Horned Frogs Battle Tigers On Friday
9/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Sept. 17, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU equestrian program will travel to Auburn, Ala., on Friday for a contest against Auburn University.
"We have three huge games coming up this weekend. We are traveling to play some of the toughest teams in the sport," said head coach Gary Reynolds. "We are looking forward to the trip and ready to go."
The Frogs, who will face Georgia on Saturday, will close the weekend at South Carolina. Start time for the match against the Tigers is set for 10 a.m. CT on Friday inside the Auburn Equestrian Center. On Saturday, TCU will travel to Bishop, Ga., for a 1 p.m. CT contest against the defending National Champion Bulldogs. Finally, the Purple and White's match-up against South Carolina on Sunday, which will take place in Blythewood, S.C., will begin at 9 a.m. CT.
Follow The Horned Frogs
A full recap and final results will be available following each day of competition this weekend on GoFrogs.com.
Scouting Auburn
Auburn, who will open its season this weekend, returns plenty of experience off a squad that competed in the finals of Hunt Seat at the 2009 Varsity Equestrian National Championships. The Tigers are led by sophomore Maggie McAlary who collected most outstanding Hunt Seat rider accolades last spring at the National Championships in Waco.
On the Western side, Auburn returns plenty from a team that fell in the opening round of the National Championships. Returnees Bailey Dymond, Kylie Miller and Jessica Jones all competed at nationals and will ride against TCU on Friday.
Scouting Georgia
Georgia will open its quest for a fifth National Championship against the Frogs on Saturday. The Bulldogs, who have also claimed four SEC Equine Championships, have never lost a home dual. TCU defeated Georgia last fall in Western, 5-3, to advance to the championship round against Texas A&M.
Georgia will be led this fall by the 2008 National Champion in Reining, Sarah Locker. Locker went 10-4 last season and will once again be one of the best collegiate riders this fall.
Emma Lipman will lead the Bulldogs' Hunt Seat squad in 2009 after going 5-0-1 last year. Kacy Jenkins should also be a factor for Georgia following a sophomore campaign in which she closed out her season winning six of her last seven rides.
Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina, who finished sixth overall as a team at the VENC meet in Waco last season, returns a solid nucleus in 2009. The Gamecocks will be riding with heavy hearts this fall as talented junior Victoria Middleton suffered a tragic accident over the summer. Middleton, who was recently released from the hospital, was the national runner-up in Equitation on the Flat last season. Overall, she went undefeated at nationals to cap an 11-1-1 record on the year.
The South Carolina Hunt Seat team, which made it into the semifinals of the National Championships, will look to senior Eleanor Kunsman to carry the load this fall following a solid showing at the VENC meet in Waco. Kunsman went 8-1-1 on the flat in regular-season action last year.
On the Western side of things, the Gamecocks closed the spring season finishing sixth overall at the National Championships for the second-straight year. South Carolina, who fell to Kansas State in Waco, will be led this season by Emily Bookwalter, who recorded the lone victory for USC against Kansas State at nationals.
Scouting TCU
The Purple and White head into this weekend with an 1-1-0 record. TCU opened its 2009 campaign, downing Miami (Ohio) last Friday night, 14-1.
Against the RedHawks, the Frogs outscored Miami (Ohio), 1186.5-1079, to move to 1-0 on the season. Freshmen Kolby Simonson and Lexie Estrada both claimed victories in their first collegiate outing, while Carrie von Uhlit, Ashley Aikman, Jessica Hagen and Lauren Quiroz all earned MVP accolades.
Against Baylor, TCU collected two MVP honors last Saturday afternoon, but dropped an 8-7 decision to the Bears at the Willis Invitational.
The Horned Frogs, who outscored BU, 1169.5-1118, swept the Reining competition inside the Willis Family Equestrian Center. Overall, TCU totaled a 5-2 advantage in Western events against Baylor.
Ashton Mickunas, a senior from Fort Worth, claimed MVP honors in Reining, downing the Bears' Madelyn Mooney, 72-71.5. Fellow senior Chloe Baker also scored a point for the Frogs, defeating Katie Buss, 70.5-69.5. Finally, Carrie von Uhlit and Kelsey Huffman tallied the final two points for TCU, upending Baylor, 68.5-0 and 70.5-68.5, respectively.
In Horsemanship, Huffman scored the Frogs lone point in the event, defeating Lindsey Tomko, 75-72. The junior from Norco, Calif., collected MVP accolades last Saturday.
Huffman Added To Coaching Staff
TCU equestrian head coach Gary Reynolds announced the addition of former Horned Frog Kindel Huffman to the equestrian coaching staff this past Monday.
Huffman, who was named the 2007 Bob Lilly TCU Athlete of the Year by the Greater Fort Worth Fellowship of Christian Athletes, closed out her senior season collecting a team-high five MVP accolades, while recording a perfect 11-0 record in horsemanship. The Norco, Calif., native also helped the Western team capture the 2008 Varsity Equestrian Western National Championship in only its second year as a program.
Up Next
TCU will open the month of October with an away match at Kansas State University on Oct. 2.
Players Mentioned
