WILMINGTON, Ohio – At the collegiate level, there are known football, basketball, baseball and softball powerhouses.

When it comes to equine competition, tiny Wilmington College (WC) in southwest Ohio is one such powerhouse. There are 13 sports offered at Wilmington. The equine team is second in number only to the football program.

“Eight percent of the student body here at Wilmington College is on the equestrian team,” said Daren Wright, assistant professor of Equine Management and director of the school’s equine program. “We’re one of the smallest colleges to have an equestrian team. We are 61 members strong, yet we had four of our riders advance to Nationals this year. In fact, one of our major competitors is Ohio State University (OSU) and we consistently beat them. We’re the underdog at most events. We enjoy defeating some of the larger schools.”

“Our team has more than doubled in size and we’re proud to have students who have quickly moved up the ranks and placed at the national level,” Wright said. “When I started here a little more than two years ago, we didn’t have many competing students and we had empty stalls in the barn. Now, we’ve outgrown our barns, outgrown our arena, and we’ve had additional stalls put in to house everything. And that’s a good problem to have. We’ve also had a lot of exposure the past few years.”

No better person to head up this successful equine program than Wright, who is a AQHA and APHA Professional Horseman, as well as a carded judge with AQHA, APHA, NSBA, PHBA, and ABRA, just to name a few.

The team is coached by Stephanie McConnell, who has been at the helm of the program since 2021. She has coached more than 300 World and Reserve World champions at such shows as the AQHA World Championship Show, the AQHA Level 1 World Championship Show and the ARHA World Championship Show. McConnell is a carded judge with several organizations including APHA, NSBA, PHBA and ABRA. McConnell resides in New Trenton, Ind. She is assisted by Betsie Moore.

“We have horses that are leased to us through the school and those horses are what we give lessons on,” Wright said. “We try to put the students on a variety of horses because at a show you never know what you’re going to ride. At a show you draw horses from a hat.”

Two new additions have been added to the Wilmington College stable: “Talkin Sweet Impulse” and “Chevrolatte.”

“These are two incredible show horses that are both AQHA geldings,” Wright said. “They were donated to our equine program. One is a superior western pleasure horse and the other is a National High Point and Youth All-Around. These are two great horses to our program and will be a valuable asset to our students.”

The equestrian team at Wilmington College is a university sport club. Competitive members have the opportunity to show, representing Wilmington College in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The team’s 17-event schedule runs from October through April.

IHSA, founded in 1967, believes that any college rider should be able to afford to show. This innovative organization created a system where each show’s host provides the horses and tack. Riders draw their mounts for each class at random and are judged on their equitation on a horse they have never ridden before. Each placing brings a specific amount of points, and if enough points are earned, riders can qualify for Regional, Zone and National competitions.

Wilmington College is a members of Zone 6, Region 2, and the team’s competitors include OSU, Ohio University, Otterbein University, Denison University, University of Dayton and Tiffin University. Wilmington College competes in hunt seat and western. Competition consists of reining, horsemanship, equitation on the flat and over fences.

Just as with any other sport at WC, class studies are required. Team members are required to take a pair of corresponding equine courses, attend meetings and practice as scheduled. “Our team members are required to ride twice a week to retain active status and be considered for the show team,” Wright said.

Members are required to arrive early for their practice to groom and tack up and plan to stay 30 minutes after to properly cool down, groom and clean the horse’s equipment.

“From a student’s perspective, they need to approach the industry and the work that goes into it with an open mind,” said Wright, referring to those who engage in equine studies. “Students need to realize that the work is hard, the hours are long, and that no job is beneath them. I have great students in our equine program at Wilmington College. They all have different skill levels and aspirations, but they all have one common trait and that is to be successful in the industry. We have students who are thirsty for knowledge, so we must make sure we are doing our part and getting them the information they need.”

Equine courses at Wilmington College include Recreational Horseback Riding, Introduction to Equine Studies, Beginning Horse Judging, Introduction to the Horse Industry, Basic Equine Handling, Stable and Facilities Management, Equine Science, Breaking and Training, Equine Reproduction and Equine Business Management.

The interest in horses at Wilmington College has flourished the past two years. So much so that Wright and his team at WC created the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), which is a junior/high school version of the IHSA. The IEA has regional shows that allows the junior high and high school teams of WC to compete against other teams of like riders. These competitions are set up to work just like the IHSA shows.

“We had many different ideas when creating this team,” Wright said. “First, it is a way to get junior and high school riders ready for a collegiate riding career. Second, it is a way to allow our college students an opportunity to start and learn to develop a teaching and lesson program to help foster younger riders. Finally, we felt this was a great way to help our local community, 4-H and beginner riders. Junior high and high school kids from any state are able to join our riding team and represent Wilmington College.

“The beauty of both IHSA and IEA is students don’t have to bring or even own their own horse. Some of our team members have never been on a horse until they came to college while others have competed for many years. We do have several student riders who own their own horses, and some have brought their horses to college with them. Many don’t own a horse. We have several school horses that we use in our lesson program.”