WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) crowned the newest dual discipline National Champion in Ocala. 

Read below to see how it played out and awards! 

Georgia defeats SMU to win the National Championship 

The University of Georgia equestrian team earned its eighth National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) national title Saturday afternoon at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.

The seventh-seeded Bulldogs upset the No. 2-seeded Auburn Tigers, 13-4, in the quarterfinals on Thursday, the No. 6-seeded Texas A&M Aggies, 16-4, in the semifinals Friday and the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Ponies, 12-8, to secure their National Champion title.

Fast facts

• The Bulldogs earned their eighth national Championship and second in five years.
• Head coach Meghan Boenig and alum Carly Anthony were inducted into the 2025 NCEA Hall of Fame Friday afternoon.
• The Bulldogs completed the Reining competition 3-2. Kennedy Buchanan recorded a career-high 72.2 on Chloe and earned a point for the Bulldogs, and Cadence Eger rode to a season high in Reining competition with a score of 72.7 on Boss.
• In the Horsemanship competition, Abbey Zawisza racked up a career-high score of 77.3 on Hector. Jordan Davis also earned a career-high with a 77.5 on Charlie.
• Georgia swept the Flat competition for the second straight meet in a row with its 5-0 score against the Ponies
• Catalina Peralta rode to a season-high score of 91.7 on Celcius and earned a Flat point for the Bulldogs
• The Bulldogs secured the victory with Tessa Brown's Fences score of an 86 on MJ.
• Georgia finished the English competition 8-2.
• 11 riders collected awards following the victory.

Awards

• Kennedy Buchanan, Dual Discipline Western MOP, Reining All-Championship Team
• Catalina Peralta, Dual Discipline Jumping Seat MOP, Flat All-Championship Team
• Sophia Pilla, Flat All-Championship Team
• Isabella David, Flat All-Championship Team
• Jordan Toering, Flat All-Championship Team
• Tessa P. Brown, Fences All-Championship Team
• Tessa Downey, Fences All-Championship Team
• Alyvia Dixon, Horsemanship All-Championship Team
• Jillian Stopperich, Horsemanship All-Championship Team
• Jax Bound, Reining All-Championship Team
• Raegan Shepherd, Reining All-Championship Team

Quotes

Head coach, Meghan Boenig

Overall thoughts following the meet today..

"It's just grateful, gratitude, it's that final breath, it's the realization of a dream, it is a legacy continued. This means we have another class again, not leaving without a championship ring. These ladies, these two seniors sitting beside me, they've set a tone for this postseason that was just absolutely phenomenal and coming in here and just laying down ride after ride. In some ways, I don't feel surprised. The foot that's been on the gas at the end of this tournament here, but in other ways, the work that goes into it, the dedication that these guys have brought, I just would sum it up with so much gratitude."

Student Athlete, Catalina Peralta

On her ride today…

"I rode Celcius today on the flat, and he's a lovely horse from Texas A&M, and when I got on him, I was very pleased and I knew that I was going to love riding him because I've ridden him once before in a meet last year, he was just so lovely and I really felt like Icould show off. I wanted to kind of seal the deal for that first point in flat and set the tone for points coming in for that second rotation. So I was really grateful to be able to do that, and then I got to ride a lovely horse from Auburn named Rico in fences as well, and he was great."

Student Athlete, Jordan Davis

On her ride today…

"I got to ride a really special horse named Charlie from OSU [Oklahoma State University], and he's actually the horse that I'd had my previous high score on, so it was a really special full circle moment to 

get to ride him again today, and he truly is so special, and I let it all out there and I came out with the biggest smile on my face, and I don't think I've ever been happier with a ride."

Single Discipline MOPs 

Fences - Dartmouth’s Elise Stephens

Flat - College of Charleston’s Camilla Murray 

Dual Discipline Western MOPs 

Horsemanship - Nya Kearns

Reining - Kennedy Buchanan

Dual Discipline Jumping Seat MOPs 

Flat- UGA’s Catalina Peralta 

Fences- SMU’s Augusta Iwasaki 

Flat All-Championship Team 

Camilla Murray, CofC

Catalina Peralta, UGA

Sophia Pilla, UGA

Isabella David, UGA

Jordan Toering, UGA

Caroline Berg, CofC

Fences All-Championship Team 

Elise Stephens, Dartmouth

Augusta Iwasaki, SMU

Tessa P. Brown, UGA

Tessa Downey, UGA

Alexa Aureliano, South Carolina

Hannah Hoch, SMU

Horsemanship All-Championship Team

Nya Kearns, SMU

Violet Shetler, SMU

Alexa Black, SMU

Alvia Dixon, UGA

Jillian Stopperich, UGA

Reining All-Championship Team 

Kennedy Buchanan, UGA

Sarah Beth Filiatreau, SMU

Jax Bound, UGA

Raegan Shepherd, UGA

Addi Schmersal, SMU

Most Outstanding Horses 

Asaro, Auburn - Fences

Celsius, UGA - Flat

Hector, TCU - HMS

Boss, OSU - RNG

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.

- collegiateequestrian.com -