsemanship event trailing 7-5 overall. Hammerschmidt has been steady for the Gamecocks all season in both over fences and on the flat, and her performance today secured her first M.O.P. honor of the season.
Georgia took the first horsemanship point to push its lead to 8-5, but sophomore Cora Wyers kept the Bulldogs at bay with her 75.5-point ride on Battboy to make it 8-6. The Carolina rally ran out of steam after that with Georgia taking the next two points before the teams tied for the final point, sending South Carolina home with a 10-6 loss.
The Gamecocks are off next weekend before heading to the plains for a showdown with No. 1 Auburn. That meet is set for a Noon ET start on Saturday, Feb. 20.
