COLLEGE STATION – The No. 3 Texas A&M equestrian team was edged out by No. 8 SMU, 10-9, Saturday at the Hildebrand Equine Complex.
“We had some good rides, but we had some huge mistakes too,” head coach Tana McKay said. “We can’t have that. This will be a good reality check heading into the postseason. It will give us a few things to work on and clean that stuff up moving forward.”
SMU took the first two events of the day, Equitation on the Flat and Reining, 3-2 to lead 6-4 at the break. Freshman Rebekah Chenelle earned the first Aggie point, defeating Nora Gray, 89-83, before seniorMarlena Parker topped Alexandra Murphy, 83-82.
In Reining, junior Sarah Kate Grider knocked off Olivia Pakula, 72.5-71.5. Senior Hannah Jechow earned MOP honors following her 72.5-65 victory over Casey Bibbs.
A&M (9-4, 3-3 SEC) tied in Equitation over Fences, 2-2, as Chenelle won her second point of the day, defeating Alexa Boggio, 85-82. Parker tied Sylvia de Toledo before sophomore Rachael Hake beat Schaefer Raposa, 87-83, en route to being named MOP.
Junior Kaci Fisher kicked off Horsemanship with a 74.5-72 victory over Jaclyn White as the Abilene, Texas native earned MOP honors. Senior Carolyn Day defeated Morgan Redwine, 72-70.5, before sophomoreAvery Ellis captured her eighth win of the season, topping Michaela Dinger, 72.5-71.
The Aggies will face No. 2 Georgia on March 26 at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga. Competition is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
To learn more about the Aggie equestrian team, log onto 12thman.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics