No. 1 Georgia Tops No. 8 South Carolina

UGA Sports Communications

No. 1 Georgia equestrian defeated No. 8 South Carolina, 12-7, on Saturday afternoon at One Wood Farm.

Highlighting the meet was Bailey Anderson (Horsemanship) and Grace Bridges (Equitation on the Flat) who earned Most Outstanding Performance honors for their rides.

“It’s great to get a win on the road,” head coach Meghan Boenig said. “We put down some really strong rides that saw great scores. I am proud of our MOPs. We handled things better today (compared to last week against Auburn). We’ve made great progress as we head into the rest of the season. There is no taking the foot off the gas.”

Competition began with Reining where the Dawgs (7-1, 4-1 SEC) rode to a 4-1 advantage over the Gamecocks (2-6, 0-5 SEC). Graysen Stroud was Georgia’s high scorer of the event, earning the first point of the day with a 75. Julia Spreng and Annabeth Payne each earned a point with scores of 70 and 73, respectively, before Kyndall Harper closed the event with a 72- 70.5 point for the Dawgs.

The Dawgs and Gamecocks split points in Equitation Over Fences. Maddy Darst led off with a team-high 82 to earn a point for Georgia. South Carolina took the next two points before Ali Tritschler rode to a tie against her opponent with a score of 78. In the anchor position, Addyson Cord rode to a 77 to edge Louisa Brackett’s 76.

Georgia led 6-3 at the half-way point of the meet.

Georgia took a 3-2 advantage in Horsemanship. After South Carolina took the first two points of the event, Stroud rode to a 76-70 win over Caroline Gute. Bailey Anderson followed with an MOP-earning ride that scored a 78.5, before Payton Anderson earned a 77 for her ride and a point for Georgia.

Competition concluded in Equitation on the Flat, claiming three more points. Maddy Darst started the event with an 85-74 win. Bridges followed suit, also scoring an 85 for her ride, and taking home MOP honors. Cord also won her point, 70-66.

Georgia returns to action on March 2 against SMU. Competition is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and the meet will serve as Senior Day.

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