April 15, 2005

SANTA FE, NM -- The Georgia equestrian team will have an uphill battle on Saturday to win it's third straight national title on the final day of competition at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships contested at the Santa Fe Horsepark in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Bulldogs closed the first day of competition on a bright note as senior Megan Richardson won her class of equitation on the flat, adding seven points to Georgia's team score for a total of 16. However, the tally left the two-time defending champion Bulldogs in sixth place at the end of competition Friday, while defending Western champion Oklahoma State led the field of 12 teams with 33 points, excelling in both the English and Western disciplines. South Carolina finished in second with 24 points, Texas A&M held third with 21 points, followed by Kansas State (19), and Fresno State (17).

"It was a slow start for us, and frustrating at times," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "Megan has been a turning point for us before though, and I hope tomorrow mirrors that trend. The fat lady hasn't sung yet, but we have a lot of work to do."

Senior Carly Velman placed fourth in her reining class on Friday afternoon to score three points, bringing Georgia's Western total to six, good for sixth place in the Western competition.

"I couldn't have asked my riders to do anything different," associate head coach Beth Bass said. "I hope we pull it together as a team tomorrow and get it done like we did last year. We have strong riders tomorrow but tough draws."

Meanwhile, Richardson's win pushed the Bulldogs into fourth on the English side with 10 points. Georgia is the three time defending champion in that discipline, having won each English title since the VENC's inception in 2002.

"I was excited about my ride as soon as I found out my draw," Richardson said. "After all the frustrations we had today I knew that I could do well for the team and I was very happy with what happened. I still have absolute confidence that we can come out and kick butt tomorrow and win."

Oklahoma State led all schools in the Western discipline with 19 points, while South Carolina led the field on the English side with 19 points following Friday afternoon's rides.

Georgia faced a challenging set of draws through Friday's four morning rides, which led to re-rides for junior Kari Ellingson and sophomore Rachel Berkowitz. Junior Ashley Slocumb came through with Georgia's best performance in the early going with a fourth place finish in her horsemanship class to contribute three points to the team total.

Berkowitz finished fifth in her equitation over fences class after the re-ride to score two points for the team and junior Byerly Vaughn added another point with a sixth place finish in her equitation over fences class to bring Georgia's team total to six. The tally left the Bulldogs tied with Sacred Heart for a disappointing seventh at the mid-day break. Oklahoma State already led the field with 15 points after the completion of four classes, closely followed by Fresno State with 13 points.