In this, the ninth week of NCEA competition for the 2025-2026 season and first week of postseason, we saw two single discipline conference tournaments.
3/18-21 – The Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships
SWEET BRIAR, Va. – Across three days of competition, five NCEA teams fought for top honors in their conference tournament. The play-in day, semi-finals and finals rounds brought great efforts from dozens of riders fighting for the championship title.
PLAY-IN: Sewanee NCEA Defeats Berry in ODAC Championship Play-In Round
Addison Durrett and Emma Sameth earned MOP honors as Sewanee's NCEA Equestrian team defeated Berry College 9-1 in the ODAC Championship play-in game on Thursday morning at Sweet Briar.
The Tigers opened the day strong in the flat division, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, sweeping all flat points. Iris Boehem rode Emmett first to start the day, recording a 72.5, earning the point by 18 points over her opponent's score of 54.5. Sameth rode next on Diego, recording the highest score on flat with a 79, and earning MOP honors for flat. Rebecca Love rode Eddy, collecting the point for Sewanee with a 74, 14 points ahead of her opponent.
Addison Durrett collected Sewanee's fourth point with a score of 77 on Pip, and Olivia Carmouche completed the sweep for the Tigers, recording a 76 on GG.
In fences, Love rode first on Phantom for Sewanee, recording a 70. Durrett then posted an 81.5 on Ollie, collecting MOP honors. Jenna McAmis posted a 71 on Luna, besting her opponent by 33.5 points. Berry collected their lone point of the day on Motaz, as Atkins bested Sameth by two points. Carmouche collected the Tigers' last point on Jetson, tying the high score of the day with an 81.5, for a nine-point win over her opponent.
SEMI-FINAL: No. 1 Hornets Defeat Sewanee In ODAC Semi-Final
The University of Lynchburg equestrian team earned a commanding 8-2 victory against Sewanee in the ODAC Semifinal round to advance to the conference championship on Friday morning at the Sweet Briar Equestrian Center.
The No. 1 Hornets began the conference tournament in the semifinals as the top seeded team and competed against fifth-seeded Sewanee, who beat Berry in the play-in meet on Thursday. Lynchburg took four team points in both the fences and flat to seal the assertive victory.
In the fences, recently anointed ODAC Fences Co-Rookie of the Year, Amaya Bellfield, paced the squad with a meet-high 84.5 riding Kobe. Stella Patenaude was the next top finisher with a 78.5 riding Hemingway. Madeline Rubin earned a solid score of 73.0 riding Tallulah, while Mary Katherine Ragsdale earned a team point with a 66.5 riding Cooley. Rebecca Collier rounded out Lynchburg performers in the event with a 55.0 riding Winston.
In the flat, Abby Zemp was the top scorer for the Hornets, riding to an 83.5 on GG for the first team point of the flat. Bellfield and Abigail Devlin each scored 80.0 and earned team points, while Rubin rode to a 75.5 for the final of eight team points for the Hornets. Collier produced a nice 79.0 riding Diego on her go but was nipped by a half a point.
SEMI-FINAL: Bridgewater Equestrian Knocks Off No. 3 Sweet Briar to Advance to ODAC Championship
The Bridgewater College equestrian team knocked off No. 3 Sweet Briar in the Semifinals of the ODAC Head-to-Head Championship on Friday.
BC opened the matchup by taking a huge 4-1 lead over fences. Sabrina Forbes opened by securing the first point for BC, while Margaret Brown and Piper Harris also secured points for the Eagles. Willow Wright secured BC's final point with a round-best score of 82.5.
Sweet Briar rebounded in the flat portion of the competition. The Vixens took four of the five available points, with Wright's 88.0 securing BC's lone point to secure the tie in head-to-head points.
With the score even at 5-5, the meet went to a tiebreaking procedure. The Eagles emerged victorious on combined team score, 746-731.5. This is BC's second win over Sweet Briar this season, despite the Vixen's being ranked ahead of them in the NCEA Single Discipline Rankings.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Lynchburg NCEA Wins Third Straight Head-To-Head ODAC Championship
For the third consecutive year, the University of Lynchburg equestrian team took home the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Head-to-Head Championship title after defeating Bridgewater, 7-3, on Saturday at the Sweet Briar Equestrian Center.
The No. 1 Hornets cruised through the ODAC postseason, earning victories against Sewanee in the semifinals and Bridgewater in the championship for the ODAC title. Lynchburg earned three team points in the fences and closed out the competition with four team points in the flat.
In the fences, Madeline Rubin shined with a meet-high score of 86.5 riding Luca for a team point. Rebecca Collier produced a solid score of 78.5 riding Hemingway, and Stella Patenaude earned a score of 70.0 riding Tallulah to round out Hornets with team points in the event. Mary Katherine Ragsdale scored a nice 82.0 riding Kobe, while Amaya Bellfield scored a 40.5 riding Winston.
Collier led the way in the flat with a score of 82.0 riding Balou. Abigail Devlin was the next top finisher for the Hornets, scoring a 78.5 riding GG. Bellfield and Abby Zemp were close behind with scores of 76.0 and 75.0, respectively. Additionally, Rubin rode to a score of 50.5 to round out Lynchburg performers.
ALL TOURNAMENT:
Fences All-Tournament Team:
- Willa Atkins (Berry)
- Stella Patenaude (Lynchburg)
- Madeline Rubin (Lynchburg)
- Hallie Nelson (Sweet Briar)
Flat All-Tournament Team:
- Rebecca Collier (Lynchburg)
- Abigail Zemp (Lynchburg)
- Hallie Nelson (Sweet Briar)
- Grace Robertson (Sweet Briar)
ODAC All-Tournament MOPs:
- Fences: Madeline Rubin (Lynchburg)
- Flat: Rebecca Collier (Lynchburg)
All-Tournament Best Horses:
- Fences: Kobe (Sweet Briar)
- Flat: Balou (Lynchburg)
UP NEXT:
The teams of the ODAC conference await the seeding announcement for the NCEA National Championships, which will occur in Ocala, Florida at the World Equestrian Center from Friday, April 17 through Saturday, April 18.
3/20-21 – The Single Discipline Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Four NCEA single-discipline teams came together at the College of Charleston’s equestrian center to hash out who the winner would be in this year’s single discipline ECAC Conference Championship. Four teams met up over two semi-finals and a final championship round before a 2026 winner was crowned.
SEMI-FINAL: Centenary Cyclones Defeat ECAC No. 1 College of Charleston Cougars 8-2
The Centenary University Cyclones traveled down to Charleston, S.C. to compete in the 2026 Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship hosted by the College of Charleston. The ECAC bracket seedings had Centenary as No. 4 in the conference, going against No. 1 College of Charleston on the semi-final day, after which the Cyclones emerged victorious and advanced to the championship round.
The fences portion of the meet saw a clean sweep for Centenary. Aislinn Bermingham rode Mozart to a score of 79, Eva Froio surged ahead to earn an 87.5 on Jockamo, Kayley Besbris got a 76.5 on Bruno, Elizabeth Furtkevic an 82 with Oliver, and Sutton Suelthaus bested her Cougar opponent with an 84 on Nova.
Then, on the flat, the Cyclones managed three more points to add to their 8-3 grand total. Aislinn Bermingham scored a 79.5 on Luke to defeat Camilla Murray, Sophie Kassel got an 86.5 to overtake Samantha Aisenberg on Lionel, and Kayley Besbris scored a 77.5 on Hitchcock to win the point against Olivia Welsh.
For this meet, Eva Froio was awarded the MOP for Fences, earning her first career MOP.
SEMI-FINAL: Dartmouth NCEA Advances to ECAC Championship After Win Over Sacred Heart
The Dartmouth College equestrian team defeated Sacred Heart University 6-3-1 to advance to tomorrow's ECAC conference final in Charleston, South Carolina.
In the first half, Kileigh Van Ness '28, Grace Russo '29, and Lucinda Exner '29 all won their head-to-head matchups (79-77, 71-70, 76-65) to give the Big Green a 3-2 lead.
"Amazing rides all around," said Head Coach Tenley Walsh. "Kileigh had a career day, Grace is so reliable and so consistent, and Lucy's double-digit win was really big for us to get a raw score lead and momentum headed into the jumping.”
After Van Ness and Sacred Heart's Kylie Hwalek tied over fences to start the second half, raw score became a non-factor with the meet shifting to a best-of-nine contest.
Russo helped the Big Green split the next two rounds with her 81-50 victory, forcing Sacred Heart to win the last two to move on. But Cassidy Exner secured the team win, edging her opponent 87-85, and Camilla Jerng '29 ended the day with an 86-69 win, good for the meet's Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) over fences.
“Cassidy's our captain. That's what captains do," said Walsh. "And Camilla followed up with her best round of the year right behind her, so she was there to pick her up if needed. That's what we do."
The team will take on Centenary University on Saturday, Mar. 21 at 10:00 am with the conference title on the line.
"I am so proud of this team. Everyone contributed to today's win, and it was great to see the team working together and supporting one another" said Walsh.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Dartmouth Wins ECAC Championship For The First Time In Program History
For the first time in program history, the Dartmouth College equestrian team will return home ECAC champions, after their 7-3 win over Centenary University on Saturday at the College of Charleston.
The top-seeded Big Green took a 3-2 lead into the half after Cassidy Exner '27, Kileigh Van Ness '28, and Camilla Jerng '29 won their head-to-head matchups on the flat (82.5-80.5, 84-78.5, 87.5-83).
"We were in the same spot yesterday, so we knew we could keep the momentum rolling," said head coach Tenley Walsh. "It was another amazing team effort."
In the second half, Grace Russo '29, Van Ness, Exner, and Jerng combined to take four of the five fence points (72.5-55, 82-67.5, 82.5-78.5, 86-81), enroute to the 7-3 team victory.
Jerng, who was named the Most Outstanding Performer over fences in yesterday's semifinal, was awarded both MOP Flat and MOP Fence distinctions today.
"Across the board we turned in so many great rides this weekend," said Coach Walsh. "I am really proud of Camilla. Her MOPs were well-earned."
Cassidy Exner '27, Kileigh Van Ness '28, Camilla Jerng '29 and Grace Russo '29 earned four of the five spots on the ECAC All-Tournament Fences Team. Van Ness '28 and Jerng '29 were also named to the ECAC All-Tournament Flat Team. Walsh was named ECAC Coach of the Year following the meet.
ALL TOURNAMENT:
Fences All-Tournament Team:
- Elizabeth Furtkevic (Centenary)
- Cassidy Exner (Dartmouth)
- Kileigh Van Ness (Dartmouth)
- Camilla Jerng (Dartmouth)
- Grace Russo (Dartmouth)
Flat All-Tournament Team:
- Sophie Kassel (Centenary)
- Kileigh Van Ness (Dartmouth)
- Camilla Jerng (Dartmouth)
- Lainie Rubin (College of Charleston)
Equine Recognition:
ECAC Best Tournament Horse: Oliver (College of Charleston)
ECAC Horse of the Year: Jockamo (College of Charleston)
Coach of the Year:
Head Coach: Tenley Walsh (Dartmouth)
Assistant Coach: Hope King Hewitt (College of Charleston)
UP NEXT:
The ECAC single discipline teams await seeding for the national championships which will be played in Ocala, Florida, starting on Friday, April 17 and concluding on Saturday, April 18.