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COLLEGE STATION,
Texas - The No. 1 Texas A&M equestrian team (1-0, 0-0 SEC) travels to Bishop,
Ga., to take on Georgia (0-0, 0-0 SEC), who is tied for No. 1 with the Aggies,
in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) equestrian debut at 9 a.m. Sunday.
"This is going to be a special, exciting competition for our
team," head coach Tana McKay said. "Not only is this the first-ever SEC
equestrian show in history, but we will be competing against Georgia as the
co-No. 1 teams in the nation. We knew coming into this season that riding in
the SEC was going to be a huge challenge and we've prepared accordingly. We're
ready for the top-notch competition Georgia will bring to the arena on Sunday."
The Aggies are coming off of a 15-5 victory at South Dakota
State last weekend, and a pair of National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA)
national championships last season. The SEC is sponsoring equestrian, the
league's 21st sport, for the first time this season. When the Aggies
and Bulldogs take to the UGA Equestrian Complex, it will be the first-ever
meeting between SEC equestrian teams.
The Bulldogs lead the SEC in overall national championships
with five NCEA team victories. The Aggies are the defending overall and western
national champions after grabbing the two trophies in their first season in the
NCEA in 2011-12.
This is the first competition of the season for the host
team, who leads the all-time series between A&M and Georgia, 2-1. In
October of last season, the Aggies took a 13-10 victory over the Bulldogs at the
Brazos County Expo Complex. The teams tied, 3-3 in equitation over fences and
reining, but A&M took a 4-2 win in equitation on the flat and a 3-2 victory
in horsemanship for a 7-5 hunter seat lead and a 6-5 western win for the
overall victory.
The Aggies' strong start to the 2012-13 season at South
Dakota State produced a pair of A&M MVPs. Sophomore Kat Barkema earned her
second-ever over fences MVP honor and sophomore Molli Jacobs' 73 point
horsemanship ride was a career-first MVP showing.
Fans interested in following the action can get scoring
updates via Twitter at @AggieEquestrian.
To learn more about Texas A&M equestrian, log on to
AggieAthletics.com and follow the team's Twitter feed.
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