Ashley Schaeffer in in her second season at SMU after being named head coach by Director of Athletics Steve Orsini on Sep. 5, 2007. Schaeffer most recently had been the Vice President of Blue Ribbon Shows and the President of Fireside Show Management where she managed USEF upper-level hunter/jumper A and AA competitions in Texas and Oklahoma. She is the second coach in team history and takes charge of a program that finished ninth at the 2007 Varsity National Championships. Schaeffer, 34, has been competing and training for 27 years and has an expertise in hunt equitation and hunter/jumper training. She was in the U.S. Olympic training program while learning her craft from several equestrian greats, including Olympic-level riders and trainers George Morris and Ann Kursinski. Schaeffer, a native of Southlake, Texas, has also been coaching and training locally for the last six years. [quote]We are very excited to have Ashley direct our equestrian program,[quote] stated SMU Senior Woman Administrator Koni Daws. [quote]We believe she is the leader that will take us to championship level.[quote] Before joining Blue Ribbon Shows, Schaeffer was a trainer for two years at the North Texas Equestrian Center (1997-99) and spent four years at the Flower Mound Equestrian Center (1993-97). Schaeffer has a bachelor[apos]s in sports marketing and management from Ashwood University. She and her husband Craig reside in Allen.
