NCEA Announces November Riders of the Month: Smith, Gasser, McMullen, Dotson

WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association on Tuesday announced its November Riders of the Month, recognizing outstanding performances from the third month of the 2015-16 collegiate equestrian season.

Equitation Over Fences Rider of the Month: Sydney Smith, South Carolina

• Smith, a redshirt junior from Madison, Conn., was the only Gamecock with a perfect 3-0 jumping record during the month of November.

• All three of her victories came on the road, and she also claimed her first career Most Outstanding Player award.

• In the Gamecocks’ Nov. 6 competition at Baylor, she posted a 83-70 win over her opponent.

• The next day at SMU, Smith earned her first career M.O.P. with a 88-66 victory over her Mustang opponent.

• She closed out the fall with a 76-70 win at No. 2 Georgia.

Equitation On The Flat Rider of the Month: Alicia Gasser, Baylor

• In Baylor’s two November meets, Gasser was a perfect 2-0, posting meet-highs for both competitions.

• Earned MVP nots in the flat in both meets during the month of November.

• Helped Baylor down two nationally-ranked teams to improve to a national-best 7-1 record.

Horsemanship Rider of the Month: Megan McMullen, TCU

• McMullen went 2-0 during the month with both wins coming against league foes. She also claimed two-straight MOP accolades.

• Opened the month, dropping K-State’s Paige Kemper, 74-68, and followed it up with a 75.5-74 victory over Oklahoma State’s Paris Nottingham.

• With her 2-0 mark for the month, she has now garnered three MOP’s on the season and is 5-2 on the year, including 3-0 against the Big 12 Conference.

Reining Rider of the Month: Ashley Dotson, Texas A&M

• Posted a 3-0 record in reining during the month of November, including two road victories.

• Averaged a score of 70.83 and defeated her opponents by an average margin of 1.5 points.

• Earned one MVP honor during the month of November.