Equestrian | 11/22/2025 7:39:00 PM

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston equestrian program began a new era of home meets as they hosted their first NCEA meet at Charles H. Casey Equine Arena in Crookston Saturday, November 22. They had previously only competed on the road in NCEA, and hosted IHSA meets. The 2025-26 season is the first campaign where Minnesota Crookston is exclusively competing in the NCEA.

Minnesota Crookston fell narrowly to South Dakota State University 12-8 Saturday. The Golden Eagles showed vast improvement from their last show against the Jackrabbits in Brookings, S.D., where they fell 16-4. The Golden Eagles dropped to 0-4 in dual-discipline meets this season. South Dakota State improved to 3-4 with the win. 

Emma Mutnansky (So., Cass Lake, Minn.), who was the ECAC Horsemanship Rider of the Month for October, continued her success, as she set a program record with a 78. Mutnansky is one of the only Horsemanship riders to remain undefeated this spring. Mutnansky was the Horsemanship MOP Saturday. She is joined by South Dakota State transfer McKenna Hooyer (Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa) who picked up a 75-63 win over Brighton McBride on GiGi. Addison Pike (Fr., Grand Haven, Mich.) scored a 71.5 on Friday but fell narrowly in Horsemanship. The Jackrabbits took Horsemanship 3-2.

The day began in Flat as the Golden Eagles began the meet in a 3-2 lead. Maggie Lawler (Fr., Algonquin, Ill.) earned a 70-63 victory over Heidi White on Ty. Ryann Mitchell (Fr., Camano Island, Wash.) picked up a 77-75 win over Isabelle Malick on Andie. Belle Syrett (Jr., Winnipeg, Manitoba) put together a great ride to earn a 75-58 victory over Kayla Scherer on Oro.

Minnesota Crookston picked up three wins in Fences. Kristen Borchert (Sr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) secured an 82-66 victory over former Golden Eagle Juliana Gullo on Jackson. Syrett earned an 80-72 win over Kendyll Rudolf on Eli, while Julianne Lurie (Fr., Seminole, Fla.) picked up a 72-70 win over Brooke Borges on Sully.

South Dakota State edged the Golden Eagles with their performance in Reining, going 5-0. Minnesota Crookston was paced by Brooke Hoven (Sr., Ankeny, Iowa) who earned a 66.5 on Hector.

Minnesota Crookston honored seven seniors concluding the day, with Borchert, Hoven, Jenna Seibert (Sr., Sebeka, Minn.), Hailey Schlotfeldt (Sr., Luverne, Minn.), Sophie Gustafson (Sr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.), Isabella Abbas (Sr., Tea, S.D.), and Kassidy Kalka (Sr., Cottage Grove, Minn.). All seven riders have meant a great deal to the program.