May 25, 2010
Click Here to View 2010-2011 Equestrian Schedule
COLUMBIA, S.C – The South Carolina equestrian team announced its 2010-2011 competition schedule on Tuesday. All of the teams on the Gamecocks’ schedule for the upcoming season competed at the 2010 Varsity Equestrian National Championships in Waco, making South Carolina’s schedule one of the toughest in the country.
The Gamecocks will host five full competitions at One Wood Farm in Blythewood against national champion Georgia, Southern Methodist University, South Dakota State University, Auburn, and New Mexico State.
South Carolina faces a tough road schedule this year, as the Gamecocks will compete against Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor, Fresno State, and Texas Christian University. The Gamecocks will also travel to conference foes Auburn and Georgia.
The Gamecocks open the fall season with home competitions against SMU (Sept. 24), South Dakota State (Sept. 25), and Auburn (Sept. 25). The Gamecocks then hit the road for competitions at Georgia (Oct. 23) Kansas State (Oct. 29), Texas A&M (Jan. 28), and Baylor (Jan. 29). South Carolina returns home to host Georgia (Feb. 5) before hitting the road against to compete against Fresno State and TCU (Feb. 26-27). The Gamecocks then close out the regular season hosting New Mexico State on March 19.
Also on this year’s schedule, the Gamecocks will host the 2011 Southern Equestrian Championships on March 25-26 at One Wood Farm. Head-to-head season match-ups between South Carolina, Auburn and Georgia determines seeding for the S.E.C championship with the top seed earning a bye to Saturday’s championship round. One of the three SEC teams has won the national championship every season since the current varsity format was adopted in 2003, making the regular season competition and championship strong tests for the Gamecocks before the Varsity Equestrian National Championships that will be held April 14-16 in Waco, Texas. Auburn has one national title, South Carolina holds two and Georgia has five.
“We are very excited and proud to be hosting SEC’s next year and think it will be a great event for our fans to come and watch,” Major said. “The SEC is always a good competition to hold right before our national championships because all three schools involved always seem to have a shot at the national title. It is a good gauge of where we stand nationally. I’m sure we will have some fun activities for children to participate in while the meet is going on so it will be a fun couple of days for everyone.”
