Texas A&M
Oklahoma State
Aggie Riders Earn Rare Win in Stillwater
Nov 08, 2008 | Equestrian
Nov. 8, 2008
STILLWATER, Okla. - The second-ranked Texas A&M equestrian team ended Oklahoma State's 11-match home win streak with a 14-11 victory on the Animal Science Arena grounds on Saturday.
The Aggies (4-0) kept their undefeated season going with wins over OSU (3-2) in both hunter seat and western riding for the first time since going to varsity-only showing more than two years ago.
The A&M hunter seat squad beat OSU for the first time in seven tries with a 7-6 victory while the western group moved their all-time record against the Cowgirls to 5-2 with a 7-5 win. The overall home loss is only the second ever by the Cowgirls since going to varsity-only showing in 2006-07.
"These shows have gotten so competitive as this varsity style of riding has progressed," A&M head coach Tana McKay said. "To go on the road and have the disadvantage of not knowing the other team's horses and not only win but tally the amount of head-to-head individual victories we had today was phenomenal. The girls were riding as a team because they prepared as a team. The atmosphere was very supportive and played a huge part in the positive and focused mindset everybody had. It was evident from the moment we got on the bus to come up here."
The A&M fence riders set the tone for the day, grabbing an impressive 5-2 win. Sophomore Kristi Waldal (Battle Ground, Wash.) improved to 3-1 on the season with 77-60 and 67-65 wins, respectively.
"(The fence riders) were magnificent," A&M hunter seat coach Linzy Woolf said. "I'm so proud of how far they have come and come together. The whole fence team is really solid and riding consistently. They are right where they need to be. I was very pleased with some of the margins of victory that we were able to produce today. Individually, Brooke has been very solid and consistent. I knew she was going to be an up-and-coming rider at the national level as she got more experience. I've been very pleased with what she has been able to show us so far."
The Aggies also got a boost from two fence riders competing for the first time in a point-scoring situation. Redshirt freshman Taylor Reiner (Spring) beat OSU's Erin Prutow, 70-68, while freshman Maggie Earle (Fallbrook, Calif.) earned a 77-73 over Cowgirl Alice White.
"As far as the two newcomers go, it was really exciting for Maggie to lead us off with such a successful ride," Woolf said. "She really set a positive tone for the entire team. She went early in the competition when scoring might not be quite as high, put in a solid round and really proved herself. Taylor did a great job on a difficult horse. I felt very confident that she could handle that situation well and she proved it."
A&M's horsemanship riders continued their seasonal unbeaten streak with a 4-2 win. Senior Sibyl Parsons (Combine) also stayed unblemished by taking a 74-72.5 win over Margaux Tucker.
Junior Amanda Cushman (Huntsville) and sophomore Caroline Gunn turned in the highest horsemanship score of the day at 78, but ended up tying OSU's Courtney Whitacre who later was awarded MVP honors.
"We're a different team than last year, especially at this time of the year," A&M horsemanship coach Beth Bass said. "Their confidence is higher than it's ever been and I couldn't ask for them to have any better of an attitude. My two biggest standouts were Sibyl and Katie. Katie was the only rider to score a point-and-a--half on her collective mark. We've only had two riders do that since I've been here. She started her collegiate career on tough horse. The first rider to go had a few mistakes but she kept her head in the game and went above and beyond to win by 9.5 points. That's a pretty big margin, especially for someone in their first collegiate competition."
A&M's reining group rode to a 3-3 draw but did manage to take home MVP honors. Sophomore Leah Ward (Terrell) earned the Aggies' first reining win of the day, and her first of the season, a 74.5-70 victory over OSU's Rachell Shobe.
The Aggie flat riders dropped their first competition of the season, 4-2, but did manage to record two of the top three individual scores of the day. Freshman Tegan Zealy (Tampa, Fla.) improved to 2-1-1 thanks to a 75-70 win over Cowgirl Jaclyn Osterstock.
In exhibition action, redshirt freshman Elizabeth Solch (Cincinnati, Ohio) grabbed a 69-66 flat win over OSU's Laura Conley.
With the win, the Aggies remain one of only two undefeated teams left in the country. They will put their perfect record back on the line on Saturday at home when they face western national champion TCU at the Brazos County Expo Complex at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
