Sweet Briar’s NCEA team claims first big win

The Sweet Briar National Collegiate Equestrian Association team headed out on a road trip to the University of Tennessee at Martin for a double header on March 14 that lead to a successful end of the regular season with a win against the University of Minnesota Crookston.

The team started the day competing against the host, nationally ranked UT Martin. Sweet Briar riders took a 3-2 lead in the equitation over fences. The flat portion of the meet gave UTM three of the five possible points. Sweet Briar tied the two additional points, which resulted in them not being awarded to either team. Ultimately, the Vixens fell to UT Martin 3-5. A highlight of the competition was first-year Katie Balding’s Most Outstanding Player (MOP) award over fences.

The second meet of the day was a successful one for Sweet Briar, as the team claimed its first win since joining the NCEA last fall. Sweet Briar scored an 8-2 victory over the University of Minnesota Crookston.

The team took a 3-2 lead in equitation over fences with Courtney Barry ’18, Makayla Benjamin ’18 and Lily Peterson ’21 scoring points for the Vixens. The team continued to dominate in equitation on the flat, with all of the Vixens winning their points for a 5-0 sweep of the event.

Two more Sweet Briar riders were awarded Most Outstanding Player awards: Magner for equitation on the flat and Benjamin for her ride in equitation over fences.

“The NCEA team has worked very hard this year,” said Head Coach Mimi Wroten. “We ended the regular season on a great note and look forward to competing in our first National Championships in April.”