WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) has announced the 2023-24 Ariat All-Americans, released Tuesday.
 
The top five riders per event were selected and named the Ariat First-Team All-America by the NCEA Selection Committee. The next five riders per event earned Second Team honors. Honorable Mention honorees were selected via the established criteria below.
 
There is no limit on how many riders receive this award, provided they meet the following criteria:

• Must have a 67 percent or higher winning percentage, excluding ties
• Must have competed in a minimum of 67% of team's NCEA qualifying regular season meets as defined in the rule book
• Have at least an adjusted NRS score of:
  • 85 for flat
  • 90 for fences
  • 80 for horsemanship
  • 75 for reining

 
SMU and Auburn each recorded four first-team honors, UT Martin tallied three and UC Davis had two, while Baylor, Dartmouth, Delaware State, Georgia, Lynchburg, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, TCU and Texas A&M each had one.
 
Auburn had the most honorees overall with 10 while OSU had seven, SMU and South Carolina each had six, and TCU, Texas A&M and UC Davis each had five apiece.
 
The full list of honorees listed by event by alphabetical order can be found here.
 
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.