WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) crowned the newest single discipline National Champion in Ocala. 
 
Read below to see how it played out and awards! 
 
OCALA, Fla. — The No. 4 ranked Dartmouth equestrian team rode their way to an NCEA Single-Discipline National Championship on Saturday, topping the third-seeded College of Charleston 5-5 (749.67-701.67).
 
The Big Green jumped out to an early 4-1 lead after the fences portion of the meet. Samantha Takacs '27, Elise Stephens '28, Cassidy Exner '27, and Chloe Terestchenko '25 won their head-to-head contests 85.7-80.7, 83-81.3, 85.3-80.7 and 75.7-0, respectively.
 
Stephens was named to the tournament's all-fences and took home the most outstanding fences performer honor.
 
In the second half, Riley Dickman '27 won her matchup 73.3-70.3 to give the team its fifth team point. On the day, the Dartmouth outscored the Charleston by 48 points, breaking the tie and giving the Big Green the victory.
 
"Coming into the championship I knew it would take two total-team efforts to win this. We've been so strong over fences all season, but for us, it takes someone stepping up on the flat to win a meet," said head coach Tenley Walsh. "Different athletes stepped up at different times throughout the season. Today, Riley brought it home for us. I am so proud of her and everyone.
 
"We are excited to win this championship for all of our fans and supporters, our alumnae and the entire Dartmouth community."
 
 
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 -