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All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Ben Kirbo competing in an outdoor meet. (Photo courtesy of gofrogs.com)
Ben Kirbo: TCU's pole vault prodigy is springing new heights
By Madeleine Thornhill, Staff Writer
Published Apr 25, 2024
TCU sophomore pole vaulter Ben Kirbo has already set new program records, but he says he is far from done.

Equestrian will end regular season in a dogfight

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The No. 6 ranked TCU Equestrian team will take on two different sets of bulldogs this weekend.

TCU will be finishing off its regular season this weekend in Fresno, California against the No. 7 Fresno State Bulldogs on Friday and the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

TCU’s last two meets, against UT-Martin and South Dakota State, were canceled due to inclement weather conditions.

The competition against South Dakota State would have been the last home meet for seven Horned Frogs.

Seniors Carson CashAlexi ChildKatelyn GrayKaitlin PerryCalli RouseHadley Woodruff and Nikki Woodward have helped TCU garner more than 25 wins as a team during their careers in Fort Worth.

TCU also would have retired three horses that day: Matt, Overtime and Ella. The trio collected multiple All-American accolades while being a part of the equestrian program.

In TCU’s last outing, it fought Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State to a 10-10 draw on Feb. 21, but fell because it had the lower overall raw score. The loss pushed TCU’s record to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in Big 12 play.

The Frogs must win one of their matches this weekend to keep their winning record.

Fresno State is coming off victories over Minnesota-Crookston, 11-4, and South Dakota State, 10-6, on Feb. 20-21 in Brookings, South Dakota. The Bulldogs are now 6-4 overall and 3-2 in United Equestrian Conference play.

In the win against Minnesota-Crookston, Fresno State first-year student Hailey Robison earned her first career Most Outstanding Player award in reining, defeating her opponent 69.5-68. Against South Dakota State, Fresno State sophomore Taylor Brown earned two Most Outstanding Player awards, one in horsemanship and the other in reining.

The meet against TCU will be Fresno State’s spring home opener. The competition is set to start at noon on Friday.

The Frogs’ Saturday opponent, Georgia (7-4, 4-2 SEC) defeated No. 5 Texas A&M13-6, in Bishop, Georgia on Feb. 28. Georgia picked up three Most Outstanding Player awards on the day, coming from Kylee Arbuckle in equitation over fences, Sara Parr in horsemanship and Lauren Garmon in reining.

The victory gives Georgia three straight wins. They defeated Delaware State 16-3 on Feb. 8 and Auburn 10-9 on Feb. 14. The start time of the meet against TCU on Saturday has not yet been announced.

After this weekend, the Horned Frogs will be set for the Big 12 Championship on March 27-28 in Springtown, Texas.

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