AUBURN, Ala. – On a nice Saturday on the Plains in front of over 1,000 Auburn faithful, the No. 1 Auburn equestrian team faced rival and No. 2 Texas A&M at the Auburn University Equestrian Center and came away with a dominant 15-4 victory over the Aggies.
“A huge win for us today,” head coach Jessica Braswell said. “Texas A&M is a really good team and I am so proud of how we competed. I want to thank the Auburn Family for showing up today. We had a huge crowd and our team really fed off that energy. We absolutely love competing in front of our fans.”
The Tigers (6-0, 2-0 SEC) held a tight 5-4 lead at intermission following Flat and Reining before putting on a show in the second half, taking all 10 possible points between Fences and Horsemanship.
“We had a good start and it was close like we expected at the beginning,” Braswell said. “The Fences and Horsemanship riders accepted the challenge to have a big close to the meet. Going 10-for-10 in the second half is a testament to the work these guys have put in.”
Auburn picked up three of four possible MOPs and five of six freshmen competing earned wins in the meet for the squad.
“Our six freshmen did a great job pulling in big rides,” Braswell said. “The experience from our upper classmen has been so solid and they have really helped the freshmen build confidence.”
The big performances of the day came in Fences and Horsemanship in the second half as the Tigers took all 10 points to finish out the meet.
In Fences, senior Sophee Steckbeck led things off with an 87.5-82 win over Kate Egan and was followed by an 85.5-84.5 edge from fifth year Ellie Ferrigno. Freshman Eve Westfall picked up the first win of her career, 85-78.5, before classmate Kate Hagerty earned a 90.5-74 win over Alexa Leong. Hagerty was awarded the first MOP of her career for her performance.
Senior Mary-Grace Segars capped the sweep with a 90-83 win over Brooke Brombach.
The Horsemanship corps earned their second sweep of the season over an SEC opponent.
Sophomore Sydney Swallom scored a 75.25 to take the first point. Classmate Brooke Jolstad won her match up, 74.25-71.5, and freshman Abby Eddy scored a 74.75 to win the first point of her career. Junior Caroline Fredenburg bested her opponent, 75.5-74, before classmate Alexia Tordoff scored a 77 to win her match and take MOP for the second time this year and improve to 6-0-0 in the event.
Auburn went 3-1-1 on the Flat to kick off the day in Jumping Seat action. Segars started with a 69.5-65 win and Ferrigno won her second MOP of the season with an 81-79.5 win. Freshman Sadie Berkhout earned a 74 to take her point by three.
Freshman Ariana Marnell earned the first start of her career on the Flat and finished in a 74.5-74.5 tie with Devon Thomas.
Two Tigers picked up wins in Reining for Auburn in fifth year Olivia Bradley and freshman Michelle Fumagalli. Bradley rode to a 71.25-70.25 win over Gracie Casebolt and Fumagalli bested Anna Harris, 65.75-64.5.
Auburn closes out the fall portion of the season on the road, traveling to Bishop, Georgia for a contest against SEC rival Georgia. The two teams will face off on November 22 at 1 p.m. CT.
#1 AUBURN 15, #2 TEXAS A&M 4
FENCES
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) def. Kate Egan (TAMU), 87.5-82
Ellie Ferrigno (AU) def. Alida Treuting (TAMU), 85.5-84.5
Eve Westfall (AU) def. Devon H. Thomas (TAMU), 85-78.5
Kate Hagerty (AU)* def. Alexa Leong (TAMU), 90.5-74
Mary-Grace Segars (AU) def. Brooke Brombach (TAMU), 90-83
FLAT
Mary-Grace Segars (AU) def. Rylee Shufelt (TAMU), 69.5-65
Ariana Marnell (AU) tied Devon H. Thomas (TAMU), 74.5-74.5
Ellie Ferrigno (AU)* def. Maggie Nealon (TAMU), 81-79.5
Sadie Berkhout (AU) def. Brooke Brombach (TAMU), 74-71
Nicole McMillion (TAMU) def. Sophee Steckbeck (AU), 76.5-75
HORSEMANSHIP
Sydney Swallom (AU) def. Ellie Gerbrandt (TAMU), 75.25-74
Brooke Jolstad (AU) def. Kaitlyn Bloom (TAMU), 74.25-71.5
Abby Eddy (AU) def. Millie Landon (TAMU), 74.75-73.75
Caroline Fredenburg (AU) def. Kendall Dirksen (TAMU), 75.5-74
Alexia Tordoff (AU)* def. Hanna Olaussen (TAMU), 77-73
REINING
Olivia Bradley (AU) def. Gracie Casebolt (TAMU), 71.25-70.25
Lauren Hanson (TAMU) def. Catie Reachard (AU), 69.75-69.5
Michelle Fumagalli (AU) def. Anna Harris (TAMU), 65.75-64.5
Isabelle Gonzalez (TAMU) def. Alexia Tordoff (AU), 70-0
Mattie Gustin (TAMU)* def. Caroline Buchanan (AU), 72.5-71.25