The sounds of whinnying horses and the rhythmic bounding of hooves echo through the stables at the John Justin Arena. It’s TCU Day at The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, which, by no accident, happens to coincide with the spring opener for the No. 1-ranked TCU equestrian team. Their challenger is the No. 8-ranked Delaware State Hornets, and despite coming off a six-week winter break, the 40 women who make up the team seem poised to meet their opponent on their own stomping grounds.
In the center of the arena, several riders warm up their horses during an allotted four-minute warmup before the competition begins, allowing the rider and horse to get adjusted to one another. This provides an image of stark contrasts as the dainty, 5-foot-nothing equestrian athletes lead massive horses — 16 hands, 1,200 pounds, and magnificent in their brawn —along the edge of the ring before taking them for a quick spin to test their temperaments and agility.
Earlier, each rider drew a horse (their names include Snoop Dog and Jake) on which they will compete. Their head-to-head opponent will ride the same horse, thus eliminating the horse as a variable in the competition — no using equine partners as an excuse. The rider who achieves the highest score will then receive a point.
But this selection process comes with some perks for the home team. You see, the horses whose names are being selected, names that include Snoop Dog and Jake, belong to TCU. They’re the very horses on which these student athletes ceaselessly practice at a facility dubbed Bear Creek Farms, which is also where the team normally competes. The TCU athletes know these horses. The horses know them. And in a sport dependent on communication between human and animal, that’s one heck of an advantage.
On the north side of the stadium, a flurry of patrons adorned in purple trickle in, ready to cheer the Horned Frogs to victory. The team clearly has its fans, and for good reason. Since the program’s inception in 2006, the TCU equestrian team has qualified for the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championships — which takes the top 8-ranked schools — every year. That’s 16 straight invites — when excluding the 2019-20 season due to COVID — to the sport’s biggest stage. The only thing missing from their inventory of successes is an overall national championship. Of course, as of press time, the TCU equestrian team is primed to change that.
Through seven matches, TCU’s record leading into the bout with Delaware State remains unscathed and includes a 12-6 win over then-No. 1 SMU.
Given TCU’s current position atop the rankings, combined with the school’s history of success and its homefield advantage, the Horned Frogs are the favorite to win today’s event. In fact, TCU will likely be the favorites for the remainder of the year, competing with the proverbial target on their backs. And it’s a target well-earned.
Located in a quiet neighborhood 20 minutes south of Fort Worth near the small Johnson County town of Godley is Bear Creek Farms. As far as collegiate equestrian centers go, this 40-acre facility, which includes numerous practice areas for each discipline; a large, A-framed arena; stables; and over 40 horses, is state of the art.
For the last two years, Bear Creek Farms has been ground zero for the TCU equestrian team’s practices and competitions. This is where, in late January, the 40 equestrian athletes are practicing, almost living in a saddle. A series of white obstacles are placed at various angles to mock the team’s upcoming match. We’re a week out from the spring opener, and practice is intensifying, which for many begins at 7 a.m.
Behind this collegiate group of women diligently gearing up for game day is the voice of three-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, and director of TCU’s equestrian program, Haley Schoolfield. As each rider does their best to refine their routines, Schoolfield can be heard making comments to them as they try and prepare for the upcoming match.
“Java wants more off the left,” she yells at one of the athlete’s post jump. “You have a lot of chestnut horse,” she continues as she intently watches another rider’s form. Schoolfield, who’s spent most her life on horseback, is celebrating her 11th year at TCU in her current role.
During her fourth year, Schoolfield successfully pushed the Horned Frogs to a memorable national runner-up finish in 2015-16. A few years later, TCU was also able to notch two consecutive semifinal berths in 2021-22 and 2022-23, which was a first in school history. Thanks in part to her vision, TCU has become an annual contender for the NCEA National Championship crown.
Across the field under the canopied arena, a rhythmic pounding of horse hooves can be heard galloping in double time as both horse and rider quickly round a corner of the arena in unison. In a split second, the duo quickly changes directions to the left still in full stride. And just as the two begin to pick up more speed, the rider quickly pulls back on the horse’s reins, creating a huge cloud of dirt behind them as the horse’s backend hunkers down. Within a matter of seconds, the pair slide to a complete stop, thus prompting a series of cheers from the other athletes looking on.
“It sure is cool,” fifth-year graduate student Mattie Dukes says regarding this specific discipline of riding. The specific discipline in question is called reining, and it’s one of four events (or disciplines) in which TCU competes at each match.
The gist of it: There are two styles of riding (English, which the NCEA refers to as the jumping seat disciplines, and Western), and there are two events within each style (flat and fences in the English style, and horsemanship and reining in the Western style). Fences, which is a jumping seat event in the English style, might be what comes to the equestrian novice’s mind when they think of the sport. The rider wears what appears to be a velvet riding helmet and breeches and takes the horse through an obstacle of high fences that the horse must jump. But this is only 25% of the competition. (See sidebar at bottom of article for more about the disciplines.)
Crystal Wise
TCU Equestrian
There are many differences between the two styles, and competitors never cross from one style to the other. If one competes in one of the two Western events, you won’t find them competing in any jumping seat events. Generally, Western riding is looser; the reins are looser and the stirrups longer, thus relying on weight and leg aids for control. In English riding, the reins are tighter, the stirrups farther up, and the saddle smaller. In Western, riders hold the reins with one hand, while in English, they’re held with two.
And, heck, the two styles dress differently, too. English riders wear the aforementioned helmet and breeches, and Western riders sport cowboy hats and jeans. Think of it as a microcosm of cowboys and nobles as a whole.
TCU also has separate assistant coaches devoted to each of the two styles. Melissa Dukes, who’s also Mattie’s mom, handles the Western side of things, while Logan Fiorentino is in charge of jumping seat. The equestrian team also has a new hire in the form of decorated assistant Western coach Casey Deary. But, despite a great deal of assistance, no matter how one breaks it down by style or discipline, Schoolfield is at the helm.
“Horses are in my blood,” Schoolfield says as she continues to survey the riders in the arena. “I can’t get away from it, even if I wanted to.”
Schoolfield, who is originally from Willis, Texas, says her horse-riding legacy can be traced back to her great-grandfather who was a horseman and cattleman his entire life. “It’s just part of who I am,” she continued.
During her collegiate days at Texas A&M, Schoolfield was a top-notch equestrian competitor, lettering in the sport in each of her four years at the university. She would compete and succeed in both jumping seat fences and flat and become team captain her senior year. And all of this occurred soon after the sport finally got its due in 1998 when the NCAA adopted and identified equestrian as an emerging sport for women.
“I tell anyone interested in this sport to always push yourself,” Schoolfield says. “This means trying to ride as many horses as possible … as many types and kinds as possible. That’s why we have things set up the way we do. We challenge each athlete to try and get out of their comfort zone by also trying out horses that have different skill levels.”
The relationship between human and horse is one that could, on first inspection, elicit some confusion. A wild horse is, well, pretty darn wild and seemingly untamable. But the equine species have been mankind’s literal workhorses for what archaeologists believe to be over 5,500 years. Without them, travel and migration would have remained a footrace, the task of farming acres would be futile, and tall wonders of the world would have never been built. It’s not a stretch to say that the domestication of horses is something that propelled the human race forward.
And it wasn’t long after their domestication that horses, and the skills of horsemanship, became a showpiece, a form of sport and art. Horse racing was a part of ancient Egypt, Arabia, and Babylon, and both chariot and mounted horse racing were part of the ancient Greek Olympics. Using horses for competitions that didn’t include racing or jousting wouldn’t become popular until the introduction of the royal Dublin Horse Show in 1868. And by 1912, equestrianism became an Olympic sport.
No other such partnership in work or sport exists between people and animals. There’s a kinship between our two species that can only be appreciated when one saddles up, takes the reins, and puts their feet in the stirrups. Riding horses, to sum it up in a word, is exhilarating.
And no one horse is the same on any given day, Schoolfield reminds us. Be it weather changes, or health ailments — what have you — outlying factors can always contribute to how a horse reacts when you’re an equestrian athlete.
“My favorite part as a whole would be working with these amazing animals,” Mattie says post practice. “I tell a lot of people we're the only sport that has a ball that has a mind of its own.”
No two days are the same for a TCU equestrian athlete given they have to draw from the stable’s roster of over 40 donated horses every practice. This, in essence, keeps them sharp when they have to travel for a competition. Much like a bull rider, equestrian sports are set up with a draw system that pairs riders up with an unknown horse before a competition begins. And any rider on any given day could draw a feisty, cantankerous, or even sluggish horse, thus making them dig into the skills they hone during their daily practice routines.
“To me, the connection with your horse is what it’s all about,” Mattie says. “If you're not in time with your horse and you decide that you want to stop, which is the slide, and they're not ready for it, then it's not going to be smooth. So, you have to be in constant communication with your horse.”
During the regular season, TCU’s equestrian team will compete in 13 matches against nine schools that include the likes of SMU and Georgia, and conference foes Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Fresno State. If they rank high enough in their scoring, TCU will also compete in the equestrian Big 12 Championship with the possibility of moving on to the NCEA Championship. Despite relying on individual performances, getting to such heights requires a team effort.
For most, the team setting is new. Equestrian by its nature is an individual sport — one person on one horse competing for one trophy — and those brought up in the world of equestrianism, though having a sense of camaraderie, are also used to seeing other people in riding boots and breeches as rivals.
“It's an adjustment just because it's so different from what we're used to,” Mattie says. “Yes, I compete against my teammates off the team, but really everybody's good friends to begin with, and it just takes a little bit of an adjustment period just to get the feel of a team. It's not like basketball where you've been on a team since day one. We've been individual, and then we have to figure out how our team dynamic works. But our team is really awesome. Honestly, I feel like we're so blessed because all of the girls on the team are really awesome and get along.”
A different practice is gearing up inside the arena at Bear Creek Farm. The sounds of leather straps along with the clinks of bridles and bits bounce at random intervals as the flat athletes prepare for their practice. Flat, a jumping seat discipline, serves as an evaluation — an inspection, of sorts — that examines the rider’s ability to perform nine predetermined movements. No jumping. This event is purely about position and control.
On the north side of the stables tending to a random horse is TCU senior Ashleigh Scully, who competes in both the flat and fences disciplines. Scully’s calm demeanor around the horse she’s preparing to ride is contagious, which after a morning of watching intense jumps and skillful reining, is a welcomed break for the senses.
During her junior year, Scully amassed several accolades in both of her respective disciplines of equestrianism, which include being named NCEA co-flat Rider of the Year, NCEA first All-American in flat and fences, and All-Big 12 Conference Rider in both flat and fences, just to name a few. That’s right, the list continues.
Crystal Wise
TCU Equestrian
Outside of this sport and academia all together, Scully is known as a phenomenal nature photographer who participated in the 2016 GAP/ Ellen DeGeneres GirlPower campaign that featured a few of her endangered species photos. She even had a chance to meet and be interviewed by DeGeneres for this occasion.
Scully, much like the rest of the athletes on the equestrian team, started riding horses at a young age. While growing up in her home state of New Jersey, Scully says her mom, who was originally from Germany, taught her at the age of 4 how to ride at a barn just minutes from her house.
While getting ready for her second practice of the day, Scully is still full of vigor after attending a rigorous practice session earlier that morning — a mindset that can only come from doing something you love.
A week before any meet, Scully and her teammates have to be at Bear Creek Farms by 6 a.m. for an hour weight-training session, three times a week. An hour later, her first practice begins.
“I'll have fences practice at 8 a.m. with the rest of the girls who are on roster or who are alternates or girls who would be demoing or exhibition. And then after fences practice, we put the horses away and then get our flat horses ready and practice here inside. And then after that, we put those horses away, and we work on the patterns and coursework leading up to the meet.”
When asked if she ever gets overwhelmed by the constant dedication needed to compete in dual disciplines combined with the stress of college course work, Scully replied, “You just can’t let anything discourage you.” However, Scully doesn’t see participating in this sport as work. In fact, quite the contrary.
“It's certainly an escape, but the best way I view it is that the sport is very grounding in hard work and discipline. And because I can have this kind of life outside of academia, it really helps me manage my time and organize those different spaces in my life.”
However, since Scully is one of only a handful of TCU equestrian athletes on the team who competes in dual disciplines, it leaves one to wonder when she has time to indulge in those different spaces. But she’s pretty adept at compartmentalizing.
“If I'm here, all of my emotions and everything else I have going on outside, I leave in the car. And when I’m here, I put in 110%. Then I go back in the car, and I focus on the rest of what I have going on.”
Back at John Justin Arena, the competition wound up going how any prognosticator might’ve predicted: TCU dominated. During the contest’s first discipline, fences, TCU tallied a 3-2 win over Delaware State, followed by a 5-0 sweep in the flat event. This gave TCU an 8-2 advantage following the jumping seat
During the reining competition, senior Giorgia Medows put on a stellar first ride, earning a score of 72 on Snoop Dog. Mattie Dukes wasn’t far behind, earning a 68.5-66.5 win on a horse named Alfie. This would lead to a 3-1 victory in the reining discipline and sealed the overall win for TCU.
When all was said and done, the Horned Frogs notched victories in every discipline and defeated Delaware State with a 14-5 tally. Highlighting their dominance, all four of the Most Outstanding Performer awards (MOPs) were awarded to TCU athletes, including Ashleigh Scully, Lilly Goldstein, Kaylene Cunningham, and Mattie Dukes.
After the win, TCU’s unvarnished record reached 7-0, marking the best start to a season in program history. One week later, the Horned Frogs extended their unbeaten streak by toppling Fresno State, followed by a win over No. 4-ranked South Carolina, both victories coming at TCU’s real home field at Bear Creek Farms.
At press time, TCU has three matches remaining — none against ranked teams — and the Big 12 Championship, which will take place March 29 and 30 in Waco. If TCU continues their hot streak and finishes the season ranked in the top 8, the school will get an invite to NCEA National Championship for the 17th straight time, which will take place from April 18 – 20 at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.
At least one person on the team is excited about such upcoming trips. According to Mattie Dukes, while home matches are nice, traveling isn’t exactly a huge drawback to being a member of the team.
“It’s definitely a perk,” she says. “Traveling with the whole team, it's so much fun. It's kind of a big ordeal because there's so many people that go. But growing up in the horse industry — we’ve shown all over the country from California to Florida and everywhere in between — I've been blessed enough to travel a lot. But nothing's quite like traveling with a bunch of your friends on a team.”
Crystal Wise
TCU Equestrian
A Breakdown of Equestrian’s Four Disciplines
Each of the four events has 10 riders — five from each competing school. The head-to-head matches are between riders who drew the same horse. One point is awarded to the rider with the highest score. In most competitions, there are 20 points up for grabs, and the team with the most points wins.
Jumping Seat Fences:Likely what most think of when they think of the sport. In Fences, the rider guides her horse through an obstacle course of jumps and is judged on position, smoothness, flow, and number of strides the horse takes. Possible points per rider: 100. Ridden in English style
Jumping Seat Flat:The rider and her horse perform nine movements in a 40-by-20-meter arena and is judged on accuracy, smoothness, and position. Each movement is worth 10 points and an additional 10 points are granted for position and seat of the rider and the correctness and effectiveness of her aids. Possible points: 100. Ridden in English style
Western Horsemanship:The rider works her horse through an assigned set of maneuvers, usually seven to nine, and is designed to evaluate the rider’s ability to execute with precision and smoothness while maintaining correct body position. Rider and horse must work in complete unison. Riders begin with a base score of 70 and receive a -3 to +3 score for each maneuver. Ridden in Western style
Western Reining:The rider takes her horse through an assigned pattern that includes varying speeds, spins, circles and stops — often including the dramatic sliding stop, a crowd favorite. Riders begin with a base score of 70 and receive a -1.5 to +1.5 score for each maneuver. Ridden in Western style
*Source: National Collegiate Equestrian Association
