By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
WACO, Texas – Kelby Kane, a senior standout on the University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian team, has been selected as the National Collegiate Equestrian Association Fences Rider of the Year.
The NCEA announced its year-end awards this afternoon. Kane joins SMU’s Taylor Madden/Auburn’s Ava Stearns (Co-Flat), Auburn’s Taylor Searles (Horsemanship) and Texas A&M’s Emmy-Lu Marsh/Baylor’s Andie Pratt (Reining) as the organization’s National Riders of the Year for the 2021-22 campaign.
This honor is the latest in a long string of accolades for the Lexington, Ky. native. Kane was also named a NCEA first team All-American (only the third Skyhawk to ever claim that title) and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Fences Rider of the Year while also nabbing a spot on the All-ECAC fences squad.
Outside of the arena, Kane was also recently spotlighted as the ECAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year while securing a spot on the APHA NCEA All-Academic first team.
Kane dialed up a 13-3 record in fences for head coach Kim Leiter this past season, winning her first nine head-to-head matchups before her first setback came on Feb. 11. Eight of her victories came against ranked squads, including an impressive Feb. 12 victory over then-No. 1 and eventual national champion Oklahoma State.
Overall, Kane was responsible for an 82.1 regular season scoring average in fences this past season. She received MOP honors on four separate occasions, including an 83-point effort against Delaware State (Oct. 1), a career-best 88-point performance against No. 3 SMU (Oct. 2), an 86-point ride against Lynchburg (Nov. 13) and an 85-point effort against Minnesota-Crookston (March 12).
As a result, Kane was chosen as ECAC Rider of the Week four times in 2021-22 – earning top billing on Oct. 5, Nov. 16, Feb. 1 and March 5. She helped the Skyhawks appear in the national top-10 rankings in nine out of 10 weeks and guided the squad to the ECAC reserve championship.
Kane was additionally recognized as UT Martin’s Bettye Giles Co-Female Athlete of the Year. Including her work in flat, she compiled 21 victories and eight MOP’s in the Jumping Seat discipline, upping her career totals to 44 wins and 15 MOP’s – both school records – in just three years of competition.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information