The TCU equestrian team will open its season with the purple and white intrasquad scrimmage Saturday.

“They have been working really hard for four weeks and preparing themselves mentally and physically,” director of equestrian Haley Schoolfield said. “Knowing in the back of their minds that they are preparing for the scrimmage is a great window into the semester on how they are going to perform.”

The equestrian program is ranked No. 9 in the National Collegiate Equestrian Association's Preseason Top 10. Last season, they were ranked 5 in the national polls and they finished out the regular season ranked No. 2 in the final Big 12 Conference standings.

“We’ll see how they do under the pressure of the NCEA format,” Schoolfield said. “It will have a lot to do with their scores and judges comments. Overall we have a strong team, and I’m super excited for the scrimmage because it will show us where we are strong and where need to tighten up.”

Senior captain Courtney Motz said the scrimmage is an opportunity to evaluate freshmen performances.

“It’s a great way for the freshmen to be involved,” she said. “We have a lot of incoming freshmen. It’s the biggest class we have ever had, and it’s a great way for those freshmen to get in and see how they perform.”

The team held its first official practice the second week of school, but they're always preparing, Motz said.

“We always prepare for each meet accordingly, so we never look ahead,” she said. “We only look at what’s coming up first. Each week is what we’re focused on.”

The team will start their season Saturday, Oct. 5 against Baylor at Turning Point Ranch.

“Each match is important on its own,” Schoolfield said. “Our home matches are about 30 minutes from campus we would love to have our student base come out and support us on game day.”

The purple and white scrimmage starts at 10 a.m. at Turning Point Ranch in Springtown.