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.”
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.”
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