Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Prepare for 2008-09 Equestrian Season
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
Aug. 26, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - For a program that's annually in contention for a national championship, the Fresno State equestrian team continues to take on the premier programs in the nation.
Fresno State head coach Becky Malmo announced the 2008-09 schedule today, which begins Sept. 19. The Bulldogs will open the season at Southeastern Conference powers Auburn and Georgia.
In addition, the early portion of the schedule includes matches against Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU and New Mexico State on the road and a home match with Oklahoma State of the Big 12 on Oct. 25.
For the first time, the Dogs will make a trip to the Eastern seaboard to take on Delaware State.
Fresno State opens the spring semester by hosting Georgia and New Mexico State, Feb. 7-8, and the following week will host the third annual "Best in the West" Invitational.
This year's tournament field features TCU, South Dakota State and the University of Tennessee-Martin.
The Bulldogs will conclude the home schedule by hosting South Carolina and Baylor the last weekend in February.
Once again, the Varsity Equestrian National Championships will be hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas, April 16-19, 2009.
The Dogs are coming off a season that saw both the English and Western teams advance to the Varsity Equestrian National Championships and be ranked in the Top 10 in the nation.
"We have been able to expand and build a schedule this year that allows for more meets," said Malmo. "We will be able to compete against every school in the VEC with the exception of Kansas State. This is a tough schedule and starting with Auburn and Georgia, two of the top programs in the nation, will be a great challenge. We are looking forward to that."
In addition to improving the competition schedule, Malmo is also pleased with the horses Fresno State added to the herd during the summer.
"Because of living in California, we've always had the best English horses of any college program in the nation," she said. "We added some better horses in English and we are especially excited about the top notch Western horses we were able to get donated. We have the best horses we've ever had and it will be exciting to train these young ladies on some really elite horses this year."
2008-09 Fresno State Equestrian Schedule
Sept.19
at Auburn University, Noon
Sept. 21
at University of Georgia, 6 a.m.
Sept. 26
at Texas A&M, 7 a.m.
Sept. 26-27
at Baylor/TCU &New Mexico State, 2 pm
Oct. 11
at South Dakota State, TBA
Oct. 25
Oklahoma State, 9 a.m.
Nov. 8
at Delaware State, TBA
Feb. 7-8
Georgia/New Mexico State, 10 a.m.
Feb. 14-15
BEST IN THE WEST INVITATIONAL, 9 a.m.
Fresno State, TCU, South Dakota State, Tennessee-Martin
Feb. 28-March 1
South Carolina/Baylor, 10 a.m.
March 7
at Tennessee-Martin, TBA
March 21
at SMU, TBA
April 16-19
Varsity Equestrian National Championships
Waco, Texas
All Times Pacific
Home Meets in Bold
Join the State - Fresno State! The Bulldogs open the 2008-09 home schedule when the Oklahoma State Cowgirls come to campus on Oct. 25 at 9 a.m. Admission is free.
