No. 3 seed Georgia equestrian fell to No. 4 seed Texas A&M on Saturday, giving the Aggies their first SEC championship in program history with a 10-10 score, via a 1638.17-1632.92 raw score tiebreaker. Despite being the defending national champions, the SEC title has continued to evade Georgia, as the Bulldogs have not won the conference since 2018.

Georgia won the semifinal on Friday with an 11-9 victory over No. 2 seed South Carolina, moving the Bulldogs in to the SEC championship meet the following day, facing off against the Aggies who earned their spot in the championship after their 11-9 upset victory over No. 1 seed Auburn, the tournament hosts, the day prior. 

The meet kicked off at 11 a.m. with a 3-2 victory over fences for jumping seat riders. Sophomore Ella Witt earned an 84.67 on Presley, securing her point. Senior Tessa Brown earned her seventh fences point of the season when her round scored an 86.33 on Asaro. Junior Tessa Downey’s round aboard Schnitzel scored an 88 and a point, also earning the fences MOP. 

Horsemanship riders on the western side took another 3-2 victory. Freshman Ava Hathaway earned her point with a 73.83 on Sparky, followed by junior Abbey Zawisza’s 74 point victory on Wally. Senior Kendall McClintock’s pattern took a 75.67 score for the win on Red. Horsemanship MOP went to Texas A&M’s senior Meagan Braun when she rode her pattern on Chopper to a 75.67. 

The score sat at 6-4 in favor of Georgia going into the start of the second half. 

Flat riders took on the flat box and secured a 3-2 victory over the Aggies. Brown’s pattern scored an 85 and her second point of the meet, this time on Dento. Senior Maggie Bresch took the point with an 86.33 on Nino. Junior Parker Cliff also scored an 86.33 riding her pattern on King.

With the Bulldogs firmly in control, the Aggies’ reigning riders closed out the event strong to steal the win, claiming a 4-1 victory in the final event. Kennedy Buchanan scored the lone point for Georgia with her 71.17 on Barbie, which also earned reining MOP.

The comeback forced a 10-10 finish, with just raw scores being the deciding factor, resulting in a narrow Texas A&M win.

Georgia will move on to the NCEA Championships at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, on April 15-18.Â