The South Dakota State equestrian team posted a higher raw score on Saturday against No. 5 Kansas State, but came up one point shy. It was the first competition of the spring season with SDSU falling to the Wildcats 10-9 at the DeHaan Equestrian Center.

 

“It was an exciting day, coming down to the last ride,” head coach Megan Rossiter said. “Although I’m disappointed with the loss, we did a great job of holding them throughout the day in every event. We competed very well and I’m proud of how the athletes rode.”

 

The Jackrabbits, who fall to 0-9 on the season, tied the Wildcats in the hunt seat events with an even 5-5 score, with three winners over fences and two on the flat. Jordan Goodall tied a season-high with an 81 over fences to boost her record to 2-5-2.

 

Nicole Bangasser evened her season record at 1-1 with a 74 over fences, while Marielle Golden won her first point of the season in her first competition with a score of 78.

 

 

Santana Wright led the Jacks on the flat with a score of 74 to improve to 3-5 on the season, while Blair Julia Wright improved to 4-2-1 with a score of 70.

 

On the western side, SDSU won three of the five points in horsemanship with both Elizabeth Niewojna and Victoria Johnson scoring 72. Niewojna improves to 6-2 with the, while Johnson ended the day with a 5-4 mark on the season. Kelsey Swainston scored the other horsemanship point with a score of 71.5 to improve her season record to 2-3.

 

Danielle Baker won the lone reining point for the Jackrabbits, scoring a 68.5 to improve to 2-5 on the season.

 

The Jackrabbits return to action on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the DeHaan Center, when they host Minnesota-Crookston at 10 a.m.