No. 6 Equestrian Set to Open Up SEC Slate

COLUMBIA, SC – The No. 6 ranked South Carolina Equestrian team (4-0) will hit the road for the first SEC meet of the season, taking on No. 7 Georgia (1-1) in Bishop, GA. The Gamecocks’ 4-0 start is the best to open a season since the 2013-14 campaign.

LAST TIME OUT

The Gamecocks picked up two wins on the road to move to 4-0 on the season, taking down South Dakota State (12-8) and Fresno State (12-4) on Oct. 6. On the Jumping Seat side, fifth-year captain Jordan Allen picked up two MOPs on the day in Fences over both teams, while Sophie Mitchell earned an MOP for her ride on the Flat against SDSU. In Western, Kiersten Beckner also cleaned up with two MOPs of her own in Horsemanship, and Mattie McNeill earned her first career MOP honor with her ride in Reining against SDSU.

Sophomore Natalie Jayne and senior Chloe Stephenson rounded out September by being named the NCEA and SEC Riders of the Month in their disciplines, while junior Tierney Horton was tabbed the SEC Rider of the Month for Horsemanship.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Friday’s meet with Georgia will be the 56th in program history (for full meets), where the Bulldogs currently hold a 38-17 advantage over the Gamecocks. South Carolina faced Georgia three times in the 2022-23 season, opening the series with an incredible 10-9 win over the then No. 3 Bulldogs after the meet came down to a final tie-breaking ride in Reining.

South Carolina fell on the road in the spring to Georgia 14-6, then again in the consolation round of the SEC Championship held at One Wood Farm. Georgia heads into the meet with a win over UT-Martin to start out the season, with Emma Reichow (Fences), Sophia Pilla (Flat), Gracie Himes (Horsemanship) and Caitlin Lyons (Reining) sweeping available MOPs. The Bulldogs then suffered their first loss of the season to No. 4 Texas A&M. Catalina Peralta earned an MOP for her ride in Fences.

FAN INFO 

Fans are encouraged to follow along with in-meet updates on Twitter X and Instagram, @GamecockEQ.