WACO, Texas (SMU) –The SMU equestrian team closed out its season Friday on day two of the NCEA Event Championships.
 
In Equitation On The Flat, No. 5-seed SMU and No. 4-seed Texas A&M rode to a 2-2 draw. Haley Zimmerman opened scoring with a 156-148 win over Brianna Peddicord, before Nora Gray recorded a pair of 81s to knock off Rebekah Chenlle, 162-161. Tied at twos, the raw-score tiebreaker fell against the Mustangs, as the Aggies managed a 635-624 edge to advance.
 
SMU claimed one point in Equitation Over Fences and in Reining. Brett Burlington used a 155 to beat No. 5-seed Oklahoma State's Katie Schell, 155-151, for the lone fences point. In Reining, Holly Lansidel downed No. 5-seed Texas A&M's Ashton Dunkel, 138.5-138.
 
No. 7-seed SMU lost 4-0 to No. 2-seed Auburn in Horsemanship.


SEASON RECAP:
SMU finishes the season with a 10-6 overall record, the best in program history. The Mustangs claimed their first conference title in program history this season by defeating South Dakota State, 15-1, and Fresno State, 13-3.

Early in the season, SMU earned its highest ranking in program history of No. 2 in the latest National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Farnam Poll. The Mustangs opened the season 5-0, which marked the best start to a season (5-0) in program history and set the program record in consecutive wins. 

SMU had three NCEA All-America honorees in 2018 in Holly Lansidel, Vivian Yowan and Nora Gray. Lansidel was selected to the 2018 Ariat NCEA All-America Reining First Team, while Yowan and Gray each earned Ariat NCEA Equitation Over Fences Honorable Mentions.

Head coach Carol Gwin was named the United Equestrian Conference (UEC) Coach of the Year, and Nora Gray was named the UEC Equitation Over Fences Rider of the Year. Kirsten Ostling was selected as the Equitation On The Flat Freshman of the Year. Gwin led the Mustangs to the top of the UEC for the third straight season, guiding SMU to a 5-0 record in conference meets. Gray became the second Mustang in four years to win the Over Fences Rider of the Year award (Sylvia de Toledo, 2015), while Ostling earned her first career annual award.

Twelve members of the SMU equestrian team earned 2018 Farnam NCEA All-Academic honors, with nine achieving first-team status. Fifteen student-athletes were named to the American Paint Horse Association NCEA Academic Honor Roll.