Melia Blakely

2010-2011: 8-8-2 regular-season and post-season combined record… 6-6-1 record in Reining… 2-2-1 post-season record… Competed for the first time as a Gamecock on 9/25 against South Dakota State… Won her first collegiate ride 10/1 against Auburn, defeating her opponent 58.5-58… Scored a 74-74 tie on the road against UGA on 10/23.. defeated her Kansas State opponent 68-75.5 on 10/29 to close out the fall semester… competed in all four Western competitions during the fall semester… Defeated her Texas A&M opponent 68-67.5 in College Station on 1/28… Won her ride against her Baylor opponent on 1/30, 71-70.5… Won her ride as part of a 9-0 Western team shutout win over No. 3 Georgia on 2/5… Picked up a road win at Auburn on 2/19, defeating her opponent 59-55.5, the only Gamecock reiner to score a point in the competition… Member of the 2011 S.E.C. team…. Member of the VENC team… In the opening round at Nationals, she defeated her Delaware State opponent, 130-129… defeated Baylor, 137.5-166 in her third competition at nationals… First-year letter winner.

High School: First Qualifier for the North American Young Rider Championships, World Champion Appaloosa Rening Reserve Champion (18 & under), Canadian National Appaloosa Show 14-18 Third Place in Horsemanship, Canadian National Appaloosa Show 14-18 Reserve Champion in Bareback Horsemanship, and won the Championship at the Canadian National Appaloosa Show 14-18 in Reining. In 2008, she was the OAHA Youth Champion. She was trained by Harvey and Molly Stevens.