WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) saw eight meets kick off the 2025-26 campaign of NCAA collegiate equestrian.
The Meet of the Week for both disciplines did not disappoint. The No. 4 South Carolina squad upended the second-ranked SMU for the Dual Discipline side, while Lynchburg and College of Charleston was also an upset, No. 3 defeating No. 2 at home.
See how it all shook out below!
9/26 – No. 4 Gamecocks Rally Past No. 2 SMU
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 4 South Carolina equestrian won four straight points late in the second half to post a 10-9 win over No. 2 SMU in Friday’s season opener at One Wood Farm. Senior Mattie McNeill’s career-high 72 in reining gave her a win by half a point and delivered the Gamecocks’ decisive 10th point to secure their first win over SMU in their last five meetings.
South Carolina picked up both jumping seat MOPs with Natalie Jayne taking the honor on Fences and Sarah Rabb claiming it on the Flat.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gamecocks struck first in Fences, taking an early 2-0 lead behind a one-point win from Alyssa Bauer (84-83) and Jayne’s commanding 85-82 victory on Schnitzel. The Mustangs took the next three points, claiming the next two Fences points in addition to the first Horsemanship point of the meet. Grace Raab got the Gamecocks back on the board with an 80-79 win on Nino in Fences to knot the meet at 3-3. SMU took the next Horsemanship point before Carly Jenkins and Jenna Berghorst closed the competition with back-to-back decisive wins that sent the Gamecocks into halftime with a 5-4 lead.
After the break, the teams traded points on the Flat with Jayne’s ride on Fenway putting the Gamecocks back on top 6-5. SMU took the next Flat point and opened Reining with another to move in front 7-6. Sarah Rabb’s 83 topped SMU’s high Flat score of 78 on Tanner and launched South Carolina’s decisive four-point run to victory. In Reining, Olivia Cardi put the Gamecocks back in front 8-7 with her 72.5 on Yogi, and, in her first career college meet, Vanessa McCaughley got a one-point win to close out competition on the Flat and make it a 9-7 score with three Reining points left to be decided.
McNeill’s previous career high was the exact point total her opponent had posted – 71.5 – but the Gamecock senior did not blink, riding Okie to her new career high 72, which delivered the upset win for South Carolina.
9/26 - No. 3 Lynchburg Upsets No. 2 College of Charleston to Open Season
Rustburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg equestrian team kicked off the 2025-26 campaign with a 6-4 triumph against Charleston on Friday afternoon at the Lynchburg Equestrian Center.
The No. 3 Hornets took down the No. 2 Cougars, winning 3-2 in both flat and fences. Lynchburg's Abigail Devlin took home the MOP award for flat while Olivia Lonneman of Charleston was awarded MOP for fences. Both Devlin and Lonneman finished with the highest scores in their respective events as Devlin scored an 88 riding Caleb in flat anf Lonneman scored 88 riding Motaz in fences.
All of Lynchburg's performers showed out for the season opener, scoring a 75-or-better across the board. The impressive showing saw eight of the Hornets' 10 rides score above 80 and five score at least 85. Additionally, both of Lynchburg's exhibitions were given scores of 80: Mackenna Moss in fences riding Quebec and Devyn Borden in flat riding Motaz.
Rebecca Collier scored the highest for the Hornets in fences, earning an 87 riding Motaz. Mary Katherine Ragsdale claimed a score of 85 riding Zehn and a point for the team. Madeline Rubin was close behind with a score of 84 riding Eddie, also earning a team point. Stella Patenaude beat out her opponent with a score of 82 riding Archie. Amaya Bellfield had a solid outing with a 79 riding Cascade.
In flat, Devlin led the charge with a team point for her astounding performance. Abby Zemp followed suit with a fantastic score of 87 riding Balou to claim another point for Lynchburg. Ella Neyland matched Zemp's score with an 87 riding Eragon for the team's sixth point of the day. Collier received an 82 riding Van Gogh and Bellfield earned a 75 riding Luca.
9/26 - Delaware State Overtakes Minnesota Crookston, 13-6
DOVER, Del. - Delaware State nearly swept two events en route to defeating Minnesota Crookston, 13-6, on Saturday in Dover.
In Fences, DSU went 4-1 on the event with Kendall Very earning the MOP for her 10-point win on Cici, 85-75.
For Horsemanship, the Hornets fell 2-3, but saw scores of 75 and 74 from its riders, Claire Andrews earning her point as well as Paityn Holm.
On the Flat, DSU once again went 4-1 in the event. Very earned her second MOP of the day with an 88 on Kevin, defeating a UMNC 70 for the point. Lily Kosal had the second-highest score of the event with an 86 on Dude, edging out an 85 for her point.
To finish off the meet it was Reining, going 3-1 against UMNC. Anna Payne was the MOP with a 72 on Wally against a 67, while Cambrey Hedges earned a 71.5 on Waldo.
9/26 - No. 4 Sweet Briar NCEA Opens Up Season with Win Over Centenary (N.J.)
SWEET BRIAR, Va. - The No. 4 single discipline Sweet Briar College NCEA team (1-0, 0-0 ODAC) opened up the 2025-26 season with a 7-3 win over the Centenary University Cyclones (0-1) today.
The Vixens racked up four points in the fences portion of the meet with senior Naomi Dachis (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) leading the way with a meet-high 87 on Bouncer.
Also earning points for Sweet Briar were fellow senior Wyette Felton (Canton, Ga.) and first-year Sadie Swift (Leonardtown, Md.). Felton totaled an 85 on Jetson for a 13-point margin of victory while Swift scored an 84 on Pip in her first collegiate meet.
On the flat, the Vixens saw three points captured by senior Maggie Booth (Marietta, Ga.), Felton and sophomore Gracie Robertson (Mocksville, N.C.).
Booth saw a 19-point margin of victory thanks to her score of 86 on Jakson while both Felton and Robertson saw scores of 84 and 85, respectively, to beat their opponents scores of 74.
Sweet Briar swept Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors with Dachis getting the nod over fences and Booth receiving the title on the flat. This marked the first-ever meeting between the two NCEA programs.
9/26 - Sewanee Defeats Dual Discipline's Minnesota Crookston
SEWANEE, Tenn. – Olivia Carmouche and Rebecca Love earned Most Outstanding Player honors as the Sewanee equestrian team edged Minnesota-Crookston in a tiebreaker to open the 2025-26 NCEA season on Friday at Delaware State.
The Tigers claimed the meet, 5-5 (746-703), after winning the overall points total.
Carmouche got Sewanee started in fences, scoring an 83 on Tillie to secure one of two points for the Tigers in the event, and good for MOP honors. She outscored her opponent by 33 points, while Piper Nelson Snyder added another with a 68 on Sally, topping her rider by 28. Minnesota-Crookston claimed the remaining three points in fences, but Sewanee carried a 342-322 advantage in raw score.
In flat, freshman Rebecca Love delivered with a 90 on Todd to win by 22 points, earning her MOP honors. Emma Sameth followed with the meet's top score, a 91 on Tillie, while Carmouche sealed Sewanee's final point of the day with an 82 on Westia to tie the meet at 5-5.
With the score knotted, the result came down to the cumulative tally, where the Tigers secured the victory, 746-703.
9/27 - No. 3 Lynchburg Sweeps the Weekend With Win Over Centenary
Rustburg, Va. -- The No. 3 University of Lynchburg NCEA equestrian team improved to 2-0 on the season after battling the rainy elements to earn a 6-3 victory against Centenary on Saturday morning at the Lynchburg Equestrian Center.
The Hornets have started off the season strong with victories this weekend against second-ranked Charleston yesterday and the Cyclones today. Lynchburg swept the MOP awards as
Stella Patenaude earned the accolade in fences while
Abby Zemp claimed the honor in flat. Zemp additionally earned the MOP in flat against the Cougars on Friday.
Patenaude was the highlight performer in fences with a score of 88 riding Motaz.
Amaya Bellfield matched her score with an 88 riding Archie.
Rebecca Collier was close behind, earning a score of 87 riding Zehn. All three Hornet competitors earned team points.
Madeline Rubin had a solid performance in fences as well, scoring an 85 riding Cascade.
Mary Katherine Ragsdale rounded out Lynchburg performers in fences with a score of 74 riding Eddie.
In flat, Zemp was the first rider for the Hornets and came away with team point after scoring an 89 riding Eragon, tied for the best score in the event.
Abigail Devlin also scored an 89 today riding Balou to close out the meet and earn a team point. Bellfield added to her stellar day with an 85 riding Van Gogh to beat out her opponent.
Ella Neyland and Collier each had solid showings in flat with scores of 80 and 78, respectively.
9/27 - Delaware State Edges Single Discipline's Sewanee, 5-5
SEWANEE, Tenn. – Sewanee's NCEA team came up just short on Saturday morning, falling 5-5 (818-815) to Delaware State in a tightly contested meet, but with Sewanee earning both MOPs.
Emma Sameth and
Piper Nelson-Snyder were the Most Outstanding Players for the meet. The Tigers set the tone early in fences, taking a 3-2 lead behind strong rides. Nelson-Snyder posted an 80 on Todd, Sameth tallied an 88 on Elton, and
Olivia Carmouche added an 86 on Cici to give Sewanee the advantage. Sameth earned MOP in fences.
Delaware State rallied in flat, earning three of the five points to even the score. Sameth secured her second win of the day with a 90 on Kevin, while Nelson Snyder also finished undefeated, matching Sameth with a 90 on Carl. Nelson-Snyder took home MOP honors in flat.
With the meet tied 5-5, the result was determined by the cumulative score, where Delaware State edged Sewanee by just three points, 818-815.
9/27 - Bridgewater Victorious in Season Opener over Centenary
STAUNTON, Va. - The Bridgewater Equestrian team took a 7-3 victory in the squad's season opener against Centenary.
BC opened meet by taking three of the five available points over fences. Sabrina Forbes, Madeliene Granger and
Willow Wright secured the 3-2 edge for the Eagles heading to the flat.
The Eagles backed that up in the flat as they took four of the possible points. BC lost just one of the head-to-head matchups by a singular point, but good rides from Wright, Margarita Truhkina,
Margaret Brown and Jimena Gracia Nunez secured the team victory and the first 1-0 start in program history.
On top of that, Wright was named the Most Outstanding Performer over fences and Brown took home those honors on the flat.
About the NCEA
The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing collegiate equestrian, an emerging NCAA sport for women. In partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the NCEA provides opportunities for student-athletes to compete at the highest level while achieving excellence in academics and athletics.
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.
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