Top-Ranked Teams Duel at SEC Equestrian Debut

By: TAMU Sports Information Department/Meredith Collier

Posted: Fri 3:56 PM, Sep 28, 2012

COLLEGE STATION, TX -- The No. 1 Texas A&M equestrian team (1-0, 0-0 SEC) travels to Bishop, Ga., to take on Georgia (0-0, 0-0 SEC), who is tied for No. 1 with the Aggies, in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) equestrian debut at 9 a.m. Sunday.

“This is going to be a special, exciting competition for our team,” head coach Tana McKay said. “Not only is this the first-ever SEC equestrian show in history, but we will be competing against Georgia as the co-No. 1 teams in the nation. We knew coming into this season that riding in the SEC was going to be a huge challenge and we’ve prepared accordingly. We’re ready for the top-notch competition Georgia will bring to the arena on Sunday.”

The Aggies are coming off of a 15-5 victory at South Dakota State last weekend, and a pair of National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) national championships last season. The SEC is sponsoring equestrian, the league’s 21st sport, for the first time this season. When the Aggies and Bulldogs take to the UGA Equestrian Complex, it will be the first-ever meeting between SEC equestrian teams.

The Bulldogs lead the SEC in overall national championships with five NCEA team victories. The Aggies are the defending overall and western national champions after grabbing the two trophies in their first season in the NCEA in 2011-12.

This is the first competition of the season for the host team, who leads the all-time series between A&M and Georgia, 2-1. In October of last season, the Aggies took a 13-10 victory over the Bulldogs at the Brazos County Expo Complex. The teams tied, 3-3 in equitation over fences and reining, but A&M took a 4-2 win in equitation on the flat and a 3-2 victory in horsemanship for a 7-5 hunter seat lead and a 6-5 western win for the overall victory.

The Aggies’ strong start to the 2012-13 season at South Dakota State produced a pair of A&M MVPs. Sophomore Kat Barkema earned her second-ever over fences MVP honor and sophomore Molli Jacobs’ 73 point horsemanship ride was a career-first MVP showing.

Fans interested in following the action can get scoring updates via Twitter at @AggieEquestrian.

To learn more about Texas A&M equestrian, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow the team’s Twitter feed.

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