Rustburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg equestrian team kicked off the 2025-26 campaign with a 6-4 triumph against Charleston on Friday afternoon at the Lynchburg Equestrian Center.

The No. 3 Hornets took down the No. 2 Cougars, winning 3-2 in both flat and fences. Lynchburg's Abigail Devlin took home the MOP award for flat while Olivia Lonneman of Charleston was awarded MOP for fences. Both Devlin and Lonneman finished with the highest scores in their respective events as Devlin scored an 88 riding Caleb in flat anf Lonneman scored 88 riding Motaz in fences.

All of Lynchburg's performers showed out for the season opener, scoring a 75-or-better across the board. The impressive showing saw eight of the Hornets' 10 rides score above 80 and five score at least 85. Additionally, both of Lynchburg's exhibitions were given scores of 80: Mackenna Moss in fences riding Quebec and Devyn Borden in flat riding Motaz.

Rebecca Collier scored the highest for the Hornets in fences, earning an 87 riding Motaz. Mary Katherine Ragsdale claimed a score of 85 riding Zehn and a point for the team. Madeline Rubin was close behind with a score of 84 riding Eddie, also earning a team point. Stella Patenaude beat out her opponent with a score of 82 riding Archie. Amaya Bellfield had a solid outing with a 79 riding Cascade.

In flat, Devlin led the charge with a team point for her astounding performance. Abby Zemp followed suit with a fantastic score of 87 riding Balou to claim another point for Lynchburg. Ella Neyland matched Zemp's score with an 87 riding Eragon for the team's sixth point of the day. Collier received an 82 riding Van Gogh and Bellfield earned a 75 riding Luca.

After knocking off the No. 2 Cougars, the Hornets have a quick turnaround and will face Centenary tomorrow morning on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. in the home ring.

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