The Official South Carolina Athletics Site

Mailing Address
South Carolina Equestrian
1304 Heyward Street
Columbia, SC 29208
Contact Information
Phone: (803) 777-6008
Fax: 803-777-8820
 

Boo Major • Head Coach • 16th Season
Boo Major
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Since returning to her alma mater, Boo Major has turned the Gamecock equestrian program in to one of the best in the country. As the longest serving head equestrian coach at the college level, Major's teams have set the bar for excellence both in the competition arena and in the classroom.

Among some of her many coaching highlights at South Carolina, Major guided the equestrian team to two overall national championships (2005, 2007) and three straight Hunt Seat national championships (2005, 2006, 2007).

During the 2011-2012 season, the Gamecocks upset two No. 1 teams during the season en route to capturing the 2012 Southern Equestrian Championship.

Major is the primary coach for the Gamecocks' Equitation on the Flat team.

Ruth Sorrel • Associate Head Coach/Western Coach • 8th Season
Ruth Sorrel
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Like head coach Boo Major, Western coach Ruth Sorrel is a Gamecock alum, and was a former-student athlete at the University of South Carolina. Sorrel graduated from the Darla Moore School of Business in 2000.

From 1998-2000, Sorrel was a member of the equestrian team, serving as team captain during the 1999-2000 season. During her student-athlete career, she earned two SEC Academic Achievement awards and was a member of the Dean's list. She finished seventh at the IHSA Championship in 2000 in the AQHA Trophy Class.

Under Sorrel's guidance, current Gamecock Johnna Letchworth has garnered back-to-back All-America selections while boasting the best individual Horsemanship record since the 2010-2011 season. Sorrel has also had five of her Western riders qualify for the National Reining Horse Derby.

As the team's Western coach, Sorrel is the primary coach for both the Horsemanship and Reining squads.

Carol Gwin • Assistant Coach/Hunt Seat Coach • 3rd Season
Carol Gwin
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Since arriving at South Carolina for the 2010-2011 season, Hunt Seat coach Carol Gwin has teamed up with coach Major to turn South Carolina's Hunt Seat team in to the best in the country.

Under Gwin's guidance, Katherine Schmidt led the nation in wins as a freshman during the 2011-2012 campaign, earning her an NCEA All-America selection on the Equitation Over Fences team. Schmidt had a 25-7 record with five MVP's, finishing just ahead of Kimberly McCormack, who went 22-8 with five MVP's.

Most recently, the Hunt Seat team finished the 2011-2012 season with a 14-3 record.

Before coming to South Carolina, Gwin also coached at Sweet Briar College and Radford University. A graduate of Mary Washington College, Gwin rode on the school's equestrian team all four years she was there.

Gwin is the primary coach for the Equitation Over Fences team.

Andrea Tito • Barn Manager • 1st Season
Andrea Tito
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Andrea Tito joined the equestrian staff prior to the 2012-2013 season as the team's Barn Manager. Andrea is responsible for the day-to-day management of One Wood Farm, the home of the Gamecock equestrian team. She also supervises the care of the team's horses, and manages the barn staff.

Tito joined the equestrian staff after graduating from St. Andrew's University in Laurinburg, N.C. She graduated from there in May 2012 with a degree in Biology with a specialization in Equine Science.

During her time at St. Andrew's, Tito competed on the schools intercollegiate dressage team and the IHSA Western team. She also gained a wealth of experience while at St. Andrew's, as she worked at the university's equestrian center for four years.

Cory Burkarth • Media Relations Multimedia Coordinator • 4th Season
Cory Burkarth
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Cory Burkarth is currently in his fourth year as the Media Relations contact for the equestrian team. A 2009 graduate of South Carolina, Burkarth is responsible for maintaining the team's website on GamecocksOnline.com, along with writing all press releases and game recap stories.

Burkarth travels with the team to most of its away meets, as the Gamecocks are the only team in the country to provide Live Scoring at both home and away shows.

Outside of his equestrian duties, Burkarth is the reporter for GamecocksOnline, the school's official athletics website. If you ever watch our equestrian videos online, he is the "voice" behind the camera that you never see!

In February 2012, Burkarth was named Teammate of the Month in the athletics department. In May 2012, he was voted Teammate of the Year by his peers in the athletics department. In the spring of 2011, he was recognized with a plaque at the equestrian team's banquet.

Ashley Claprood • Athletic Trainer • 1st Season
Ashley Claprood
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Ashley Claprood joined the Gamecock equestrian staff prior to the 2012-2013 season as the team's athletic trainer.

Claprood is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Athletic Training at the University of South Carolina in the College of Education. The University's Graduate Athletic Training Program is recognized as one of the best in the nation, which in turn is a benefit for our student-athletes, who have an on-site athletic trainer at all practices and competitions. South Carolina is one of the few equestrian programs in the country that has an athletic trainer travel with the team on a full-time basis.

Claprood came to South Carolina after earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from Miami University in Ohio. While there, she gained a wealth of experience by working with the school's football, women's field hockey, women's basketball, and ice hockey programs.

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