5th-ranked OSU equestrian team nipped by No. 1 TCU

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s fifth-ranked Cowgirl equestrian fell to No. 1 Texas Christian University by a score of 10-9 in its season opener on Thursday at Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center.

The Cowgirls are now 0-1 overall and in the Big 12, while TCU improved to 2-0 and 1-0 against conference opponents.

“It was a very good meet with great riding on both sides,” OSU coach Larry Sanchez said. “We always have things to improve, but I am very happy with how we rode overall.”

The meet started with fences and horsemanship. The Cowgirl fences squad came ready to compete, winning all five competitions against the Horned Frogs. OSU combined for 402 total points in the event, with Riley Hogan scoring the highest with 86 against TCU’s Sydney Berube and taking home the sixth MOP of her career. Additionally, her fences victory was the 20th of her career in orange and black.

Sydney North started the scoring as she earned her 25th career victory in fences with a close 84-82 win over TCU’s Ashleigh Scully. It’s also the 12th time in her illustrious career with a ride score of 84 or better.

Grace McReynolds claimed her first win of the season, handling Lilly Goldstein 83-76.

The dominance continued among newcomers as Bella Holway and Ellie DuPuis each competed for the first time in their careers and claimed victories. Holway was an 83-78 winner, while DuPuis posted a 66-38 win.

In the horsemanship arena, the Horned Frogs took a 3-2 advantage over the Cowgirls. TCU’s Mattie Dukes and Shea Graham scored the first two points over June Roberson and Maddie Fussell, respectively.

Claire McDowall claimed a 78.5-77.5 win over Giorgia Medows for the Cowgirls’ first point of the event. Her 78.5-point performance was the highest of any rider in the event on the day and helped her earn the sixth MOP of her career. McDowall has now scored 78.5 points in the first meet of the season for the second year in a row as she creeps closer to her career-high 79.

TCU’s Jessica McAllister scored TCU’s deciding point with a 75-73 win over Peyton Baxter.

In her first collegiate ride, Bella D’Onofrio scored the final point of the event to provide OSU with a 7-3 lead heading into the half.

After the intermission, the competition continued with reining and flat.

TCU outlasted OSU 4-1 in reining, with Emma Filiatreau scoring the point for the Cowgirls. Filiatreau, along with Ava Bush and Abby Budd, made their collegiate competitive debuts. TCU went on to win the final four competitions.

In flat, Ella Reinauer claimed her first victory of the season with an 86-point performance. Mackenzie Carreras scored a career-high 84 points but came up short against Ella Bostwick.

Hogan put up her second 86-point performance on the day but tied with TCU’s Annalise Manoog for no points.

With the score tied at nine and coming down to the final ride, TCU’s Laurel Smith scored just one more point than Elizabeth Carter for the winning point.

The Cowgirls return to action on a two-meet road trip to Texas, where they face Baylor on today and Southern Methodist University on Saturday. Times for those meetings have yet to be announced.