The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team welcomed No. 7 South Carolina into the ring on Friday, Oct. 27, at 3 p.m. at another Southeastern Conference meet. The Tigers secured the win with a final score of 14-4, holding 25 consecutive wins against the Gamecocks.
“The team rode great today,” said head coach Jessica Braswell. “Coaches Taylor Searles and Emma Kurtz had them ready and we were all very happy with the performances. It was a mistake-free day. There was definitely some pressure before the second half, but they put their foot on the pedal and went for it.”
In the first half of the meet, the Western corps held a strong 4-1-0 lead in reining with sophomore Alexia Tordoff tying with her opponent. Sophomore Caroline Buchanan kicked it off by scoring a 72.5, earning her first MOP award and highest score of the event. Senior Olivia Mariano secured the final point for the 4-0 advantage with a score of 70-69.5.
The Auburn English Corps took a hit in the flat event with a 1-1-3 loss. Sophomore Baylee McKeever secured the only point against her opponent, winning 88-87. Junior Mary-Grace Segars tied her opponent at 91-91, the highest score in any event.
Halfway through, Auburn held a 5-3 lead with a combined total score of 795-728. The jumping seat score was 438-445 and the western score was 357-283.
In the second half of the meet, Auburn's Western Corps swept the Gamecocks 5-0 in horsemanship. Sophomore Alexia Tordoff secured her second MOP, scoring a 77.5-75. Tordoff entered the 2023-24 season with an 11-1-4 career record in horsemanship. The total score was 380.5-371 as Auburn didn't suffer a loss in this section.
“Not dropping a point is huge for the Western squad,” Braswell said. “We’ve been working on having clean rides and they did that today.”
The English Corps took the win 4-1 in fences. Junior Sophee Steckbeck took home her fifth MOP, winning 90-89 and securing the final point. Senior Grace Pearson scored 10 points higher than her opponent, 90-80, which was the second-highest score of the meet.
The Auburn Tigers earned their fifth-straight win with a 14-4 score.
Next on the schedule, undefeated Auburn travels to College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M. The meet is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. CST.
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Jolie Bishop, culture editor for The Auburn Plainsman is a senior in marketing with a minor in journalism. She has been with The Plainsman since summer of 2022.
