WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) saw a successful second weekend of play which included several Dual versus Single meets alongside inter-discipline competitons.
NCEA meets involving Dual Discipline teams competing against Single Discipline teams do not count towards overall team records. Individual rider statistics will count toward their season totals.
No. 1 South Carolina swept its opening weekend, hosting two Single Discipline teams in Hollins and No. 8 Sewanee. No. 2 Texas A&M swept its first weekend with wins over Delaware State and Minnesota Crookston out in a doubleheader Dover. No. 3 Auburn also hosted a doubleheader with SD's No. 6 Bridgewater and No. 1 Lynchburg, defeating both. No. 6 Sacred Heart upset No. 2 College of Charleston in thrilling fashion, as did No. 4 Dartmouth.
9/24 - No. 2 Texas A&M Sweeps Doubleheader in Delaware
DOVER, Del. – The No. 2 Texas A&M equestrian team opened its 2026-27 season with a 13-5 victory over Delaware State and a 11-5 victory over Minnesota Crookston in a doubleheader Thursday morning at Redstone Ranch.
The Aggies opened the meet against Delaware State with a sweep in Fences. Grace DeFoe was selected as the MOP after her ride of 87 on Gino. Kate Egan (85), Grace Shipman (83), Alida Treuting (83) and Logan Thomas (82) logged the other four points for the Maroon & White.
Texas A&M tacked on three more points in Horsemanship against the Hornets as McKinney Atkinson scored a 72 on Maverick, earning MOP honors. Ady Kallay (69.5) and Liz Marmor(68.5) recorded the other two points as the Aggies took an 8-1 advantage.
Isabelle Gonzalez (70) secured a point for the Maroon & White in Reining. Point-scoring performances from Kate Egan (81), Lauren Kolbe (78), Annabelle Kotler (81) and Nicole McMillion (83) in Flat helped the Aggies earn the win over Delaware State, 13-5.
Texas A&M kicked off the Minnesota Crookston meet facing a 3-1 deficit in Fences as Grace DeFoe secured her second MOP of the day with a score of 86 to claim the lone point. The Aggies responded in Horsemanship by securing three points of their own. Ady Kallay led the way as MOP, recording a 72.5 on Maverick as the Maroon & White knotted things up at 4-4.
The Aggies pulled away with a sweep in Reining as Moriah McQueen earned MOP honors for her score of 66 on Aspen. A trio of points from Logan Thomas (84), Brooke Tegtmeyer (84) and Grace Shipman's MOP and a score of 81 in Flat helped wrap up an 11-5 victory over the Golden Eagles.
9/25 - Delaware State Downed Minnesota Crookston
DOVER, Del. - Delaware State downed the University of Minnesota Crookston equestrian team, 15-4, on Friday, September 25 at Redstone Ranch.
The Golden Eagles fell to 0-2 in the NCEA with Friday’s loss. Delaware State improved to 1-1.
DSU took the Flat win, 3-2 against Minnesota Crookston, with the MOP going to Daicey Richardson after her 88-83 point win.
In Fences, Delaware State earned the 5-0 win. Melissa Acker of DSU earned the MOP after scoring a 90 against an 82 on Gino.
In Horsemanship, the Hornets took the event 3-1, Cheyenne Brand with the MOP in a close 73-72.5 win.
In Reining, DSU went 4-1, Raegan Rapier earning a 70 over a 68.5 to take the MOP.
9/25 - No. 1 South Carolina Wins Over Hollins
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – The No. 1 South Carolina Equestrian team kicked their season off with an exhibition meet against Hollins, competing in the first of three meets being held at One Wood Farm this weekend. The Gamecocks tied Hollins 5-5 overall, but took the victory by raw scores (828-773).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hollins took Fences 4-1 to start the day off, with Eddyn Molden scoring the lone point for the Gamecocks on Schnitzel defeating Juliana Guggino 79-70.
The Gamecocks bounced back to win Flat, outscoring Hollins 4-1. Chloe Tanner led off strong, scoring an 88 on Murphy, followed by Paris Levy on Dento, scoring an impressive 93. Vanessa Mc Caughley then finished with a 91 riding Major, followed by Amira Kettaneh on Fenway, scoring an 88.
Mc Caughley’s and Levy’s scores are career highs in their time with the Gamecocks. McKayla Brombach also made her South Carolina debut on Nino, competing on the Flat.
9/25 - No. 3 Auburn Downs Bridgewater
AUBURN, Ala.— The No. 3 Auburn equestrian team defeated Bridgewater, 10-0, Friday at Auburn University Equestrian Center. The two teams competed in a Jumping Seat-only competition.
“I am really happy with how the team rode today,” head coach Jessica Braswell said. “Another victory without losing a single point was great. I think they stepped up their game and rode even better today than they did yesterday.”
Freshman Taylor Cawley swept Most Outstanding Performer honors, winning both Flat and Fences after outscoring her opponent in Fences and on the Flat.
“So excited for Taylor, she had a great weekend,” Braswell said. “It was her first weekend competing in college. There was good leadership from our upperclassmen and a great team effort. The horses were prepared and those who warmed up and helped behind the scenes did an awesome job.
“I’d like to thank the Auburn fans that came out today,” Braswell added. “We’re really excited to kick off our full season next week against SMU next weekend and hope to everybody out there!”
FLAT
Junior Sadie Berkhout earned the first point on the Flat after outscoring her opponent, 84-79. Junior Ariana Marnelland junior Kate Parker earned wins after besting their opponents 87-82 and 85-71, respectively. Junior Kate Hagerty won her match up, 91-83, before Cawley captured MOP after marking a 92 to down her opponent’s 83, sweeping the Eagles.
FENCES
Hagerty started Fences off strong with a score of 87, besting her opponent by 14 points. Marnell matched Hagerty’s score to win the point, 87-75. Sophomore Emily Jurnovoy outperformed her opponent by 18 points to win it, 85-67. Senior Avery Glynn and Cawley took the final points to complete the sweep, winning 92-72 and 94-67, respectively. Cawley’s 94 was a match best and secured her other MOP.
9/26 - No. 8 Sewanee Defeats Hollins
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – Sewanee's NCEA Equestrian team opened the season on the road against Hollins on Friday afternoon on the Flat, and finished the Fences portion on Saturday morning, defeating Hollins, 5-3, before falling to the University of South Carolina, 8-1.
The Tigers started on the Flat, as Addison Durrett was the Most Outstanding Player, collecting 92 points on Fenway to earn Sewanee's lone point of the portion, outscoring her opponent by nine points. Olivia Carmouchescored a 75 on Marty, Madeline Luddy collected an 81 on MJ, just four points behind her opponent, and Rebecca Love scored a 76 on Solo, as the Tigers went into Fences down by two points.
On Saturday morning, the Tigers competed in Fences, sweeping the portion to secure the win. Rebecca Loverode MJ, scoring an 81, while Olivia Carmouche was the Most Outstanding Player in Fences with an 84 on Murphy. Madeline Luddy rode Rio, winning her point with a 79, and Addison Durrett completed the sweep with a 68 on Solo.
Against the Gamecocks, the Tigers fell, 8-1. Rebecca Love collected Sewanee's lone point in Fences, with an 84 on Dylan. On the Flat, Olivia Carmouche scored an 89 on Dento, matching her opponent's score.
9/26 - No. 6 Sacred Heart Upsets No. 2 College of Charleston
NORWALK, Conn. — The Sacred Heart University equestrian team opened its 2026-27 season in thrilling fashion Saturday afternoon at Silvermine Farm, taking down No. 2 College of Charleston, 5-4, in a NCEA showdown.
In the Pioneers' season opener, Sacred Heart went head-to-head with the Cougars, who entered the afternoon ranked second in the NCEA Single Discipline Preseason Poll. Sacred Heart was slated sixth in the preseason poll, tied with Bridgewater.
Final Score:
Sacred Heart - 5
College of Charleston - 4
Records:
Sacred Heart (1-0, 1-0 NCEA)
College of Charleston (0-1, 0-1 NCEA)
Key Highlights:
Sacred Heart battled to two points in fences before carrying that momentum into flat, where the Pioneers claimed three points to secure the 5-4 victory over one of the nation's top-ranked programs in singles discipline.
The Pioneers finished with a 741-point total, edging the Cougars' 733 points.
Freshman Addison Gingras made an immediate impact in her first collegiate competition, earning Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors in fences.
Inside the Scoresheet:
Fences -
Gingras made an immediate impact in her collegiate debut, earning MOP honors in fences with an impressive 83-point ride aboard Chauncey. Her performance helped the Pioneers secure one of their two points in fences. Rebecca Skelton followed with a crucial 80-point ride aboard Fuego, earning the Pioneers' second point in the discipline.
Reagan Waggoner added a 74-point ride aboard Junior, while Norah Jackson and Eleese Shillingford rounded out the riders with a 69 and 65-point performance, respectively.
Flat -
Shillingford led the way with an 81-point ride aboard Solo, earning one of the Pioneers' three points in the discipline. Waggoner followed up with a 77-point performance aboard Chloe. Skelton then delivered another key performance, posting a 72-point ride aboard Viv to secure another point in flat for the Pioneers.
Gingras added a 73-point ride aboard Fuego, while Jackson rounded out the Pioneers' lineup with a 67-point performance aboard Junior and claimed the third and final point for SHU.
9/26 - No. 1 South Carolina Takes No. 8 Single Discipline Sewanee
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – The No. 1 South Carolina Equestrian team wrapped up their season-opener exhibition against Sewanee (ranked No. 8 in the single-discipline poll), dominating the Tigers 8-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gamecocks took Fences 4-1. Amira Kettaneh led off with an 86 on Q and earned the event’s MOP award. Alyssa Bauer followed on Rio, scoring an 81. Next, McKayla Brombach competed on Dobby, scoring an 81. Grace Rabb then scored the last point for the Gamecocks in Fences on Schnitzel, with an 83.
Carolina then took Flat 4-0. First on Nino, Sarah Rabb recorded an 84, winning the first point. Amira Kettaneh followed on Murphy and scored an 81. Paris Levy matched an 89 to tie with Sewanee’s Olivia Carmouche. Vanessa Mc Caughley then followed with a 90 on Major and Alyssa Bauer finished off the flat on Fenway, scoring an 80.
9/27 - No. 4 Dartmouth Outdoes No. 2 College of Charleston in Opener
ETNA, N.H. - No. 4 Dartmouth College equestrian opened its season with a 5-4 win over No. 2 College of Charleston on Sunday, September 27 at the Riding Center at Morton Farm.
In the first half, returning riders Camilla Jerng '29, Cassidy Exner, '27, and Grace Russo '29 earned team points over fences for the Big Green (86-85, 79-73, 85-82) to give the team a 3-2 lead.
"That's leadership," said head coach Tenley Walsh. "Those three had great seasons last year and picked up right where they left off."
After a loss to start the second half, Lucinda Exner '29 tied her head-to-head contest 83-83, forcing a best-of-three scenario with the day's remaining matchups. From there, Jerng and Exner picked up their second points of the day (89-85 and 79-73) sealing the win for Dartmouth.
"I liked all 10 of our rounds today," said Walsh. "How we get to the end result this year might vary from week to week, but the bottom line is that this group has the talent and togetherness to get to the most important result: a team win."
Jerng was named the meets Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) over fences and on the flat.
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.
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