Georgia won four of five rides in the Equitation on the Flat event, gaining a 9-all tie with Texas A&M in their Equestrian dual meet here Saturday. The Bulldogs then defeated the Aggies in a tie-breaker that computes raw scores of all 20 rides before dropping one score from each discipline.

When all the computing had been done, Georgia had outpointed Texas A&M by the final score of 1364.5 – 1314.5.

The Aggies – who also lost a close decision at Auburn on Friday – took an 8-5 lead over Georgia by winning Western Horsemanship, the third of four events. They increased that margin to 9-5 with a single point in the flat event.

Georgia, however, rallied with wins from freshmen Grace Rogers and Carly Anthony, as well as sophomore Emma Lipman. Lastly, fellow soph Michelle Morris took MVP honors with a score of 87 and a 20-point victory margin to draw the two teams even at 9-all.

“In a tight meet like this, we need to treat every single ride like it’s Nationals,” said Georgia coach Meghan Boenig. “I want to really commend Michelle for the job she did on that last ride. She knew the team scores and she just went out and absolutely nailed her ride.”

Morris also claimed a winning point in the Equitation over Fences event, as did the freshman Anthony, who took the MVP with a score of 85. Team co-captain Kacy Jenkins also won a point with a score of 78 amid miserable, sloppy weather conditions at the UGA Equestrian Complex.

“Kacy and Carly were really outstanding today, considering how much more challenging it was because of the rain,” said Georgia assistant coach Logan Fiorentino.

On the Western side, the Bulldogs dropped both events and the overall score of 6-2. Senior Alicia Shrum and freshman Becca Haaland, however, looked strong in winning points in their respective events.

“Alicia really knocked it out of the park on her ride,” said Western assistant Jimmy Frebes. “She rode strong, aggressive and smart. Becca continues to show that she can ride almost anything. She was terrific today under difficult conditions.

The Bulldogs (3-1) return to the competition ring next Friday at SEC rival and top-ranked South Carolina. Georgia’s next home meet will be Friday, Nov. 6 against Fresno State.

- Georgia Sports Communications