COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 4 Texas A&M Equestrian team finished second at the SEC Equestrian Championship, falling 12-5 to champion #2 UGA. This marked the first loss in the Hildebrand Equine Complex for the Aggies, who will take an 8-6 record into competition for the national championship.
The Bulldogs came out strong, sweeping the competition in Equitation on the Flat, 4-0. Junior Marlena Parker led the Aggies with a 154 but was matched by her competitor to cancel the point. Senior Haley Buchmiller finished with a solid score of 152 but was bested when her opponent brought home a 157. Juniors Hannah Williams and Audrey Gallagher and sophomore Anna Rea were the other three starters for the Aggies, each falling to their opponent for the final three points.
In the Western Arena, action began as the team’s faced off in reining. Georgia took the first point, as junior Ashley Dotson was defeated by a two-point margin, 146.5-144.5. Sophomore Sarah Kate Grider and her competition ended in a tie, both riding an impressive 145. Senior Laura Sumrall won the first point for the Aggies, earning the top marks of the day with a 150, and the second point came on a victory from junior Hannah Jechow, with the largest margin of victory in the discipline at 145-136.5. Junior Logan Pluhar and her opponent also matched scores of 145 to cancel the second point of the round. Each of the Aggies’ scores were good enough to place in the top five reining marks in SEC Championship history and Sumrall’s 150 earned the new top spot and won MOP honors for the event as well as a place on the All-Championship team.
Trailing 5-2 after the first two events, the Aggies were unable to get their footing over Fences and fell 4-1 to the eventual champions. Parker scored the only point for the Aggies with a 155-144 victory. Freshman Alex Desiderio, sophomore Haley Webster, junior Hannah Williams and senior Leah Chenelle also represented the Aggies in the final hunt seat discipline but were unable to come away victorious.
The championship meet wrapped up with the horsemanship competition. Sophomore Rachel Lucht and freshman Avery Ellis dominated the first two points, both scoring 147.5 and winning by a combined margin of 17.5 points. Senior Molli Jacobs, junior Logan Pluhar and sophomore Kaci Fisher rode well but were unable to come away with wins and the Aggies fell 3-2 and Georgia won its first SEC Championship 12-5.