The No. 4 South Carolina equestrian team completed an impressive season with a 13-5 season record and a National Collegiate Equestrian Association, or NCEA, championship title. This is South Carolina’s fourth NCEA championship title, and first in a decade, having previously won in 2005, 2007 and 2015.
The Gamecocks upset the No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies in a tight championship show at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, on Saturday. The teams tied in points at 10-10, but South Carolina secured the win on a raw score tally, 1696.08-1473.
South Carolina’s Western riders dominated in both events, winning horsemanship 3-2 and reining 4-1. Junior Alexis Potts, sophomore Opal Fomish, sophomore Olivia Cardi and freshman Emily Patton scored in reining. Potts, senior Alyssa Jipping and senior Carly Jenkins scored in horsemanship.
The Texas A&M English riders were successful on the flat, winning 3-2. Senior Natalie Jayne and sophomore Vanessa McCaughley scored the 2 points for South Carolina. The loss in flat set up an intense matchup over fences.
The win came from an 84.7 ride by sophomore Amira Kettaneh matched with an earlier Texas A&M zero. This lone point in fences, 4-1, tied the teams and left the title up to raw score.
This Aggie error was crucial to South Carolina during the final calculations of the show.
"I knew that they had gotten a zero earlier in the day, so we knew if it came down to a tie, we were going to win," Head coach Carol Gwin said.
Three Gamecocks received most valuable player nods in the championship: Jayne in flat, Potts in horsemanship and Patton in reining.
The Gamecocks began this season as defending SEC Tournament champions. In an underdog fashion, the Gamecocks defeated the Aggies to secure the 2025 title in Gwin’s first season with the program.
In the 2026 SEC Tournament, South Carolina fell to the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, 11-9, in the first round. The Aggies snagged the SEC title while South Carolina sought revenge in the NCEA National Championship.
Last year's season ultimately ended with a 15-5 loss to the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, Gwin's previous program, in the second round of the NCEA National Championships.
This year, in the NCEA National Championship, South Carolina earned revenge against No. 5 SMU with a first-round 11-8 win. In the second round, the Gamecocks defeated No. 1 Auburn to advance to the championship.
Potts had a perfect day in the championship, scoring a 72.3 in reining and 76.8 in horsemanship. Potts was named NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Year, the second horsemanship rider to earn the title in program history. She also claimed the SEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year honor.
"I was just in shock," Potts said. "This is a goal that you can't even set."
Junior Grace Rabb earned SEC Co-Fences Rider of the Year, and freshman Lillian Laney was named SEC Newcomer of the Year in Horsemanship.
"They have a lot of determination, a lot of work ethic, and they just really put their heads down and believed everything that me and my other three coaches told them to do," Gwin said. "I think that determination and grit is kind of what got us here."