Thursday, April 14
Ocala, Fla.
1:30 PM
Baylor
vs
Texas A&M
No. 6 EQ Opens Nationals Against No. 3 Texas A&M
4/13/2022 4:51:00 PM | Equestrian
Bears and Aggies split two matchups in 2021-22 regular season
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
As an eighth-seeded Baylor equestrian team proved last year when it snapped top-ranked Auburn's 42-meet winning streak in the NCEA National Championship quarterfinals, "nationals is its own beast," coach Casie Maxwell said.
"Anything is fair game here," said Maxwell, whose sixth-seeded Bears (7-7) will face third-seeded Texas A&M (12-4) in Thursday's 1:30 p.m. CT quarterfinal at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
"If you're the No. 1 team in the country, you've got everything to lose. And if you're the No. 8 team in the country, you've got nothing to lose. Everyone is going to come here and pour their hearts out."
For the first time since 2006, the NCEA National Championship won't be held at Waco's Extraco Center. The World Equestrian Center, known as the "Disneyland for horse show people," won the bidding process and will host nationals at least through 2024.
"You are kind of in the heart of horse country down here in Florida," Maxwell said. "Hopefully, (we) attract a whole new world of fans down here to watch collegiate equestrian."
As co-chair of the NCEA championship committee, Maxwell was still busy on the front end of this year's meet, but won't be as busy with hosting duties once it begins with Thursday's quarterfinals.
"My hope is that once things get up and running, that I can really focus just on Baylor and just on my team," Maxwell said. "That will be much different than it has been in years past."
Junior Andie Pratt, the Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year, said that traveling to Ocala is "exciting for the team."
"I think also taking away the responsibility of being in that host situation is really good for us as a team," Pratt said.
A junior jumping seat rider, Maddie Vorhies said "the most exciting part is that we get to travel up to 40 girls there. I just cannot wait to get to Ocala."
Coming off a third-place finish and 12-6 win over Fresno State at the Big 12 Championship, the Bears go into the NCEA Championship with confidence after splitting two meets this year with the Aggies. Baylor won all four events in beating A&M, 12-7, last October in Waco, before a late rally came up short in a 10-8 loss in College Station in January.
"Even last year, we lost a tiebreaker to them (9-9)," Maxwell said. "There's just been a history of really close meets with Texas A&M, and we had a great win against them in the fall. What I would encourage my team is, all of those meets are in the past. And the only thing matters at that point is what we do on Thursday. We definitely have a lot of confidence going in playing them. We know we're perfectly capable of going up against them in all four events."
Vorhies said the win over A&M in the fall "was a huge confidence boost."
"We did come up short when we traveled to them. We had a rough side on the jumping seat side," she said. "But, we have been practicing so hard and working so hard, and we have finally put all the pieces together. We're ready to show what we can do."
Thursday's quarterfinals will pit Big 12 champion and top-seeded Oklahoma State versus eighth-seeded Fresno State; No. 2 Auburn facing seventh-seeded SMU; and No. 4 seed TCU taking on No. 5 Georgia. Friday's semifinals start at 1 p.m. CST, with Saturday's championship match scheduled for 11 a.m.
"I think with what we've done recently, we're really prepared," Vorhies said. "We've struggled through some ups and downs, but I think overall, we've worked really hard and everyone is really confident going into nationals."
WACO, Texas – No. 6-seeded Baylor equestrian (7-7) begins its quest at the 2022 NCEA National Championship on Thursday, April 14, against No. 3 Texas A&M (12-4), with first rides set for 1:30 p.m. CT at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
A BU win over TAMU would earn the Bears a spot in Friday's semifinals, which begin at 1 p.m. CT. Back-to-back victories would book the Bears a berth to Saturday's championship starting at 11 a.m. CT.
After splitting this year's contests, the Bears trail the Aggies in the all-time series, 16-8. Baylor defeated Texas A&M in the fall by a final of 12-7 in Waco and swept all four events. But, the Aggies won a tight rematch in the spring, 10-8, in College Station.
"We know we're perfectly capable of going up against them in all four events and holding our own," said head coach Casie Maxwell. "We definitely have a lot of confidence going in. But, we've got to be on our best. What I would encourage my team is, all of those meets are in the past, and the only thing that matters at this point is what we do on Thursday."
For the first time in 15 years, the national event has moved outside of Waco, as Auburn plays host at the prestigious venue in central Florida. The tournament format takes place over three days with a single-elimination dual-discipline bracket featuring the nation's top eight teams.
Last year, BU upset the No. 1 team in the nation, Auburn, to reach the semis for the first time in the Maxwell era. All-Big 12 performers Caroline Fuller (Jumping Seat), Marley Mainwaring (Horsemanship), Shelby Clausen (Reining) and Andie Pratt, the 2021-22 Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year, will look to lead the Bears in pursuit of another strong postseason run.
BU's Jumping Seat squad is heating up, winners of each of its last four events at the Big 12 Championship, while Reining has performed at a high level all season, leading the way with 36 individual point wins. Baylor's Horsemanship team also collected two shutouts this year, the most by any single event.
A full schedule of events, live scoring links, updated brackets and live web stream links are available at the NCEA Championship Central page.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor equestrian, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorEQ.
Baylor Bear Insider
As an eighth-seeded Baylor equestrian team proved last year when it snapped top-ranked Auburn's 42-meet winning streak in the NCEA National Championship quarterfinals, "nationals is its own beast," coach Casie Maxwell said.
"Anything is fair game here," said Maxwell, whose sixth-seeded Bears (7-7) will face third-seeded Texas A&M (12-4) in Thursday's 1:30 p.m. CT quarterfinal at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
"If you're the No. 1 team in the country, you've got everything to lose. And if you're the No. 8 team in the country, you've got nothing to lose. Everyone is going to come here and pour their hearts out."
For the first time since 2006, the NCEA National Championship won't be held at Waco's Extraco Center. The World Equestrian Center, known as the "Disneyland for horse show people," won the bidding process and will host nationals at least through 2024.
"You are kind of in the heart of horse country down here in Florida," Maxwell said. "Hopefully, (we) attract a whole new world of fans down here to watch collegiate equestrian."
As co-chair of the NCEA championship committee, Maxwell was still busy on the front end of this year's meet, but won't be as busy with hosting duties once it begins with Thursday's quarterfinals.
"My hope is that once things get up and running, that I can really focus just on Baylor and just on my team," Maxwell said. "That will be much different than it has been in years past."
Junior Andie Pratt, the Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year, said that traveling to Ocala is "exciting for the team."
"I think also taking away the responsibility of being in that host situation is really good for us as a team," Pratt said.
A junior jumping seat rider, Maddie Vorhies said "the most exciting part is that we get to travel up to 40 girls there. I just cannot wait to get to Ocala."
Coming off a third-place finish and 12-6 win over Fresno State at the Big 12 Championship, the Bears go into the NCEA Championship with confidence after splitting two meets this year with the Aggies. Baylor won all four events in beating A&M, 12-7, last October in Waco, before a late rally came up short in a 10-8 loss in College Station in January.
"Even last year, we lost a tiebreaker to them (9-9)," Maxwell said. "There's just been a history of really close meets with Texas A&M, and we had a great win against them in the fall. What I would encourage my team is, all of those meets are in the past. And the only thing matters at that point is what we do on Thursday. We definitely have a lot of confidence going in playing them. We know we're perfectly capable of going up against them in all four events."
Vorhies said the win over A&M in the fall "was a huge confidence boost."
"We did come up short when we traveled to them. We had a rough side on the jumping seat side," she said. "But, we have been practicing so hard and working so hard, and we have finally put all the pieces together. We're ready to show what we can do."
Thursday's quarterfinals will pit Big 12 champion and top-seeded Oklahoma State versus eighth-seeded Fresno State; No. 2 Auburn facing seventh-seeded SMU; and No. 4 seed TCU taking on No. 5 Georgia. Friday's semifinals start at 1 p.m. CST, with Saturday's championship match scheduled for 11 a.m.
"I think with what we've done recently, we're really prepared," Vorhies said. "We've struggled through some ups and downs, but I think overall, we've worked really hard and everyone is really confident going into nationals."
WACO, Texas – No. 6-seeded Baylor equestrian (7-7) begins its quest at the 2022 NCEA National Championship on Thursday, April 14, against No. 3 Texas A&M (12-4), with first rides set for 1:30 p.m. CT at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
A BU win over TAMU would earn the Bears a spot in Friday's semifinals, which begin at 1 p.m. CT. Back-to-back victories would book the Bears a berth to Saturday's championship starting at 11 a.m. CT.
After splitting this year's contests, the Bears trail the Aggies in the all-time series, 16-8. Baylor defeated Texas A&M in the fall by a final of 12-7 in Waco and swept all four events. But, the Aggies won a tight rematch in the spring, 10-8, in College Station.
"We know we're perfectly capable of going up against them in all four events and holding our own," said head coach Casie Maxwell. "We definitely have a lot of confidence going in. But, we've got to be on our best. What I would encourage my team is, all of those meets are in the past, and the only thing that matters at this point is what we do on Thursday."
For the first time in 15 years, the national event has moved outside of Waco, as Auburn plays host at the prestigious venue in central Florida. The tournament format takes place over three days with a single-elimination dual-discipline bracket featuring the nation's top eight teams.
Last year, BU upset the No. 1 team in the nation, Auburn, to reach the semis for the first time in the Maxwell era. All-Big 12 performers Caroline Fuller (Jumping Seat), Marley Mainwaring (Horsemanship), Shelby Clausen (Reining) and Andie Pratt, the 2021-22 Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year, will look to lead the Bears in pursuit of another strong postseason run.
BU's Jumping Seat squad is heating up, winners of each of its last four events at the Big 12 Championship, while Reining has performed at a high level all season, leading the way with 36 individual point wins. Baylor's Horsemanship team also collected two shutouts this year, the most by any single event.
A full schedule of events, live scoring links, updated brackets and live web stream links are available at the NCEA Championship Central page.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor equestrian, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorEQ.
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