Gamecocks upset by No. 7 seed Texas A&M on Hunt Seat event
The South Carolina equestrian team fell short on its bid to claim its first national championship since 2007 this weekend.
A mixture of bad luck and inconsistency doomed the Gamecocks, as they were upset on the Hunt Seat event by the seventh-seeded Texas A&M Aggies. South Carolina was able to end Hunt Seat on a high note by defeating Oklahoma State 5-3 and Kansas State 7-1, but the damage had already been done and USC left with a fifth-place finish.
The Western team got off to a strong start, however, dispatching Tennessee-Martin with a 7-1 win before upsetting Auburn yet again, 5-3, on Thursday. The Gamecocks then faced top-seeded Texas A&M where they were edged out 4-3. On Saturday, the Western team finished by dropping a 5-3 decision to Georgia to claim fourth place.
Head coach Boo Major said that having a day off before competition caused the team to get off to a slow start.
“Not to take away from anything that Texas A&M did, we definitely lost, but having that bye really affected us,” Major said. “If we had been able to ride the day before, I think that would have helped. There were some positive things on the Hunt Seat side, we were able to take care of Oklahoma State and Kansas State, so I think we were firing on all cylinders by the time we got to the last day. But you can’t do that in a championship.”
Major was particularly proud of her Western team’s run and she praised her Horsemanship and Reining riders for being “phenomenal.” According to Major, her team ran out of gas the next day against Georgia to drop to fourth place in the championship.
“It was a good experience, and I think we learned a lot that we can take into next year,” Major said. “However, there were a lot of rides (this weekend) that I would like to take back and do over again.”
There has been a tradition at USC of not riding well in the first round of Hunt Seat action and that is something that Major wants to change come next year.
“I think we’re going to work to figure out a way to do a little better next year,” Major said
While the team may have not finished the way Major wanted them to, she reiterated that this has been one of her most favorite teams to date, and said she’s particularly pleased with the departing seniors.
“They’re the ones who kept this team up and really set a precedent for how things were going to go and taking things one day at a time,” Major said. “This was a special group and it’s going to be hard to repeat this group next year.”
One person Major can count on to return is Katherine Schmidt, who led the National Collegiate Equestrian Association with 25 wins this past season.
“We are tickled to death that we are going to be able to have her for another three years,” Major said.
Major will remember this team for the adversity that the team suffered and overcame on its way to its first-ever Southern Championship. At one point in the season, the team was 3-6, 0-3 SEC. The Gamecocks then won 10 of their final 13 contests, including three consecutive SEC wins. USC then upset Georgia on its home turf to capture the equivalent of the SEC Championship in equestrian.
“This was a really great team that didn’t let losses get to them,” Major said. “I’m really pleased with the way that they conducted themselves and there were a lot of bright moments. I would much rather have this group of women and not be the national champions than have a bunch of girls who don’t get along that win the national championship.”