Gamecock equestrian team will take on winner of Fresno State, Texas Christian
The South Carolina equestrian team has No. 1 seed at this year’s NCEA national championship, and it’s fresh off its second SEC championship in as many years, so it would be fair to call the Gamecocks dominant.
Beginning their season in a seemingly infallible fashion, the Gamecocks routed opponents in their first four matches, beginning the year with a 4-0 record.
However, once SEC play began, the team was struck by the unthinkable. A loss to then-No. 1 Georgia handed South Carolina its first defeat of the season, and the Gamecocks followed it with an upset loss to Texas A&M.
Suddenly, head coach Boo Major and her squad found themselves dwelling in the cellar of the SEC standings, owning an 0-2 conference record with a matchup with then-No. 2 Auburn right around the corner.
In an attempt to right the ship, the team put its head down, refusing to fall to 0-3 in conference play.
“We had our best two weeks of practice,” Major said. “And I thought everybody worked hard to make sure we didn’t give away points like we did against Georgia and Texas A&M.”
The Gamecocks’ 12-6 victory over the Tigers proved to be the turning point of the season, as the team would put together a perfect 9-0 run after its loss to Texas A&M. The team eventually secured redeeming wins over Texas A&M and then Georgia in the SEC championship, becoming the first team in South Carolina history to win back-to-back SEC championships.
Following a season that ended with a conference title, South Carolina received a flurry of All-SEC recognitions. Eight South Carolina players landed on the 2014 all-SEC equestrian team, totaling eight awards in all. Junior Katherine Schmidt earned All-SEC awards in both equitation over fences and equitation on the flat.
The recognition from both the SEC league office and supporters has Major feeling good about this year’s team.
“Certainly it’s great to get the recognition,” Major said. “I think it helps legitimize our sport a little bit more. It’s great to see the girls get the exposure; it’s great to see the sport get the exposure. It just feels real good to get a lot of accolades from folks to a very well-deserving group of young ladies.”
After earning a first-round bye, the Gamecocks will attempt to showcase the dominance they displayed through the latter part of the season.
No. 8-seed Fresno State will battle No. 9-seed Texas Christian in the first round of the NCEA national championship Thursday to see who will earn the right to take on No. 1-seed South Carolina on Friday.
“I think that both of those teams have proven that they have successful programs,” Major said. “I think, for us, it’s going to be [an] interesting scenario to see who wins that meet between the two of them and then who we compete against.”
For the first time, this year’s scoring format will resemble the format used during the regular season. Previously, the teams were split into hunt seat and western brackets, which would determine how many points each team gets.
This year’s scoring system features four events: equitation over fences, equitation on the flats, western equitation or horsemanship and reining.
Major noted that having a first-round bye isn’t entirely beneficial. In fact, it’s just one more bump in the road on the way to a national championship.
“I do think that we’ve got some obstacles that we’re going to have to get over in order to be successful at the national championship,” Major said. “But if anyone can do it, this team can.”