No. 5 Georgia Tops No. 3 Texas A&M, 10-8

Saturday, October 22

Bishop, Ga.

11 a.m.

University of Georgia

Texas A&M

October 22, 2022 | Equestrian

BISHOP, Ga. --- The No. 5 Georgia equestrian team defeated No. 3 Texas A&M, 10-8, on a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon at the UGA equestrian Complex.

Sophomore Jillian Stopperich and senior Ceci Bresch collected Most Outstanding Performer honors for their rides in Horsemanship and Flat, respectively.

"Today was a good day to be a Bulldog," head coach Meghan Boenig said. "I really appreciate the strength in which we started. We had really impressive, high scores, consistent scores on our Horsemanship event. It gave a bunch of confidence and allowed us to really push some things in all the other events. Great scores seen all around. I think seeing the consistency and the build and the willingness to risk is great. We know Texas A&M has a very strong and good competitive Reining squad, so we had to really come in there and continue to execute, and man, they kept challenging us. So, these are great things for us to continue to learn, certainly some places we will continue to clean up, but overall, I am just impressed with where we are going, where we have been building to and to hang on to an SEC competitor is always a good feeling."

The Bulldogs came out of the gate strong, sweeping the Aggies in Horsemanship, 5-0. Fifth-year senior Sara Lewis led off for Georgia with a score of 73, followed by a 75 from junior Leah Anderson. Sophomore Jillian Stopperich rode to a score of 76 to earn MOP honors. Gracie Himes and Kendall Gill completed the sweep with scores of 74 and 75.5, respectively.

Georgia and Texas A&M split points in Fences. Senior Rachel McMullen claimed Georgia's first Jumping Seat point after scoring an 86 for her course. Junior Emma Reichow pushed her point with a score of 84 before junior Jordan Toering scored an 86, grabbing the last point of the event.

With Georgia holding a 7-2 lead after two events, the Aggies attempted a comeback in Flat and Reining but fell short.

Texas A&M took a slight advantage in Flat winning three points to the Bulldogs' two.  Sophomore Catalina Peralta defeated her opponent 87-85, before the Aggies claimed the next point. Senior Ceci Bresch completed a beautiful pattern, scoring a 90 and earning MOP honors for her ride. Texas A&M won the final two points of the event.

In Reining, the Aggies outscored the Bulldogs, 3-1. Texas A&M won the first ride and then junior Hannah Jane Lucas pushed her point with a score of 70. The Aggies collected the next two points before senior Caitlin Lyons finished the day edging her opponent, 72-71.5.

Georgia hits the road for the first time this season as the Bulldogs travel to California to take on South Dakota State on Friday, October 28 and UC Davis and Saturday, October 29.

HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.