Equestrian moves to 8-3 after Fresno State Invitational

By Caroline Lindstrom
Reporter

The No. 2 Baylor equestrian team came out of the Fresno State Invitational with a loss to 1-1 advancing its record to 8-3. The Bears had a close match Friday against Fresno State, but ended with a score of 8-7. On Saturday, the Bears came back with a vengeance to beat SMU 13-3 in Fresno, Calif.

“The Fresno State meet came down to one rider and the difference was .5 when it was all over,” head coach Ellen White said.

The Bears tied 2-2 in flats, fences and horsemanship to stay neck-and-neck with Fresno State going into the reining event. The Bulldogs were able to secure the victory by taking the reining event 2-1. Despite the loss, sophomore Page Parker received Most Outstanding Player honors in fences and senior Bryn Lindley received the honors in horsemanship.

White said road meets are always tough because riders meet a horse five minutes before they get on their four-legged athlete. The riders can mistakenly read a horse because they are unaware of where that horse’s “buttons” are.

White said the women started to get comfortable sitting in the No. 2 spot, but in no way does their ranking help them win a meet.
“The Fresno meet opened our eyes to expect the unexpected,” Lindley said. “We have to ride to impress the judges and to the best of our ability.”

The SMU meet was a fresh start for the Bears as they dominated reining and flat with scores of 4-0. The Bears won horsemanship 3-1 and tied in fences 2-2.

“SMU was a good team and gave us a tough run, but we were talented and mentally sharp enough to get a W there,” Lindley said.

Junior Samantha Schaefer received Most Outstanding Player honors in both fences and flat. Freshman Jessica Leach received the honors in reining as well.

White said it was an overall good weekend for the women because the loss will wake the team up. She said each rider needs to find the will to win and not count on the other women to win their points. Freshmen Taylor Sutton and Savannah Jenkins were able to get experience under their belt, which White says will only make the team stronger for the championships.
The Bears will travel to Manhattan, Kan. to tackle No. 4 Kansas State on Friday.
By Caroline Lindstrom
Reporter

The No. 2 Baylor equestrian team came out of the Fresno State Invitational with a loss to 1-1 advancing its record to 8-3. The Bears had a close match Friday against Fresno State, but ended with a score of 8-7. On Saturday, the Bears came back with a vengeance to beat SMU 13-3 in Fresno, Calif.

“The Fresno State meet came down to one rider and the difference was .5 when it was all over,” head coach Ellen White said.

The Bears tied 2-2 in flats, fences and horsemanship to stay neck-and-neck with Fresno State going into the reining event. The Bulldogs were able to secure the victory by taking the reining event 2-1. Despite the loss, sophomore Page Parker received Most Outstanding Player honors in fences and senior Bryn Lindley received the honors in horsemanship.

White said road meets are always tough because riders meet a horse five minutes before they get on their four-legged athlete. The riders can mistakenly read a horse because they are unaware of where that horse’s “buttons” are.

White said the women started to get comfortable sitting in the No. 2 spot, but in no way does their ranking help them win a meet.
“The Fresno meet opened our eyes to expect the unexpected,” Lindley said. “We have to ride to impress the judges and to the best of our ability.”

The SMU meet was a fresh start for the Bears as they dominated reining and flat with scores of 4-0. The Bears won horsemanship 3-1 and tied in fences 2-2.

“SMU was a good team and gave us a tough run, but we were talented and mentally sharp enough to get a W there,” Lindley said.

Junior Samantha Schaefer received Most Outstanding Player honors in both fences and flat. Freshman Jessica Leach received the honors in reining as well.

White said it was an overall good weekend for the women because the loss will wake the team up. She said each rider needs to find the will to win and not count on the other women to win their points. Freshmen Taylor Sutton and Savannah Jenkins were able to get experience under their belt, which White says will only make the team stronger for the championships.
The Bears will travel to Manhattan, Kan. to tackle No. 4 Kansas State on Friday.