Cowboy hats, riding helmets, and saddles are not part of typical athletic gear, but for one Baylor team, they’re the standard uniform. For 20 years, Baylor equestrian has empowered student-athletes and women to participate in varsity collegiate competition. The Baylor Bears won the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) National Championship in 2012 and have a strong program, particularly in the jumping seat discipline. Not familiar with the equestrian team? Take a walk through the barn.
What Is Equestrian?
Varsity equestrian makes the NCAA’s Emerging Sports for Women list, with some 22 colleges and universities in the United States hosting a team as of 2025. The season spans the school year, with meets happening from September through April, culminating in the NCEA National Championships at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida. Before 2022, the championships were generally held in Waco, where the NCEA is headquartered.
During a meet, two teams go head-to-head in up to four events across two disciplines: jumping seat and Western. In jumping seat, riders use an English saddle and compete in equitation over fences (simply called “fences”) and equitation on the flat (“flat”). In Western, riders use a Western saddle and compete in horsemanship and reining.
Dual-discipline teams, like Baylor’s program, compete in all four events. Single-discipline teams compete in only fences and flat.
In each event, five riders from each team are matched to horses by random draw, and riders from opposing teams ride the same horse. Before competing, riders are allowed to watch the horses being warmed up. Then each rider gets on her assigned horse for a short warm-up of four minutes (five in reining) before entering the arena.
“All competing riders are limited to four minutes where they get on, warm up that horse, and go in and compete,” said Baylor Head Equestrian Coach Casie Maxwell.
In flat, horsemanship, and reining, riders perform a set pattern of maneuvers. In fences, they ride over a course of jumps. A judge scores each ride, usually out of 100.
Whichever rider scores higher on a given horse earns a point for her team. So if a Baylor rider scores 80 and a TCU rider scores 78 on the same horse, Baylor gets the point. If the scores tie, neither team gets the point. A four-event meet has 20 points up for grabs.
“At the end of the day, the win-loss final score is going to look something like 12 to 8 or 10 to 8,” Maxwell said.
College equestrian fills a need for highly competitive riders coming up through horse shows in high school. Because NCEA teams are women-only, the sport also helps schools meet Title IX requirements.
“There’s a huge desire from young women coming up through the industry who want to compete at a higher level and continue the passion they’ve worked so hard for at the college level,” Maxwell said.
The Coaches
Maxwell is in her 10th year as Baylor’s head coach and 17th season as a collegiate equestrian head coach. She previously headed up Kansas State, where she was named Big 12 Coach and Co-Coach of the Year, serving from 2009 until 2016, when the school discontinued the program.
As a student-athlete at Texas A&M, she was part of a four-time Western National Champion squad and had top-four finishes in horsemanship and reining her senior year. She currently specializes in the reining tradition.
Maxwell is accompanied by:
- Grace Boston, assistant coach of the jumping seat discipline and fellow Texas A&M graduate. Boston’s twin sister, Sarah Boston, was a Baylor equestrian student-athlete.
- Cindy Walquist, 10-season veteran assistant coach of the Western discipline. She’s been a Western trainer for 40 years, coaching over 30 All-American Quarter Horse Congress Champions.
- Megan Glynn, assistant coach of the jumping seat discipline. She’s a Baylor equestrian alumna, serving as a team manager from 2017-2019 and as a student-athlete from 2019-2021.
- Madaline Callaway, who joins the team this year as director of operations and assistant coach. Callaway is a decorated alumna of the team as well — she was named an NCEA Reining Second Team All-American and in 2020-2021 was named the Big 12 Championship Reining Most Outstanding Performer.
Student-Athletes
Baylor equestrian riders are eligible for athletic scholarships, and they can combine them with academic scholarships. The team is also one of Baylor’s strongest academically: for nine straight seasons, it has led the Big 12 in academic honors.
This year’s roster has 46 riders. Teams were once larger, but Division I equestrian teams are now capped at 50 athletes.
Most riders are recruited out of high school, though some join through tryouts. Maxwell said she looks first for strong athletic ability and versatility, meaning riders who can adapt to a horse they’ve never ridden, a skill called catch riding.
“Not only can she perform well on her own specific horse that she’s trained on, but has she had the opportunity to ride several different horses — even if it’s just schooling on them?” Maxwell said. “They can translate those experiences of catch riding into the collegiate format.”
Beyond riding ability, Baylor’s equestrian coaches want to ensure the school and rider are a good match.
“When we’re bringing them in to visit, we’re making sure this is a good social, cultural, and academic fit for them and that they’re going to mesh well with our team dynamic and help elevate it,” Maxwell said.
Riders practice three to five times a week. This season, Baylor has 12 regular-season meets, followed by the Big 12 Championship, which Baylor hosts in March, and the NCEA Championship in April for teams that qualify.
Facilities
For 20 years, Baylor’s equestrian team has called Willis Family Equestrian Center its home base. Named for Baylor graduates Richard and Karen Willis, who gave the lead gift, the center opened in October 2006 on land donated by F.M. Young.
Less than two miles from campus, the 40-acre property includes a covered arena roughly the size of a football field, a large outdoor arena, and stalls and nine pastures for about 50 horses. Weston Lucas, the full-time operations manager, lives on-site and leads a crew that cares for the horses.
Home competitions are hosted at the facility, and when it’s Baylor’s turn to host the conference championship, it is held there as well. Baylor hosted in 2017 and 2024 and will host again this March. Riders who aren’t competing help run home meets from start to finish, everything except judging.
Every horse in the program is owned or leased by Baylor. Some horses are bought, others are donated, and some riders bring their own horses to school and lease them to the team for the year.
“They kind of become team equipment, even if they’re on a lease,” Maxwell said.
Baylor Stars
While equestrian is a team sport — unlike horse show riding outside collegiate competition — individual riders do receive recognition. Sam Schafer was inducted into the NCEA Hall of Fame in 2024 and the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.
“She made the inaugural class for the NCEA Hall of Fame and was the first equestrian rider inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame,” Maxwell said. “It’s huge for our young women to be recognized at the same level as athletes in other sports.”
Maxwell says two riders stood out last year, both jumping seat seniors.
“Lauren Reid and Lauren Jorgensen, who compete in both fences and flat, have really come into their own this year,” Maxwell said. “They’re having standout senior seasons. They’re great leaders, great people in and out of the arena, and excellent students—exactly what you’re looking for as a coach. I want to commend them on the success they’ve had and the standard they’ve set for our team.”
Reid, now an alumna, is from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and grew up riding. As a youth, she competed in Pony Hunters, got her first horse at 13, and competed with him through the junior hunter divisions. She also did catch riding for others in equitation and jumping. Reid was recruited in high school, and after learning about the school and team, she knew where she wanted to go.
“It definitely sounded like it fit all of my needs and expectations for a college, as well as a team to ride on,” Reid said. “I came and visited, and I absolutely fell in love.”
Her favorite part of being on the equestrian team was her teammates.
“Our sport is so individual before coming to college and being on a team,” Reid said. “Having all of these girls as teammates has been amazing. Some of my fondest memories have been traveling to meets and spending time together at the barn and on campus. These are relationships that will last long after Baylor.”
Reid studied corporate communications with a minor in business. Balancing schoolwork and athletics is a challenge, but she says time management helped.
“Being on the team really pushes you to be your best academically and to immerse yourself in the Baylor community,” Reid said.
Reflecting on her time on the team, she is thankful.
“My experience has been amazing — I’ve loved every second,” Reid said. “Looking back at my freshman year to now, I’ve grown so much — not only as a rider but, more importantly, as a person. That’s one of the best things about this team and Baylor: it’s pushed me to grow as a leader and an individual. I’ve grown up a lot, and I’m so grateful for everyone who’s supported me.”
