TCU Earns Berth in Horsemanship Finals

Friday, April 19

Waco, Texas

8:30 AM

TCU

Georgia

Scoresheet

TCU Earns Berth in Horsemanship Finals

4/20/2019 12:36:00 AM | Equestrian

Fences Quarterfinal Scoresheet Horsemanship Quarterfinals Scoresheet Horsemanship Semifinals Scoresheet

WACO, Texas – The TCU equestrian team turned in a pair of stellar performances in Horsemanship on Friday, defeating both Texas A&M and Baylor to advance to the event finals at the NCEA Championships at Extraco Events Center.

The Horned Frogs won both matchups on raw-score totals, defeating the Aggies, 864.5-860.5, in the quarterfinals and the Bears, 879.5-851, in the finals.

TCU also competed in Equitation over Fences on Friday, falling in the quarterfinals to Georgia, 3-1.

Director of Equestrian Haley Schoolfield
"We had tough luck in Fences. Our results were not a reflection of the quality of our riding. Georgia was very strong and we were right there with them. I thought we laid a very nice foundation to start with next year. They all know what their weaknesses are, and I am certain they will work on those. We are so proud of the effort of the Horsemanship ladies. They were able to keep their cool in tense moments and rode through some challenging horses. They really showed their maturity today. Coach Dukes having been in this situation before will be able to help them manage their emotions and the excitement to bring it back in and remember it's still a horse show."

Head Western Coach Melissa Dukes
"Today was pretty nerve racking. The crowd was awesome today and it really helped back Cydney Benes in her big quarterfinal ride. Tomorrow we have to take each ride as it comes. That means we have to get a good night's sleep tonight and do all that we can tomorrow to ride each horse to the best of its ability. It was very tough for us today because after the quarterfinals we had to immediately study a new pattern watch the horses and go right back into it. I was so proud of all of the girls because they focused in, I mean, they were on a horse for four minutes. It's quite an interesting sport. Its pretty awesome that they can get on a horse they don't know, ride it for four minutes and go in and perform that pattern amazingly well. I am so proud of all of them."

The Rundown
The Frogs will compete for a national championship in Horsemanship on Saturday, when they face off against Georgia at 2 p.m.

The Horned Frogs kicked off the day of action competing in Equitation over Fences. TCU posted three scores of 232 or better, but the seventh-seeded Georgia Bulldogs came out firing posting three scores of 241 or higher. Alex Beneson earned the lone point for the Frogs over Fences, winning by a total of 237-231 on Marley.

In the quarterfinals of Horsemanship, Natalia DeVencenty was the high scorer for the Horned Frogs, earning a score of 224, but it was not enough to pick up a point as she fell to Texas A&M's Ashley Davidson 226-224 on Reggie. Jamie Cook earned the first point of the day for the Frogs, winning 213-203 on Remedy. In the final ride of the day, Alex Albright posted a score of 213, but during Cydney Benes' ride the horse would not cooperate, ending in a reride on the new horse of Joe. Albright was sent first and was announced to have received a 215, after a tabulation of the scores, her score was changed to a 214.5. Benes' ride on Joe was awarded a 215, enough to give the Horned Frogs their second point and put the two sides to a raw score tiebreaker. In the category, TCU owned the advantage 864.5-860.5 which was enough to send the Frogs to the semifinals.

After a break of thirty minutes, TCU was right back in the saddle looking for a spot in the finals. The Frogs had their strongest team performance when they needed it most, posting no scores lower than a 217. Despite such high scores, Baylor was just barely able to edge the Frogs in two spots, defeating Cydney Benes 223-217 on Whiskers and Josie Mootz 215-214 on Whiz. The two Big 12 foes split the points and yet again had to go to a tiebreaker.

The exceptional performance of Natalia DeVencenty on Decker earned the Frogs the victory, with a spread of 220.5-198, the 22.5 margin of victory proved to be enough for the Frogs to take the raw score tiebreaker, 879.5-851.

Notes
- After having zero tiebreakers all regular season, TCU has now had to utilize the raw-score tiebreaker three times at the NCEA Championship, going 2-1 in those matchups.- This is the first time TCU is in the Horsemanship event finals.
- The Frogs are making their third appearance in an NCEA National Championship. The Frogs are 1-1 all-time winning the Western national championship in 2008 and falling to Auburn in the 2016 national championship by a point.
- Georgia knocked out TCU in last year's Horsemanship event bracket with a 3-0 victory.