Megan Southam enters her third season (2017-18) as the hunt seat assistant coach.
In her second season with the Mustangs (2016-17), Southam helped lead the Mustangs to a 7-7 overall record, including a 4-1 conference mark. The Mustangs finished the regular-season tied for first, before earning runner-up honors at the UEC Championship. After wins at then-No. 3 TCU and against then-No. 9 Oklahoma State to open the season, SMU earned its highest ranking in program history being ranked No. 4 in the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) poll. SMU boasted four NCEA All-America honorees, including two second-team nods. The hunt seat program finished the season with a 9-3-2 combined record and outscored opponents 77-47. In Equitation Over Fences, SMU boasted a 11-3 record with two 5-0 sweeps. In Equitation on the Flat, SMU went 7-6-2, with two 4-0 wins.
Southam joined the SMU equestrian coaching staff after riding for the former National champions, the University of Georgia Bulldogs. During her first year at SMU, Southam helped lead SMU to the NCEA National Championship quarterfinals, three victories over ranked-opponents and to a No. 6 ranking in the national poll. SMU hunt seat riders finished 9-5-3 with wins over then-ranked No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 7 South Carolina, No. 8 TCU, No. 9 New Mexico State and No. 7 Fresno State. Gwin boasted three NCEA All-America honorees, including Schaefer Raposa who earned First Team Equitation Over Fences, and 10 conference honorees.
During her riding career at Georgia, Southam helped lead the Bulldogs to an NCEA National Championship in 2014 as well as a winning the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championship while serving as a team captain. Southam competed in equitation on the flat and over fences at Georgia.
"Megan will bring our team both competitive experience as a student-athlete as well as great coaching. She was the perfect candidate to provide us with the best of both worlds," Gwin stated.
She first began working in the equine industry in December 2007 at Thunderbird Show Stables in her native Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Southam rode horses and assisted with stable operations until August 2011 when she began classes at Georgia. During her collegiate career, Southam spent time during the summers working at different stables in Germany.
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A 2015 graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Education, concentrating in exercise and sports science, Southam spent time working at a sports performance and rehabilitation center in Athens, Georgia, and a wellness clinic in Vancouver, Canada.
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"I believe Megan will be a great recruiter as well for the Mustangs. We have big goals for this team, and I believe that she will help Coach Adkins and myself to get these accomplished. We are really excited to welcome her at the Hilltop," Gwin explained.
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Southam has worked with three Olympians, including show jumping Gold Medalist Marcus Ehning in Germany, and shot put Gold Medalist Adam Nelson at the sports performance and rehabilitation center in Athens. In May, she returned to Thunderbird Show Stables in Langley, coaching under show jumping Olympian Laura Tidball-Balisky.
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