SDSU EQUESTRIAN RETURNS WITH TEXAS THREE-STEP

SDSU Equestrian Western Photo Misc 2023-01

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

1/25/2023 12:12:00 PM | Equestrian

MEETS 5-7: South Dakota State (1-3) at TCU/Texas A&M/Baylor

When/Where	at #2 TCU (6-1) • Thursday, Jan. 26 \| 10 a.m. \| John Justin Arena; Fort Worth, Texas at #4 Texas A&M (4-3) • Friday, Jan. 27 \| 1 p.m. \| Hildebrand Equine Complex; College Station, Texas at #8 Baylor (2-4) • Saturday, Jan. 28 \| 11 a.m. \| Willis Family Equestrian Center; Waco, Texas
TV	None
Results	Live Results vs. TCU \| Live Results vs. Texas A&M \| Live Results vs. Baylor
Meet Notes	See Below
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook

After a two-month layoff, the South Dakota State equestrian team returns to the riding arena this weekend with three head-to-head competitions — all against top-10 opponents — in Texas.

The Jackrabbits, 1-3 overall, begin their trip to the Lone Star State with a matchup Thursday at second-ranked TCU. The competition, which begins has been designated as the National Collegiate Equestrian Association's Meet of the Week, is slated for a 10 a.m. start at John Justin Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Horned Frogs also will be competing for the first time in the new year after posting a 6-1 record in head-to-head competition during the fall.

Friday, SDSU will move on to College Station for a date with fourth-ranked Texas A&M, which brings a 4-3 record into the week. The meet at the Aggies' Hildebrand Equine Complex is set for a 1 p.m. start with action taking simultaneously in two arenas.

The Jackrabbits close out the weekend with a Saturday competition at eighth-ranked Baylor. Western competition will be held in the outdoor arena at Willis Family Equestrian Center in Waco, with the jumping seat events slated to be contested indoors. That head-to-head matchup is slated to begin at 11 a.m.

THE LINEUP: Following are the probable competitors for South Dakota State in its three head-to-head competitions this week:

WESTERN	JUMPING SEAT
Horsemanship	Fences
Shelby Cochran, Sr., Center Point, Iowa	Cali Karbler, Jr. Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Callyn Fox, Jr., Oxford, Iowa	Rachel Darby, Sr., Rensselaer, N.Y.
Rachel Retterrath, Sr., Brookings, S.D.	Ella Domenicone, So., Roswell, Ga.
Annika Hanson, Sr., Hugo, Minn.	Sophia Kregoski, Fr., Rescue, Calif.
Paige Wellendorf, So., Kearney, Mo.	Samantha Hunsecker, Sr., Lansing, Kan.
Alternates: Brighton McBride, Zuerker Merritt	Alternate: Kate Koehl, Jr., Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Reining	Flat
Cassandra Townsend, Sr., Andover, S.D.	Cali Karbler, Jr., Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Isabelle Riggs, Sr., Alexandria, S.D.	Mikaela Haskins, Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.
Lydia Loken, So., Gunnison, Colo.	Hannah Steele, So., Woodstock, Ga.
Grace Blake, Jr., Traer, Iowa	Julia Werkhoven, Jr., Tempe, Ariz.
Adisyn Kuxhaus, Fr., Pierre, S.D.	Virginia Klecker, So., Jefferson, Wis.
Alternate: Grace Gerbus, Fr., Pendleton, Ky.	Alternate: Megan Schoeneman, Sr., Hartford, S.D.

RABBIT RECAP: South Dakota State and UT Martin were separated by one point in Western events, but the ninth-ranked Skyhawks held a big advantage in the jumping seat events en route to a 13-6 victory over the Jackrabbits in a head-to-head equestrian competition Nov. 18 at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion in Martin, Tennessee.

UT Martin, 2-3 overall and 2-0 in ECAC competitions, jumped out to an early lead by winning four of five matchups in fences. Rachel Darby was the lone winner for the Jackrabbits with a score of 80 on Douglas.

SDSU, which dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-2 against ECAC opponents, closed the gap at the halfway mark to 6-4 by claiming three of the five points in horsemanship. Callyn Fox won her matchup on Flash with a score of 73, with Annika Hanson (71) and Paige Wellendorf (66) also coming away with victories for the Jackrabbits. Grace Blake posted a score of 73 on Juliet, but was upended by Most Outstanding Performer Lexi Bailey with a score of 76.

The Skyhawks put the competition out of reach with four more points in flat, tallying 414 raw points in the matchup compared to 387 by SDSU. Mikaela Haskins notched the Jackrabbits' lone point with a score of 73 on Douglas.

The flat matchup between Julia Werkhoven and MOP Julia Gilman was closely contested, with Gilman posting a score of 97 compared to 96 by Werkhoven.

In the final event of the competition, UT Martin earned three more tallies in reining despite the Jackrabbits holding a three-point edge in raw score, 348-345. Isabelle Riggs earned MOP honors for SDSU with a score of 71 on Cobra. Freshman Paige Butterfield tied in her matchup with Marci Leath with a score of 69.

REINING MOPs: South Dakota State has had one its riders selected as Most Outstanding Performer in reining in each of its first four head-to-head competitions of the season. Cassandra Townsend earned MOP honors in each of the Jackrabbits' three head-to-head competitions this season, averaging 71.3 points per ride, including a season-best 72.5 points Oct. 29 against Georgia.

Isabelle Riggs got into the MOP column with a score of 71 in head-to-head competition Nov. 18 at UT Martin.

The Jackrabbit reining squad has combined for a 7-8-3 record in their matchups this season, with Townsend and Riggs each posting a 3-1 record.

A LOOK AHEAD: South Dakota State is scheduled to compete at home for the remainder of the regular season and the first portion of postseason competition. The Jackrabbits are next slated to compete Feb. 10 against Delaware State, with action getting under way at 8 a.m. at the DeHaan Equestrian Center.

-GoJacks.com-