TCU equestrian earns their seventh ranked win of the season

The No. 1 TCU Horned Frogs continue their historic season beating the No. 4 South Carolina Gamecocks this Friday at KSM Bear Creek Farms.

By Billy Banks, Staff writer

Published Feb 12, 2024

Billy Banks

Shea Graham as she prepares to ride Dewey in Horsemanship. (Billy Banks / Staff Photographer)

The Horned Frogs won their fourth top-five matchup of the season, defeating the Gamecocks 13-6. TCU won three out of four events, including a 5-0 sweep in horsemanship.

Shea Graham won Most Outstanding Player, scoring a 77 on Dewey for horsemanship and 72 on Roxie in reining. This is the second time Graham has won two MOP awards in the same meet. The group of seniors on the team has come into themselves and the spirit this year is something she has never felt, Graham said in a post-meet interview.

The Frogs started strong winning fences 3-2. Sydney Berube rode Java and matched her career high of 90 points, set during her sophomore season. Franki Guidi and Ella Bostwick also won points for the Frogs. Guidi scored 82 riding Electric and Bostwick scored 84 riding Phia.

TCU continued its high roll throughout the rest of the event, including flat. Flat is an event where “the rider and her horse perform nine movements in a 40-by-20-meter arena,” according to TCU Magazine, which also noted that there are 100 possible points in the event. Lilly Goldstein, Sydney Berube and Ella Bostwick all won points for the Frogs, outscoring their opponents in raw scoring by nine.

In reining, the Frogs would jump out to an early lead. Shea Graham and Kaylene Cunningham won their matchups, putting the Frogs up 2-0. The last three matches would be decided by one-point margins. The Gamecocks went on to win with scores of 68.5-67.5 and 68.5-68. Reining ended in a 2-2 tie as both teams earned 70.5 on the horse Britney.

Where the Frogs shined was in horsemanship. This event is judged based on how well the rider can execute pre-set maneuvers while maintaining control, balance and posture on their horse.

TCU earned a sweep, outscoring University of South Carolina 377-365 with contributions from riders Giorgia Medows, Mattie Dukes, Jessica McAllister, Shea Graham and Payton Boutella.

All riders are seniors apart from Dukes, who is a graduate student.

TCU is set to host Oklahoma State University on Friday, Feb. 23 in their next matchup. The Frogs beat the Cowboys earlier this season 10-9.