WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) saw TCU, Auburn, South Carolina, South Dakota State and Sweet Briar gather wins in week three of competition.
 
DUAL DISCIPLINE
No. 1 TCU Comes Back to Take Down No. 5 OSU
STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 1 TCU equestrian takes down No. 5 and reigning Big 12 Champions, Oklahoma State, 10-9, in first Big 12 matchup of the season.
 
Shea Graham and Ella Bostwick secure Most Outstanding Performer honors in Reining and Flat respectively. 
 
FENCES
The meet began in the Fences arena where OSU swept all five available points. Sydney Berube had the highest score in the event for the Horned Frogs earning an 84 on Simba.
 
HORSEMANSHIP
In the outdoor arena, the Horsemanship team out showed the Cowgirls, 3-2. NCEA September Horsemanship Rider of the Month, Mattie Dukes, backed up her title with a 76.5-75 victory on Tari. Graham secured the second point of the meet with a 76 on Willow. 2023 NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Year, Jessica McAllister, had the largest margin of win in the event with a 75-73 win on Scotty. 
 
At the half the Horned Frogs trailed the Cowgirls by four points.
 
REINING
The Reining team came through with a gutsy performance securing the event 4-1 over OSU. Giorgia Medows outrode her opponent 71.5-70 to earn the first point in the event. McAllister and Dukes both earned their points with a 72 and 69 respectively. Graham tied up the meet 9-9 with a dominant performance on Bo scoring a 73.5 and earning her seventh career MOP. 
 
FLAT
The meet came down to the Flat arena where the Frogs clutched out a 3-1 win. Bostwick earned the first point in the event, her first MOP honor and broke her career high with an 88-84 win on Sunny. Ally Manoog had the second highest score for the Frogs in the event but would tie her opponent with an 86 on Ziggy. Lilly Goldstein earned the seventh point on the day for the Horned Frogs with a career high breaking ride with an 80-79 win on Favorite. The meet came down to Smiths' ride who entered the arena facing a 77 on Oakley. With a dominant performance on the bay the Junior secured the meet winning point for the Frogs with a 78.
 
No. 2 Tigers down No. 7 Baylor on the road, 16-3
WACO, Texas – The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team was too much for No. 7 Baylor on Friday afternoon, besting the Bears with a 16-3 win on the road in Waco. The Tigers swept both Fences and Reining to bookend the meet, moving to 2-0 overall in the early season.
 
Auburn once again swept the Most Outstanding Performer honors, taking all four events. Juniors Sophee Steckbeck and Mary-Grace Segars earned MOP honors in Fences and Flat, respectively. Sophomore Alexia Tordoff took both Horsemanship and Reining MOPs for the squad.
 
The Tigers opened the day with a sweep in Fences, marking the second-straight meet the squad has captured all five points in the event.
 
Senior Ellie Ferrigno kicked things off with an 86-84 victory and was followed by Steckbeck’s MOP win, 88-84. Segars downed Lauren Reid, 85-42, while classmate Anna Marie Mayes won her point with a career-best 87. Graduate Ava Stearns closed out the sweep with an 87-86 edge.
 
Horsemanship followed with a 3-1-1 mark vs. Baylor, seeing big scores from underclassmen. Freshman Sydney Swallom put up a big ride to start the event, tying her opponent’s 74. Sophomore Caroline Fredenburg followed with a 71-70.5 edge over Gia Pozzi, while freshman Alexis Potts bested Anna Thron, 72.5-68.5. Tordoff faced a 74 from her opponent, riding last in the event. The Powell, Ohio product pulled off the win with a 74.5 to take the point for the Tigers and MOP.
 
The Flat corps finished out the Jumping Seat side of competition, going 3-2 against the Bears. After the home team took the first point, Segars earned a 91 in her huge win for the Tigers and bested her opponent’s 90 for MOP. Stearns followed with an 89-88 edge and Ferrigno capped the event with an 81-75 victory.
 
Auburn’s Reining crew concluded the day with another sweep, besting the Bears 5-0. Tordoff picked up her second win and MOP of the day, 71.5-71, while senior Isabella Tesmer edged Sadie Peters, 69.5-69. Senior Kate Buchanan earned a 70 for a team point before her sister and freshman Caroline Buchanan bested her opponent with a 66.5. Senior Olivia Marino closed out the day with a 68-67 victory.
 
No. 4 Aggies Defeat No. 6 Georgia, 13-6
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas- The No. 4 Texas A&M equestrian team began SEC competition by defeating No. 6 Georgia 13-6 Friday afternoon at the Hildebrand Equine Complex. 
 
In Fences, the Aggies edged passed Georgia by a score of 3-2 to take an early lead. Ali Treuting and Brooke Brombach both earned points by close margins, defeating their opponents by a single point. Rounding out the scoring and securing the win in fences for the Maroon & White was sophomore Alexa Leong. 
 
Devon Thomas continued her stellar start to the season earning her third Most Outstanding Performer honor in two meets as the Aggies took Flat 3-1. Also winning points in Flat were Rylee Shufelt and Devan Thomas to round out Jumping Seat.  
 
Texas A&M extended its lead by winning Horsemanship 4-1. Hanna Olaussen led the way grabbing her third career Most Outstanding Performer honor while putting up her highest score of the day with 78. Following behind her registering points were junior Millie Landon, junior Ellie Gerbrandt, and graduate student Cori Cansdale.  
 
Despite A&M’s overall victory already being decided as Reining began, the Aggies tacked on more points, winning the discipline 3-2. Keesa Luers was awarded Most Outstanding Performer honors with a 76-70 win. Other riders who compiled points for the Maroon & White were Emmy Lu Marsh and Mattie Gustin.
 
No. 8 Gamecocks Move to 4-0 After First Road Test
BROOKINGS, S.D. – The No. 8 South Carolina Equestrian team had its first road test of the season Friday, taking on South Dakota State and Fresno State at the DeHaas Equestrian Center. The Gamecocks swept the day, defeating the Jackrabbits 12-8, followed by the Bulldogs 12-4. South Carolina now moves to a 4-0 start to the season.
 
FLAT
 
Against SDSU, the Gamecocks defeated the Jackrabbits 4-1 in the event. Mary Hunter Millet got things started, winning her point 70-57 on Sweet Pea. Sophie Mitchell followed suit with an 80 on Mia to defeat Cali Karbler 80-77, and Ellie Beard kept things going with her huge 86-73 win on Enrique. Grace Rabb rounded out the scoring for South Carolina, putting a 74 on Fendi to defeat Virginia Klecker’s 62. Mitchell earned an MOP for her ride, the first for the junior this season.
 
In the following meet against the Bulldogs, South Carolina secured a 3-1 win with Millet (80-71), Beard (82-76), and Natalie Jayne (79-73) each taking their point against Fresno State.
 
FENCES
 
The Gamecocks fell in a close battle against SDSU in Fences, 3-2. Sydney DeGrazia earned her point on Lizzie with a 79-71 victory over Hannah Stelle, while co-captain Jordan Allen took her point in an impressive 13-point spread win 86-73 on Sunday. Allen earned her second MOP of the season with her win.
 
South Carolina bounced back against Fresno State, taking the event 3-1 over the Bulldogs. Allen swept the Fences MOPs for the day, picking up her third with an 87-77 win on Vita to get the points started. Natalie Jayne won 85-77 on Mambo, and Alexa Aureliano’s 78 on Lizzie put her on top of her Bulldog competitor.
 
HORSEMANSHIP
 
The Western side of the meet against SDSU started with a 3-2 Gamecock victory in Horsemanship. Alyssa Jipping defeated Zuerker Merritt 72.5-70 on Milo, followed by Kiersten Beckner’s impressive 75.5-72.5 win on Marshal. Beckner’s 75.5 was the highest Horsemanship score so far this season for herself and the Gamecocks, earning her a MOP for her ride. Newcomer Jenna Berghorst finished out the points for her team, winning 74-73.5 over grace Blake on Bernie.
 
Against Fresno State, Beckner picked up her second MOP of the day and third in a row this season, defeating Emily Maul 74.5-71.5 on Marshal. Berghorst picked up her second win of the day as well 69-63 on Roo, followed by Alyssa Jipping securing the final point of the event 74-71.5 on Marley.
 
REINING
 
South Carolina came out on top 3-2 in the event against the Jackrabbits, with Mattie McNeill earning a point and MOP – both her first of the season – with her 71-65.6 win on Aggie. Co-captain Emilia Reutimann followed suit with a 70.5-69 win on Colby, and Chloe VanStone wrapped things up by defeating Grace Blake 69-65 on Snoop.
 
The Gamecocks took the event 3-1 against Fresno State to finish out the day in Reining. Reutimann (71-70), Chloe Stephenson (70-67), and McNeill (68.5-67) each earned their points for South Carolina to give them the edge over the Bulldogs.
 
Jackrabbits hold off Fresno State
BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State's 4-1 advantage in flat proved to be the difference as the Jackrabbit equestrian team held off Fresno State for a 10-9 victory in head-to-head competition Saturday at the DeHaan Equestrian Center.
 
With their first victory of the season, the Jackrabbits earned a split of the opening weekend of the 2023-24 campaign.
 
SDSU's first three riders in flat all won their matchups with scores of 77 or higher. Most Outstanding Performer Julia Werkhoven recorded a team-best 82, while Ella Domenicone and Hannah Steele each tallied point-producing scores of 77. Cali Karbler notched the Jackrabbits' fourth and final point in the event with a winning score of 76 in her matchup with Taylor Holstead.
 
Fresno State held 3-2 advantages in both fences and reining, while SDSU and the Bulldogs split four matchups in horsemanship with one tie. Annika Hanson (74) and Paige Wellendorf (70) were the winners in horsemanship for the Jackrabbits, while Shelby Cochran and Fresno State's Alex Krebs tied at 73.5.
 
Cochran (68) and freshman Emilie Strahm (68.5) were victorious in reining for the Jackrabbits, while Domenicone went undefeated on the day with a winning score of 78 in fences and Sophia Kregoski turning in an event-best 84 to also earn MOP honors.
 
SINGLE DISCIPLINE
No. 2 Sweet Briar Opens Season with Victory Over Bridgewater
SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The No. 2 Sweet Briar College NCEA team (1-0) opened the 2023-24 season with an 8-2 victory over the Bridgewater College (0-1) Eagles at the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center today.
 
The Vixens got out to an early 4-1 lead following the conclusion of flat competition thanks to points from sophomore Wyette Felton (Canton, Ga.), junior Paige Kennedy (Purcellville, Va.) senior Emmy Longest (Hanover, Va.) and junior Ella Peterson (Ashland, Va.).
 
Peterson rode to an 86 on Jackson to top her Eagles opponent by 22 points. Both Kennedy and Longest also won their points by double-digit margins after scoring a 71 and an 82, respectively.
 
Felton, who rode against a zero, scored an 82 on Trey.
 
Sweet Briar kept the momentum up during the fences portion of the meet, totaling another four points.
 
Junior Katherine Atherton (Montpelier, Va.) was named Most Outstanding Performer thanks to her performance of an 85 on Hemingway.
 
Longest totaled her second point of the day with an 80 on Jetson while sophomore Naomi Dachis (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and junior Isabelle Mesiarik (Pottstown, Pa.) also helped the Vixens reach their eight-point total.
 
Dachis totaled an 82 on Concept to beat our Kelsey Quinn while Mesiarik topped Madeleine Granger with a score of 77 on Chico.
 
About the NCEA
A non-profit corporation, the NCEA is a governing body to advance the sport of equestrian. The NCEA is responsible for the development and administration of equestrian rules and guidelines. Equestrian is subject to all NCAA policies and procedures in the same manner as other sports. In 1998, Equestrian was identified and adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) as an emerging sport for women at the Division I and II levels. 
 
NCEA competitions are in a head-to-head format, and schools may choose to compete as a single or dual discipline team (Jumping Seat and Western). Each discipline has two events: in Jumping Seat, Fences and Flat, and in Western, Horsemanship and Reining. Teams can have five riders per event, with horses assigned by random draw at the start of the competition. Riders from opposing teams compete on the same horse, and whichever rider receives the higher score earns one point for her team. The level of difficulty is demonstrated by the accuracy of the pattern and how the competitor uses the horse to the best of her ability.
 
To stay up to date all year long on all things NCEA Equestrian, follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @NCEA_Equestrian and @ncea_eq.