Iwasaki Rides Momentum Into SMU Spring Opener
Jan 26 | Equestrian
DALLAS (SMU) – Augusta Iwasaki spent the fall finishing what she started.
Now, she's ready to start something new.
Before enrolling at SMU, the accomplished equestrian rider had lengthy conversations with coach Carol Gwin and her staff. She needed them to understand how much she wanted to be a Mustang, that she was committed to her academics and that she was going to be with the team whenever possible. But Iwasaki needed to close out her career as a junior rider with four national equitation events during the fall.
The balancing act turned into a clinic on determination and perseverance. The Calabasas, California native won the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – East in early October, the Washington International Horse Show Equitation in late October and the ASPCA Maclay Championship at the National Horse show in early November, capturing three of the most notable junior equitation titles in America.
"Honestly, it was unbelievable. I still have trouble wrapping my head around it," Iwasaki said. "I've been doing equitation for a really long time. I started when I was really young and it was always a goal to win one of these events. It was so special and I was so happy I could give everyone that has supported me along the way wins like that."
Iwasaki's journey to the pinnacle of junior equitation started even before she was born. Her mother, Elizabeth Reilly, is a renowned horse trainer and instructor. Together with her husband and Augusta's father, Chris Iwasaki, they own Makoto Farm in California.
Augusta doesn't remember a time when she wasn't consumed by her love of horses and riding, and with each year her passion grew.
"I've known of her since she was on ponies," Gwin said with a laugh. "The biggest thing that kind of separates Augusta from a lot of kids that ride, she rides with a ton of feel and empathy for the horses. All the horses that she rides like her and she's very good at finding, in a short amount of time, the nuances of a particular horse and making it go well. That's a God-given talent. You can't teach feel. She just has it."
Trips to New Jersey, Maryland and Kentucky this fall resulted in Augusta securing three of the biggest prizes in the junior equestrian world – and she won each riding a different horse.
While she was trekking across the country to face elite competition, Augusta was also figuring out life as a college freshman. After graduating from high school early via online learning, Augusta admits that returning to a traditional classroom setting was a significant adjustment.
In addition to building relationships with her SMU teammates, she also had to make connections with her professors so they could understand the importance of her external pursuits and what the travel requirements were.
"Whenever I was here in Dallas, I would just try to get as much stuff done as I could because I knew once I left it was going to be a lot harder to get work done," Augusta said. Through it all, she maintained a 3.88 GPA while taking 15 hours.
While her time competing as a Mustang was limited in the fall, Augusta wasted little time making an impact. During the November 11-12 weekend, she picked up a pair of wins against Delaware State and UC Davis, helping SMU retain its unbeaten start to the season (4-0) and keep a grip on the No. 1 spot in the NCEA rankings.
As the season resumes on Saturday with a home match against No. 9 UT Martin, Augusta and the Mustangs will put their respective perfect records on the line at the last competition in Dallas the team has until March.
For years, she thought about success at those major junior events. Sometimes, Augusta ponders Olympic aspirations and competing professionally.
But right now, her attention is on what SMU can accomplish as a program and how she can help make that happen. She's focused on riding against some of the best collegiate athletes out there, under a format that is completely different from what she's accustomed to. She's helping SMU chase its first NCEA dual discipline national title.
She's preparing for something new, and enjoying every second of it.
"(Those first college rides were) so fun and obviously it's so different from anything I've done before," Augusta said. "I'm really excited and I love this team. I can't wait to see where we go."
