Baylor Equestrian's Dominika Silvestri Named NCEA Co-Flat Rider of the Year

WACO, Texas – Baylor equestrian senior Dominika Silvestri has been named the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Co-Flat Rider of the Year, as announced Thursday afternoon by the organization.

Silvestri, a 2023 NCEA All-American and the 2022-23 Big 12 Flat Rider of the Year, becomes the third Bear in program history to receive the national award.

In her record-breaking senior season, Silvestri tallied 14 wins in Flat, the most in BU’s recorded history, and lost just two rides. She also collected a pair of Most Outstanding Performer honors to increase her career total to three in the event.

Silvestri went 11-2 on the regular season to earn NCEA First-Team All-America honors and landed a spot on the All-Big 12 Flat Team, in addition to being named the league’s Flat Rider of the Year. She dominated her home rides, going 6-0 in Waco, and went 5-2 away from the friendly confines of Willis Family Equestrian Center to outscore her opponents by an average of nearly 10 points on the year.

Silvestri was twice named the Big 12 Flat Rider of the Month (November, January) and earned national recognition as the NCEA Flat Rider of the Month in January. To punctuate her outstanding season, Silvestri put down a career-high 92 against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, then went undefeated in postseason play at the Big 12 Championship and Nationals, ending the year on a six-meet win streak.

The award marks the third-consecutive season for Baylor with a national rider of the year, as Silvestri joins Andie Pratt (2022, Reining) and Rachael Davis (2021, Flat) as winners.

Baylor finished the 2022-23 campaign at 6-10 overall and finished as quarterfinalists at the NCEA National Championship after earning the No. 8 seed.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor equestrian, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorEQ.