WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association has announced the Standout Student-Athlete and Horse of the Month awards for the month of September, as voted on by the NCEA Awards Committee, released Thursday.
 
"Presley" earns the highlight from the barn for Auburn as the Horse of the Month while TCU's Sydney Feager is featured as the Standout Student-Athlete of the Month.

Educated Rider Standout Student-Athlete of the Month
Every month the NCEA recognizes student-athletes for their accomplishments in the ring, however the NCEA would like to highlight athletes on their outstanding performances outside of the ring, including academics, philanthropy, outstanding attitude, and embodiment of an ideal teammate.
Name of Student-Athlete: Sydney Feager
School & Year: TCU, Junior
Hometown: Wright City, Mo.
Highlighted Accomplishments: 
Sydney Feager has had the opportunity of working at Saving Hope for a few years as an animal care attendant. Saving Hope will rescue almost any animal you can think of, and Feager is able to deal with new liters of baby dogs and grown adult dogs every day. She even had the opportunity to adopt one of the dogs she cared for, Walsh! Saving Hope is a no kill schedule, and Feager has been able to deal with several medical cases which has expanded her knowledge of the veterinary world. In addition, Feager has overcame quite a lot to get to TCU. During high school, she was in a terrible car accident that put her in the hospital for weeks, and required a long recovery. However, she was able to persevere, recover and get to TCU where she plays an integral role in the team. Her whole story can be found in the Straight from the Rider’s Mouth feature story done by the NCEA here, or in a piece by BYUtv that came out this past week here.

Horse of the Month
This highlight is focused on an outstanding horse, not just one that gets high score every meet or an “MOP horse” but one that shows heart and represents the values of its respective school.
Name of Horse (Barn & Show Name): "Presley"
Discipline: Fences
School: Auburn
Donated By: Jodi Hartman
Highlighted Accomplishments: 
Presley earned MOP in Fences with a score of 94 against Bridgewater. Presley also won the Fences horse of the year at the 2026 NCEA National Championships.

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.