WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) has announced the 2025-26 Ariat All-Americans, released Tuesday.
 
The top five riders for Western and top six for Jumping Seat were selected and named the Ariat First-Team All-America by the NCEA Selection Committee. The next five or six riders per event earned Second Team honors. Honorable Mention honorees were selected via the established criteria below.
 
There shall be 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 9.2.1
• Have at least an adjusted NRS score of:
  • 85 for flat
  • 90 for fences
  • 80 for horsemanship
  • 75 for reining

South Carolina led the way with five first-teamers, while both Auburn and Oklahoma State each had three. 

Below are the First-Team honorees. The full list of awardees is available here.
 
Fences
First Team
Maddi Cardelli, College of Charleston
Naomi Dachis, Sweet Briar
Lauren Kolbe, UC Davis
Caroline Olsen, Auburn
Grace Rabb, South Carolina
Grace Shipman, Texas A&M
 
Flat
First Team
Avery Glynn, Auburn
Natalie Jayne, South Carolina
Sarah Rabb, South Carolina
Lauren Reid, Baylor
Lainie Rubin, College of Charleston
Abigail Zemp, Lynchburg
 
Horsemanship
First Team
Caroline Fredenburg, Auburn
Abby Goddard, Fresno State
Carly Jenkins, South Carolina
Alexis Potts, South Carolina
June Roberson, Oklahoma State
 
Reining
First Team
Ava Bush, Oklahoma State
Cadence Eger, Georgia
Emma Filiatreau, Oklahoma State
Madison Rafacz, SMU
Emma Riggs, South Dakota State
 
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.