By Blake Vines | Reporter
Baylor equestrian fell short against SMU on Friday, dropping the fall season finale, 11-6, at the Willis Family Equestrian Center after being tied 4-4 at the half.
The loss drops the No. 9-ranked Bears (1-5, 1-2 Big 12) to 1-1 at home. No. 7 SMU now leads the all-time series 9-7.
The Bears started the meet with a strong start in the Flat event, with a Most Outstanding Performance awarded to senior jumping seat Lauren Jorgensen, marking her first MOP of the season in the event.
“I’m really glad I got to go second so I just got to watch the first girl go, and just find places where I could outdo her in little ways,” Jorgensen said. “I took a little break from Flat for a second, so it’s just a good way to go back in and just get my point, and then I ended up MOP-ing, which was super exciting.”
While SMU took the event 3-2, the Bears performed well and kept their heads high for the following event, Reining. The Bears had only posted one win in the event this season, but with multiple riders fighting hard for a win, Baylor won 2-1.
With their second event win of the season for Reining, as well as sophomore western rider Britt McIlnay earning a career-high score of 71.5, the Bears settled into the half in great standing as the teams were tied with four points each.
The Bears struggled to open the second half, losing the Horsemanship event 4-1. Senior western rider Anna Thron won the Bears’ lone point with a career-high score of 77.5.
Bringing up the back end of the meet was the Fences event, where, in a similar fashion to the Horsemanship event, the Bears lost 3-1. Senior jumping seat Lauren Reid earned Baylor its sole point in the event with a score of 85, while Jorgensen tied her career high with a score of 88, which resulted in a tie.
“Overall, I know it’s hard and it’s a disappointing outcome for sure,” head coach Casie Maxwell said. “We had some really good rides and some really good scores today. We left a couple doors open, so I know the team is definitely feeling the hardship of finishing the fall season on a loss, but they still continue to get better every single week.”
The Bears will take a break before kicking off the spring season against No. 3 South Carolina (5-2, 1-2 SEC) on Jan. 29 at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
