No. 1 Baylor equestrian ran away with the 2017 Big 12 Equestrian Championship trophy, downing No. 2 Oklahoma State, 11-7, in the final round on Saturday afternoon at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
The two sides kicked off the competition with fences and horsemanship, with Baylor taking a 3-2 edge in both events to take a 6-4 lead in the meet.
In fences, Alicia Gasser, Gabby Conte, and Shannon Hogue posted points for BU, with Hogue’s 170 standing as the meet-high mark.
In horsemanship, Kaylee Mellott, Charlotte Green, and Kelsie Holman helped BU put three more on the board, with Mellott’s 150 setting the meet-high score.
The Bears lone event loss was in reining, with BU falling 0-3-2 and adding ties from Elizabeth Shank and Shyanne Smith.
BU finished the meet with a dominating 5-0 win in flat, with Savannah Jenkins, Alicia Gasser, Rachel Van Allen, Brittney Mirkov, and Samantha Howell all taking home points, lifting the Bears to the 2017 Big 12 title.
Jenkins’ 153 was the meet-high, with the senior earning the Most Outstanding Player honors in flat for her performance in the Big 12 Championship.
Baylor also landed eight total All-Big 12 selections and one of the Rider of the Year honors.
Seven riders were named to the eight selections, with Savannah Jenkins earning the triple honors of All-Big 12 in both flat and fences, as well as the Equitation on the Flat Rider of the Year for the conference.
Rachel Van Allen joined Jenkins on the flat All-Big 12 team and Gasser notched a spot on the fences team.
BU took three of the four spots on the Horsemanship All-Big 12 team, with the sophomore trio of Abbi Demel, Aspen Crew, and Kaylee Mellott all earning all-conference honors.
Elizabeth Shank rounded out the All-Big 12 honors for the Bears, the lone Bear named to the reining team.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor awaits its selection to the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championship, hosted April 12-15 by Baylor at the Extraco Events Center in Waco.
