SMU Nabs Second Straight NCEA Dual Discipline Title

The Mustangs weren’t the only team to repeat as Lynchburg captured its third straight NCEA single discipline title.

SMU had plenty to celebrate on Saturday as the Mustangs clinched their second straight NCEA dual discipline championship with a win over their rivals, TCU. / Keagan Phillips Photography/@k.p.photog

When the gate opened and the first rider entered, the SMU equestrian team was ready for the moment. 

The culminating match at the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championship in Ocala, Fla., pitted the Mustangs against their archrivals, top-seeded TCU, for the third time this season. The teams split regular-season meetings, setting up a showdown with more at stake than the usual bragging rights. 

No pressure. At least, that’s how the western team approached it. 

“We kind of came out and said this is where we make a statement,” said horsemanship rider Caroline Nielson. “We couldn’t play it safe, we couldn’t just coast and they weren’t going to hand it over. So we went out there, laid it all out there and right from reining we just went guns blazing. You could feel it too the way the girls were riding from the beginning in reining that we wanted it and we made that statement right away.”

Four wins in reining followed by a split in horsemanship set an early tone that the Mustangs would not be denied, resulting in a 12-7 victory and the program’s second straight NCEA dual discipline national title. It’s only the fourth time in NCEA history a team has won consecutive championships, with Georgia (2003-04, 2008-10) and Auburn (2018-19) being the only other schools to accomplish the feat. 

The win was an exclamation point on a run that has vaulted SMU to one of college equestrian’s elite programs. Over the last four years, the Mustangs have reached the NCEA Championship finale three times with back-to-back titles. During that span, SMU has gone 46-14 overall, with six 10-win seasons over the last seven years. 

“It’s pretty crazy. I’ve been here for four years, and we’ve been in the final round for three of those four,” said jumping seat rider Taylor Madden. “I think SMU has just been getting a lot stronger each year, and it finally all came together – and stayed together – for the past two years.”

Over the last four years, SMU has won back-to-back national titles, appeared in the NCEA finals three times and posted a 46-14 overall record. / Keagan Phillips Photography/@k.p.photog

After a 13-7 victory over No. 7 South Carolina in Friday’s opening round, the second-seeded Mustangs had to navigate a difficult semifinal match with No. 6 Oklahoma State on Saturday. The two teams split regular season meetings this year, each picking up a home win. This time around, SMU pulled out the 11-9 win, with Lily Anderson’s effort clinching the outcome in horsemanship during the last ride of the day. 

Being comfortable in uncomfortable surroundings is how SMU coach Carol Gwin has shaped her team’s mental fortitude. This year, the Mustangs went on the road for six of their 13 total regular season meets, including a string of three straight at Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Auburn in February. SMU went 1-2 in those, but a victory against Auburn set the tone for the strong finish to the season as the Mustangs became the first team to beat the Tigers at home since 2017. 

“It was a really good season because we played such a hard schedule. We played really good teams on the road, at home and, yes, we lost a few, but I think sometimes if you lose a few it makes you better,” Gwin said. “I’ve always said you have to play the best opponents to be the best team. And that is my focus in scheduling, in coaching and in what we do. I think we beat some really good quality teams this week and it was fun to have the battle of DFW here in Ocala.”

Two titles in two years. Beating your rival in a national championship setting to clinch the season series. The reality of their accomplishments over the three-day run really hadn’t sunk in for Anderson and many of her teammates just yet. 

It’s something they often thought about and talked of. Seeing it come to fruition was an unreal feeling. 

“We had it in our minds that it was possible because we did it last year and we thought it’s definitely something we could do again but obviously it wasn’t just going to be handed to us,” said Anderson. “We had to stay dialed in and everyone really did. It was an incredible way to end my tenure on the team.”

For the third straight year, the Lynchburg equestrian team secured the single discipline national championship thanks to a win over Sweet Briar College. / Photo courtesy of Lynchburg athletics

Lynchburg gets single discipline three-peat with win over Sweet Briar

Fallyn Belcastro and her University of Lynchburg teammates never flinched. 

Why would they? Many of them had been in a similar situation before. 

After the fences portion of Saturday’s NCEA single discipline championship concluded, the Hornets were tied with Sweet Briar College at 2-2, creating a dead heat going into the flat competition. Over the next five rides, Lynchburg left no doubt who would be leaving Ocala with the title, securing a point on four of the five rides to earn the 6-3 victory and the program’s third straight crown. 

“Going into the flat I think we were in the same position we were last year – we knew we had to bring it in the flat,” Belcastro said. Last year, Lynchburg was down 3-1 after fences before coming back to go 3-1 on the flat and win on raw score. “It’s kind of a position we’re used to and our flat has gotten a lot stronger to be honest and I think we just came in with a lot of confidence just knowing that we had to go in and ride.”

The two teams are no strangers to each other. Sweet Briar won the regular season matchup, while Lynchburg took down the top-seeded Vixens during the inaugural Old Dominion Athletic Conference head-to-head championship back in late March.

When the single discipline competition was established in 2021, it was top-seeded Sweet Briar who picked up the first championship with a win over Lynchburg. Since then, the Hornets have entered the NCEA finals as the underdog, winning both the 2022 and 2023 titles, each of which came against the Vixens. 

“This year, it was a little different because we had some pressure from the standpoint that we’re the No. 1 seed and we’ve done it before, twice, and now everyone is going to expect us to do well,” said Lynchburg equestrian director Phillip Williamson. “I think managing that pressure for the kids is a big part of it. Luckily, I’ve got a lot of my returning riders from last year and even the year before, so I’ve got a lot of team members who have been a part of the team for the last two wins and were still on the team this year.”

The idea of being a three-time national champion is a reality Belcastro couldn’t completely wrap her head around. And with one year of eligibility left, the junior knows opportunity is still available. 

“A four-peat would be amazing,” Belcastro said with a laugh.