The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s equestrian team competed against Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, concluding the Tour of Texas. Despite achieving new season-high scores, South Carolina lost to SMU with a final tally of 12-7.
Sarah and Grace Rabb, twin sisters on the Gamecocks roster, both received Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors in Jumping Seat events for the second consecutive meet. Head coach Carol Gwin commented on the team’s performance: “I’m very proud of the way our team handled the circumstances today. Our coaches were great in preparing our girls, and the team did a fantastic job getting through three meets in three days. It is not an easy task, and our athletes competed to the best of their abilities this week while battling the elements.”
The meet began with Fences, where SMU won 3-2. Grace Rabb secured her point and MOP recognition with an 85-82 win riding Calino. Bella Primavera added another point for South Carolina with an 84-83 result on Hardy.
In Horsemanship, Carly Jenkins scored a point for South Carolina by defeating Shaelyn Boutelle with a career-high tying score of 77.5-74 on Moe. Lillian Laney tied her ride at 73-73 against Ava Blyth.
Reining was more favorable for South Carolina as they won that section 3-2. Freshman Emily Patton extended her winning streak by posting a score of 72 on Jon Snow to defeat Siena Krueger’s 71. Mattie McNeill followed with a victory on Shiney (70.5-68.5), and Olivia Cardi completed scoring for South Carolina with a narrow win (72-71.5) on Ruffin.
The Flat event concluded the day; Sarah Rabb delivered the only point for her team in this discipline, winning 83-81 to secure her third MOP honor this season—the highest Flat score recorded at the meet.
South Carolina will next host Auburn at One Wood Farm on Saturday, February 7.
