WACO, Texas – Week 1 for the National Collegiate Equestrian Association finished with South Dakota State splitting its Texas swing.

The Jackrabbits defeated Baylor on Thursday, 12-8, before falling to TCU on Friday, 12-2. 

Week 2 will see Delaware State hosting both Texas A&M and Minnesota Crookston, while Auburn welcomes Lynchburg and Bridgewater. Sweet Briar will face new NCEA member Washington and Lee, and Sewanee heads to South Carolina along with new member Hollins. Dartmouth and College of Charleston will also face off.

9/17 – Jackrabbits Open the Season With a Win Over Baylor
WACO, Texas — On the strength of winning four of the five matchups in horsemanship, the South Dakota State equestrian team opened the 2026-27 season with a 12-8 victory over ninth-ranked Baylor in head-to-head competition Thursday at the Willis Equestrian Center. 
 
Entering horsemanship with an 8-7 lead, the Jackrabbits secured the victory by notching the first three points awarded in the final event. Avery Bergan got things started with a 73.25 average score from the two judges to post a win in her head-to-head matchup against Olive Holm. Addison Saterbakand Hailey Hanson followed with respective winning scores of 73 and 74.25, with Hanson claiming Most Outstanding Performer honors. 
 
Anna Minich closed the Jackrabbit victory  with a 73.25-72.5 win in her matchup versus Ava Pope. 
 
Hanson went 2-0 on the day as she added a victory in reining with an average score of 70.25. Returning All-American Emma Riggs also picked up a point for the Jackrabbits in reining with a 69.25-63.75 victory against Sadie Peters. 
 
SDSU also held a 6-4 advantage in the jumping seat events as Heidi White was a two-time winner for the Jackrabbits. A sophomore from Senoia, Georgia, White earned a 79.5-75.5 win over Morgan McCarthy in fences, followed by a 74.5-60.5 victory against Lily Stewart in flat. 
 
Sarah Gould (65) and Brooke Borges (76) also were victorious in fences, while Isabelle Malick posted the Jackrabbits' top score in the event with an 82.5 but was edged by Caroline Muth of Baylor with a score of 83.5. 
 
Malick did register a win in flat with an average score of 73.5. Sydney Chmel claimed another point for the Jackrabbits with her team-best 77.5 in the event. 

9/18 – TCU Rolls Past SDSU

FORT WORTH, Texas – Seventh-ranked TCU Equestrian was in prime form in the season opener, defeating South Dakota State 16-2 on Friday at KSM Bear Creek Farms.

The margin of victory was the largest for the Horned Frogs since a 16-1 victory over Fresno State on November 3, 2022, at home.

Earning MOPs for the Frogs was Lilly Goldstein (Fences) and Sydney Feager (Horsemanship) and Adele Cunningham (Reining).

TCU swept Fences and won Flat 4-1 to post a commanding result in Jumping Seat. Western was similar, earning a 3-1 victory in Horsemanship and taking Reining 4-0.

The meet opened up in Fences, with the Frogs dominating. TCU took all five points, thanks to Maggie Dumrauf, Chandler Wilks, Lilly Goldstein, Kyla Sullivan and Lily Muzzy.

Continuing the momentum, Horsemanship featured a lot of success for the purple squad, as Sydney Feager, Calla Thomas and Marcella Bee all earned points to give the Frogs an 8-1 advantage at the break.

The second half begun on the Flat, and TCU continued to show well, earning four points in the event to seal the meet. Point scorers for TCU were Lily Muzzy, Amy Krebs, Madi Lo Porto and Lilly Goldstein.

To close out the meet, the Frogs took four points in Reining thanks to Sydney Sargent, Rita Clausen, Adele Cunningham and Calla Thomas to cement the victory.

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.