COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 3 Auburn equestrian dropped its first meet of the season to No. 4 Texas A&M in a raw-score tiebreaker Friday afternoon at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in College Station, Texas.
The tightly contested meet ended in a 10-10 tie, but the Aggies claimed the win by holding the higher overall raw-score total, 1,451.75-1,439.50.
“I think we learned a lot about the importance of every single point and half point today,” Auburn head coach Jessica Braswell said. “You have to give Texas A&M credit for their push in the second half. We certainly didn’t do our part to finish the second half. I’m extremely proud of the Horsemanship group and how they performed today. We’re going to lean on that event — they were outstanding. Luckily, we have an opportunity to compete tomorrow and clean up some of the errors from today.”
The highlight of the meet for the Tigers came in Horsemanship, where they swept all five points. Auburn junior Brooke Jolstad earned Most Outstanding Performer honors with a 75-73 win over Meagan Braun. Callie Hogg recorded a narrow 73.75-73.5 victory over Ady Kallay for her second Horsemanship win of the season, while Sydney Swallom also added her second win in the event, 73.25-72.75. Alexia Tordoff and Caroline Fredenburg each scored a 71.25 to capture their respective points.
On the Flat, Avery Glynn defeated Grace Shipman 73-71, and freshman Caroline Olsen added a 70-67.5 win. Texas A&M took the other three points in the event, and Auburn held a 7-3 lead at the halfway point of the meet.
In Fences, Glynn improved her overall record to 4-0-0 this season with an 81.5-81 victory over Kate Egan, while Ariana Marnell secured the other Fences point with a 72-68 win against Grace DeFoe. The Aggies claimed the remaining three points in the event. Sadie Berkhout posted a strong 83 but narrowly fell to Alida Treuting’s 85.
The meet was ultimately decided in Reining, where Texas A&M captured four of the five available points to even the score at 10-10. Auburn’s Caroline Buchanan earned a tight 69.5-69.25 win over Gracie Casebolt for the Tigers’ lone point in the event.
With the score tied at 10, the overall raw-score total served as the tiebreaker. Texas A&M’s combined score of 1,451.75 edged Auburn’s 1,439.50 by 12.25 points to secure the victory.
With the loss, Auburn’s record moves to 1-1 on the season and 31-9 in the all-time series against Texas A&M.
Up next, the Tigers will remain in Texas to face No. 7 SMU at the Dallas Equestrian Center. The meet is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT Saturday, and live scoring will be available at SMUmustangs.com.
#4 Texas A&M 10, #3 Auburn 10
FENCES
Ariana Marnell (AU) def. Grace DeFoe (TAMU) 72-68
Avery Glynn (AU) def. Kate Egan (TAMU) 81.5-81
Alexa Leong (TAMU) def. Caroline Olsen (AU) 80-76.5
Grace Shipman (TAMU) def. Kate Hagerty (AU) 79.5-76
Alida Treuting (TAMU)* def. Sadie Berkhout (AU) 85-83
FLAT
Devan Thomas (TAMU) def. Ariana Marnell (AU) 74-73
Avery Glynn (AU) def. Grace Shipman (TAMU) 73-71
Kate Egan (TAMU)* def. Kate Hagerty (AU) 70-63
Caroline Olsen (AU) def. Nicole McMillion (TAMU) 70-67.5
Logan Thomas (TAMU) def. Kate Parker (AU) 71-63.5
HORSEMANSHIP
Sydney Swallom (AU) def. Kaylynn Heitman (TAMU) 73.25-72.75
Alexia Tordoff (AU) def. Kaitlyn Bloom (TAMU) 71.25-70.25
Caroline Fredenburg (AU) def. Kendall Dirksen (TAMU) 71.25-65.75
Brooke Jolstad (AU)* def. Meagan Braun (TAMU) 75-73
Callie Hogg (AU) def. Ady Kallay (TAMU) 73.75-73.5
REINING
Caroline Buchanan (AU) def. Gracie Casebolt 69.5-69.25
Anna Harris (TAMU) def. Michelle Fumagalli (AU) 69.75-71.5
Isabelle Gonzalez (TAMU)* def. Sofia Tieche (AU) 70-69.25
Mattie Gustin (TAMU) def. Callie Hogg (AU) 69.5-68.25
Moriah McQueen (TAMU) def. Alexia Tordoff (AU) 69.25-66.75