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The NCEA National Championships get underway in Waco this Thursday, April 18.

SMU is the No. 6 seed in the Hunter Seat bracket and will face New Mexico State in the first round. The flat competition starts at 9am and fences are at 1pm.

No. 9 SMU is 8-3 on the year while NMSU is 4-9.

On the flat, SMU is led by Greer Hindle (4-1-1, 3 MVPs) and Mary Abbruzzese (5-1). The top riders for the Mustangs over fences are Alex Butterworth (9-2, 2), Schaefer Raposa (7-2, 3), and Courtney Line (8-2, 1). All five of these Mustangs were named second-team All-American by the NCEA this season.

The top riders for New Mexico State are Laura Bostwick (7-4, 4) on the flat and Emily McConnell (8-3, 2) over fences.

If SMU is fortunate enough to get past NMSU, the Mustangs would face Georgia in the second round on Friday.

Go Ponies!

The opening ceremonies just concluded. It was great to see all of the equestrian athletes honored tonight for their riding and academics and to be able to put a face with some of the names you see throughout the year from the other schools.

SMU is in action against NMSU at 9am Thursday.

Go Ponies!

SMU is up 4-0 over NMSU after sweeping fences!

Points to Emma Roberts, Schaefer Raposa, Courtney Line, and Alex Butterworth.

The flat will be this afternoon.

Go Ponies!

Over fences, Emma Roberts won 168-151 on Riant, Schaefer Raposa won 173-157 on Tyler, Courtney Line won 173-150 on Johnny, and Alex Butterworth won 142-110 on Marty.

Raposa faced Laura Bostwick and Line faced Emily McConnell.

Two upsets already in the first round of the Hunter Seat bracket, with No. 5 TCU falling 4-4 (raw score tiebreaker) to No. 12 South Dakota State, and No. 8 Kansas State falling 4-4 (raw score tiebreaker) to No. 9 Tennessee-Martin.

SMU-NMSU and Oklahoma State-Texas A&M are still in progress.

SMU advances to the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championship Hunter Seat bracket for the second consecutive year!

The Mustangs defeated New Mexico State 6-2 in the first round today.

Points on the flat were from Mary Abbruzzese (145-134 on Ella) and Julianna Fischer (148-126 on Orion).

SMU faces the No. 3 seed Georgia Friday in the quarterfinals.

Go Ponies!

No. 10 Texas A&M defeated No. 7 Oklahoma State 5-3, meaning SMU was the only higher-seeded team to win in the first round of the Hunter Seat bracket.

Hunter Seat quarterfinal matchups (all Friday):

No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 9 Tennessee-Martin
No. 2 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Texas A&M
No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 SMU
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 12 South Dakota State

Georgia is ranked No. 3 by the NCEA and has a 9-5 record.

Over fences, they are led by first-team All-American riders Carly Anthony (9-4, 3 MVP) and Olivia Dorey (11-2, 1). Anthony is also first-team All-American on the flat (11-3, 4).

SMU did not face Georgia this year.

SMU and Georgia are tied 2-2 after fences.

SMU points from Emma Roberts (164-153) and Schaefer Raposa (173-149).

Gerogia points from Carly Anthony and Olivia Dorey.

Georgia eliminated SMU 6-2 today, after sweeping the flat 4-0.

Unlike yesterday, all of the top seeds won today - most in convincing fashion.

No. 1 Baylor defeated No. 9 UT-M 5-2 (one tie).
No. 2 South Carolina defeated No. 10 A&M 6-2.
No. 3 Georgia defeated No. 6 SMU 6-2.
No. 4 Auburn defeated No. 12 SDSU 8-0.

2012-13 was another big year of growth for SMU, with a signature win over South Carolina and advancing to the quarterfinals for the second straight season. The team continued to show amazing strength over fences and was much more competitive on the flat.

Next year promises to be quite exciting for SMU Equestrian, with undoubtedly more progress in Hunter Seat as well as the addition of Western.

Upsets again in the Hunter Seat semifinals today, as No. 4 Auburn defeats No. 1 Baylor 5-3 and No. 3 Georgia defeats No. 2 South Carolina 5-3.

The Championship is later today.

Auburn wins the Hunter Seat National Championship with a 4-3 win over Georgia.

Oklahoma State defeated Kansas State 6-2 to win the Western National Championship.

Auburn and Oklahoma State will have a ride-off in all four disciplines tonight for the overall championship.

Auburn wins the Overall National Championship with a 3-1 win over Georgia in the ride-off.