Auburn Equestrian Picks up First Loss in a Tough 9-11 Battle at Texas A&M
On Friday, #2 Auburn Equestrian kicked off the first of a pair of challenging road meets, and found out first hand that winning on the road in college equestrian is a tall order.
How the Meet Went
The meet would start with the two events the Tigers have had the most success this season: Equitation Over Fences and Horsemanship. This meant everyone would know pretty quickly whether Auburn would build a lead with some breathing room, or if they’d be fighting tooth-and-nail for points all day.
Texas A&M’s Fences riders were not intimidated by Auburn’s reputation. As both teams traded points, it looked like Auburn would take the majority, but then Aggie freshman Kate Egan turned in the best ride of her young career, taking a critical point Auburn was expected to win.
After the dust had settled, Auburn junior Sophee Steckbeck and freshman Avery Glynn had earned the Tigers’ only Fences points. The 3-2 Texas A&M advantage gave the Aggies the early meet lead.
Tooth and nail indeed.
Over in the Horsemanship arena, Auburn was having a better time of things. The event dragged-on due to numerous judge’s scores being held for review, but once the official scores posted, the Tigers received the better results overall.
Auburn sophomores Caroline Fredenburg and Alexia Tordoff, along with senior Madison Parduhn each won their Horsemanship points. The other two event points went to Texas A&M.
So while the 5-5 halftime score meant the meet was still anyone’s to win, it felt like Auburn had let some points slip away early. And with A&M riding so strong, Auburn couldn’t allow the same situation to unfold in the second half
Unfortunately for Auburn, Equitation On the Flat turned out eerily similar to Fences.
Freshmen Avery Glynn and Alex Ryden began the event by securing a pair of Auburn points, only to watch as each of their teammates were bested by their A&M counterparts.
A&M’s 3-2 advantage in the event, gave them a 1-point overall lead as the Reining points began to post. The Aggies’ strong Reiners would ensure they did not relinquish that lead.
Auburn sophomore Caroline Buchanan and senior Isabella Tesmer won a pair of points, with the remaining three going to Texas A&M..
The 12-8 final score made Auburn’s first defeat of the season official.
What This Loss Means for Auburn
Throughout the day, Auburn saw encouraging performances from several of its freshmen riders, but the overall team loss overshadows those noteworthy individual achievements.
Texas A&M entered the day ranked #4 overall, and theAggies lived up to their high national ranking. Conversely, Auburn seemed to under-perform in the Jumping Seat events for the second meet in a row. Two weeks ago, Auburn countered South Carolina’s successes in Fences and Flat with outstanding Western rides, but the Tigers were unable to do the same against A&M on Friday
Up Next for Auburn
With another meet to ride the following day, Auburn has no time to dwell on this tough loss. The Tigers will now make the short drive over to Dallas to take on #3 SMU Saturday morning at 10 am Central.
When they last met, Auburn fell to the Mustangs 8-11 in the National Championship meet, and Saturday will tell if the Tigers can reverse their fortunes and get the bounce-back win in Dallas.
The Scoresheet
Auburn 9 - Texas A&M 11
FENCES:
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) def Alexa Leong (TAM): 87.5-79
*Kate Egan (TAM) def Ava Stearns (AU): 88.5-86
Brooke Brombach (TAM) def Mary-Grace Segars (AU): 85.5-82
Ali Treuting (TAM) def Ellie Ferrigno (AU): 76-55
Avery Glynn (AU) def Devon H. Thomas (TAM): 84.5-79
FLAT:
Avery Glynn (AU) def Devon H. Thomas (TAM): 88-81
Alex Ryden (AU) def Nicole McMillion (TAM): 88.5-88
*Brooke Brombach (TAM) def Mary-Grace Segars (AU): 88-85
Maggie Nealon (TAM) def Ellie Ferrigno (AU): 87-81
Rylee Shufelt (TAM) def Ava Stearns (AU): 84-81.5
HORSEMANSHIP:
Caroline Fredenburg (AU) def Ellie Gerbrandt (TAM): 71.25-67.75
*Cori Cansdale (TAM) def Brooke Jolstad (AU): 71.25-56.75
Alexia Tordoff (AU) def Hanna Olaussen (TAM): 73.25-68.5
Madison Parduhn (AU) def Ella Petak (TAM): 76.5-76.25
Millie Landon (TAM) def Alexis Potts (AU): 74.75-71.75
REINING:
Emmy-Lu Marsh (TAM) def Kate Buchanan (AU): 69.5-68.75
Caroline Buchanan (AU) def Gracie Casebolt (TAM): 66-65
Lauren Hanson (TAM) def Olivia Marino (AU): 69-67.75
Mattie Gustin (TAM) def Alexia Tordoff (AU): 71.25-69.75
Isabella Tesmer (AU) def Keesa Luers (TAM): 66.25-60.75
*Event MOP"
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