Wide-Open Field Biggest Storyline Heading Into NCEA Championship

It’s truly anyone’s game as collegiate equestrian’s best programs descend on the World Equestrian Center in Ocala for the 2026 season-culminating event.

The NCEA will crown two national champions this weekend, but the outcome is very much undecided. | Photos courtesy of various athletic departments

Last April, streaks were broken as Georgia took down SMU, and Dartmouth bested Lynchburg to claim the dual and single-discipline titles at the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championship, respectively. 

The Mustangs had won back-to-back dual discipline crowns coming in, while the Hornets were on a run of three straight single discipline titles prior to the defeat. 

Based on regular season results, this year’s NCEA finale will be just as difficult to predict. A look at some of the storylines before the action starts on Thursday. 

Parity aplenty 

Like every year, the teams are seeded. But for this championship event, those numbers might be meaningless. 

During the regular season, the dual discipline results were truly a gauntlet of unpredictability as no team emerged more dominant than the next.

Of the eight programs that qualified for the dual bracket, only Auburn swept any opponent they faced multiple times, going 2-0 against SMU and Georgia. While the Tigers earned the No. 1 spot in the field, they’re far from immune to being upended. During the regular season, they split matches with South Carolina and Texas A&M. Following a 15-4 senior day domination against the Aggies, Texas A&M took down the Tigers 11-8 in the SEC Championship final just days later. 

South Carolina was the only team to clear 10 wins in the regular season, while every dual discipline program in the field except Auburn (9-3) has five or more losses already. 

Over in the single-discipline bracket, there is a similar pattern as top-seeded Lynchburg split with fellow qualifiers Charleston and Sweet Briar during the regular season. Meanwhile, Dartmouth’s only matches against any of the other three NCEA participants were a pair of showdowns with Charleston, which they also split. 

In short, based on the results from previous meetings, anything can happen over the next three days. 

First-timers club

Both Texas A&M and Dartmouth have some additional confidence coming into the competition after success at their respective conference events. The Aggies won their first SEC title in program history and their first conference championship since claiming the Big 12 title back in 2011. 

For the Big Green, it was also a first as they took down Centenary in the East Coast Athletic Conference Championship to claim the program’s first-ever conference title (yes, they had a national title before a conference one). 

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State and Lynchburg kept streaking in terms of conference titles. The Cowgirls won the Big 12 for a sixth straight time while the Hornets took home their third Old Dominion Athletic Conference title in a row. 

It would take a meeting in the national championship match, but the Filitreau sisters have the potential to square off in the reining competition in Ocala. Sara Beth (left) rides for SMU while Emma (right) competes for Oklahoma State | Photos courtesy of SMU and Oklahoma State athletics

Households divided

Two families will need to bring an extra bag of clothes for the trip, as they will have daughters competing for both programs. 

Over in the Primavera home, Bella rides for No. 4 South Carolina, while Paloma is a competitor for No. 8 Fresno State. If both teams were to win their opening round match, they would meet in the semifinals with a chance to go head-to-head in fences for the second time in their careers.

For the Filiatreau family, it would be a long wait for a potential sister-vs.-sister showdown as Sara Beth competes for No. 5 SMU, while Emma is a standout for No. 6 Oklahoma State. While they are both reining riders, they’ve never been matched up when the Mustangs and Cowgirls have met previously. The only way the two teams would clash in Ocala would be if both squads reached Saturday's championship round.

Quick notes

If Dartmouth is going to win a second straight single-discipline title, it’ll be doing it with a very different roster. Only two riders – Cassidy Exner and Kiliegh VanNess – are back from last year’s championship meet.

The No. 2 Big Green are also the only program at the NCEA without an All-American on their roster. … Fresno State’s absence from the championship field is finally over. The No. 8 Bulldogs are back in the bracket for the first time since 2022. …. Georgia is looking to go back-to-back for the first time since the program reeled in three straight championships from 2008-10. The Bulldogs have the most titles in NCEA history at eight.