Aug. 8, 2008

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – South Carolina equestrian Coach Boo Major has announced that three riders will join the team this upcoming season to give the Gamecocks a total of nine new riders in the fall.

Maggie Fortune, Colvin Hedgepeth and Jacquelyn McCaslin have all signed letters of intent to join the equestrian team. Fortune and McCaslin are Western riders, and Hedgepeth is a Hunter Seat rider.

Fortune graduated from Kingswood-Oxford High School in Hartford, Conn. She placed 10th at the 2007 Youth World Show after placing sixth in 2006. At the 2007 American Quarter Horse Congress, Fortune competed in three events where she earned Reserve Hi-Point 15-18 honors. She placed third in Youth Trail, fourth in Horsemanship and 11th in Youth Showmanship at the event.

Hedgepeth graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Beaverdam, Va. An active rider with the Virginia Horse Shows Association (VHSA), Hedgepeth placed third at the 2007 VHSA Children’s Medal finals and eighth in the equitation on the flat finals. A four-time qualifier for the Children’s Medal finals, she also placed third in the Older Children’s Hunter division. Hedgepeth was the 2007 HITS Culpepper Older Children’s Hunter Circuit Champion and placed sixth overall for the USEF Zone 3 Older Children’s Hunter division.

McCaslin transfers to South Carolina from East Carolina University and joins the team as a sophomore. A native of Lincolnton, N.C., McCaslin was a national qualifier in Hunter Under Saddle and Horsemanship while attending East Lincoln High School. She recorded numerous wins and circuit championships from 2000-04, including being named the All-Around champion at he Houston Livestock Show. She has also posted three top 10 finishes at the Quarter Horse Congress.