By Alex Riley

Special to SMUMustangs.com

DALLAS – This time last year, Augusta Iwasaki was in the middle of a balancing act. 

She arrived in Dallas as one of the most heralded freshmen in SMU equestrian history, but her journey with the program was slightly delayed as she competed in four national events throughout the country to conclude her junior career. 

A year later, the Calabasas, Calif., native has the opportunity to take things to another level. 

After earning a silver medal in August at the North American Young Rider Championship, Iwasaki was selected to represent the United States at the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) Youth Nations Cup in Belgium. It will be her first international competition experience, something the reigning NCEA Fences Rider of the Year hopes to continue taking part in. 

"I'm so excited. This is something I've always wanted to do," Iwasaki said. "It's something I want to do a lot in the future. So I feel like this is time to start testing it out and seeing if I've got it. This is definitely the first step and I want to go there and show the world that I can really do this."

After winning three of the four national junior events she competed at during the 2022 fall semester, Iwasaki joined the SMU equestrian program full-time in the spring and made a significant impact. 

She posted an 11-1 overall record, earned First-Team All-America honors, was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the NCEA Championship and helped the Mustangs capture the program's first national title. 

SMU coach Carol Gwin knew the sophomore was going to be prepared to ride on an international stage when the moment presented itself, but when Iwasaki arrived at an early season team meeting, Gwin was amazed how detailed her plan was. 

"The first thing she did at the first team meeting was come and spoke me about this opportunity and had already planned out how she could make up her team workouts, how she could still be compared to compete against TCU on the September 22 and fly to Belgium and had already worked with her professors to get that organized," Gwin said. "For me, it's those kinds of athletes that create their own opportunities because they make everything very easy for the coaching staff."

Along with her trainer, Iwasaki is headed to Belgium with her horse, Fresca, for the international competition. The pair flew out on September 10 and will return to the states on September 18. 

The horse and rider combo have been working together for almost two years now, with a tremendous amount of success to their credit thus far. 

Now, they'll have a chance to show what they can do against a star-studded field from across the globe in three rounds of action. 

"She's just kept stepping up for me. She's really a fighter and a competitive horse," Iwasaki said. "If you walk into the barn, she acts like a hunter – quiet, sweet, she's not a super hot horse at all. But when you go in the ring, she really wants to win."

Following the global jaunt, Iwasaki will be back with the Mustangs and ready to ride in the season-opener at TCU on September 22. It'll be another whirlwind start to the season, but for Iwasaki it's nothing new. 

And after a championship year and loads of accolades, Iwasaki's appearance overseas is another reason for the program to celebrate. 

"This is a first in SMU history for the equestrian team and I know that all of her teammates are going to be watching and cheering her on," Gwin said. "If we didn't have to work, we'd be getting on a plane and flying to Belgium to cheer her on. We want to see her do well and we're very excited."