2023-24 TCU Women’s Equestrian Season Recap

The Horned Frogs finished as the runner-up in both the Big 12 Championship and the NCEA National Championship.

The TCU women’s equestrian team remained one of the elite programs in the country during the 2023-24 campaign. The Horned Frogs went 14-3 overall and scored eight victories against ranked opponents throughout the regular season. TCU ultimately took second in the Big 12 Championship before reaching the final round of the NCEA National Championship, where the Horned Frogs fell against SMU to take second place. It was TCU’s 11th season under director Haley Schoolfield, who won Big 12 Coach of the Year honors.

TCU was led by a veteran roster that included graduate student and five-time NCEA All-American honoree Mattie Dukes as well as a large group of seniors such as Sydney Berube, Ella Bostwick, Payton Boutelle, Shea Graham, Hannah Loeffelbein, Jessica McAllister, Giorgia Medows, Zoe Schiefer, Ashleigh Scully, Kaitlyn Smith and Sydnie Young. The Horned Frogs opened the 2023-24 season with two wins in September, when TCU took down Tarleton before notching a big upset over the No. 1 ranked SMU Mustangs.

October was an even more successful month for the Horned Frogs, who beat a number of ranked opponents including No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 10 UT-Martin and No. 5 Georgia. TCU defeated No. 8 Baylor in November and finished the 2023 portion of the season with a perfect record before returning to action in January 2024, when the Horned Frogs scored a ranked win against No. 8 Delaware State to remain undefeated on the season.

The Horned Frogs carried their winning streak into February, where TCU surged past No. 4 South Carolina and No. 7 Oklahoma State before picking up another victory over Baylor to begin the month of March. TCU’s 12-meet winning streak was snapped after an 11-7 defeat against No. 3 SMU in Dallas on March 8. TCU entered the Big 12 Championship as the team to beat, but after a third win against Baylor, the Horned Frogs fell just short of their Big 12 title, falling 10-9 against Oklahoma State to finish second in the conference tournament.

TCU rebounded in the NCEA National Championship tournament, where the Horned Frogs took down UC Davis 14-4 before outlasting Texas A&M for a thrilling 11-9 win to clinch a berth in the final round. The Horned Frogs squared off against SMU for the third time in the season, falling 12-7 to conclude the 2023-24 campaign as the No. 2 team in the nation. Jessica McAllister was named a Tournament MOP in horsemanship, while Laurel Smith and Sydney Berube earned All-Championship Team honors in fences and Jordyn Scelsa was named an All-Championship Team honoree in reining.

The Horned Frogs will have all of their seniors as well as eight juniors (Sidney Dunham, Catherine Goffard, AnnaKate Long, Emy Lucibello, Chloe Peebles, Laurel Smith, Jenna Welker and Elizabeth West) eligible to return for the 2024-25 campaign. Also eligible to return are 10 sophomores (Kylie Baker, Anna Clausen, Kaylene Cunningham, Tatum Keller, Alexandra Lipacis, Lannie-Jo Lisac, Ally Manoog, Julia Nickl, Jordyn Scelsa and Victoria Zahorik) and nine freshmen (Katalina Considine-Rickard, Hanna Dolan, Lilly Goldstein, Franki Guidi, Haylee Martin, Peyton Rathbun, Sydney Sargent, Peyton Staat and Paxton Wilson).