Carol Gwin enters her eighth season (2021-22) as the head coach of SMU Equestrian. During her time at SMU, Gwin has led the Mustangs to three consecutive conference championships, 22 NCEA All-American selections and been named Conference Coach of the Year three times.
Her seventh season (2020-21) on the Hilltop was one for the record books. SMU finished with a program-best 10-2 record en route to a third straight conference championship and NCEA Reserve National Champion title. Gwin led the Mustangs to their first-ever Championship Final appearance in the team competition as the incoming No. 4-seed at Nationals, where they fell 9-7 to Georgia. Five Mustangs brought home individual titles, including two MOP honors and five All-Championship selections. After the regular season, seven were named NCEA All-Americans, including one Flat, two Fences, one Reining and three Horsemanship riders. Thanks to an impressive 3-0 conference record, five riders earned Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) awards while six were named to All-ECAC teams. On the academic side, SMU had 11 NCEA Academic All-Americans and 13 earn spots on the APHA Honor Roll.
During her sixth season at the helm (2019-20), SMU finished with an 8-4 record after postseason championships were cancelled due to COVID-19. The Mustangs recorded six top-10 wins, including a win over No. 2 Oklahoma State and a historic 17-1 win over No. 7 TCU. The team finished at the top of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) with an undefeated conference record. Four riders were named NCEA All-Americans, including two Horsemanship selections, the first for the event in program history. In addition, SMU had three ECAC Riders of the Year, three ECAC Freshmen of the Year, 10 All-Conference selections, 14 NCEA Academic All-Americans, six on the APHA Honor Roll and 20 ECAC academic honorees.
In her fifth year (2018-19), Gwin led the Mustangs to a 9-5 finish and second UEC Championship title. SMU was the first and only team to win twice and the first team to triumph while not being the host school. SMU sent three squads (Fences, Flat, Reining) to the Semifinals in the NCEA Event National Championship and Reining finished as the National Championship Runners-Up. There, Madison Steed earned the Reining MOP and a spot on the All-Championship Tournament team. The Mustangs compiled 16 UEC Academic honors, 12 NCEA All-Academic Team members, eight All-Conference riders, five APHA Honor Roll recipients, three NCEA Ariat All-Americans, including two First Team members in Nora Gray (Fences) and Vivian Yowan (Flat), three UEC Riders of the Year and two NCEA Riders of the Year in Steed (Reining) and Gray (Fences). It was the first time in program history that SMU earned two First Team All-American picks and two Riders of the Year. Gwin was named UEC Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year.
During Gwin’s fourth year on the Hilltop (2017-18), the Mustangs finished with a program-best 10-6 record and earned their first UEC Championship and first conference title in program history. SMU earned its highest ranking in program history of No. 2 in the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Poll after opening the season 5-0, the best start to a season yet. The Mustangs finished with a 5-0 conference record, landing at the top of the UEC for the third straight season. Gwin was named the UEC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. SMU had three NCEA All-America honorees, including Holly Lansidel, who was named Reining First Team, one UEC Rider of the Year, one UEC Freshman Rider of the Year, five All-Conference riders, 12 NCEA All-Academic honorees and 15 APHA Honor Roll selections. Lansidel was also selected as NCEA Reining Rider of the Year, the first NCEA Rider of the Year for the program.
In her third year at the helm (2016-17), Gwin guided the Mustangs to a 7-7 overall record and led the Mustangs to the top of the United Equestrian Conference for the second straight year with 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 NCEA poll. In 2016-17, Gwin was named the United Equestrian Conference Co-Coach of the Year, and 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. The western team finished with a 5-7-2 combined record, with a 7-6-1 record in horsemanship. SMU riders won 25 Most Outstanding Player awards.
During her second year, Gwin led 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.
Gwin took over the team in 2014-15 after four seasons as an assistant at two-time National Champion South Carolina. In her first season on the Hilltop, SMU advanced to the NCEA and United Equestrian Conference Championship. During the UEC championship, Gwin lead SMU to 10-6 win over New Mexico State. SMU hunt seat riders finished 8-4-3 overall, while the team finished with an overall team record, 7-8.
Gwin served as the hunt seat coach and also directed the program’s equitation over fences squad while at South Carolina. During her tenure with the Gamecocks, Gwin led her teams to a 51-19 hunt seat record and a 50-20 mark in equitation over fences. During the 2013-14 season, South Carolina’s hunt seat team posted a perfect 18-0 record.
Overall, Gwin helped lead the Gamecocks to the inaugural SEC championship in 2013. South Carolina successfully defended its SEC title in 2014 and finished as the national runner-up. She coached five student-athletes to eight All-SEC Team honors in the past two seasons, and Katherine Schmidt was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2014 NCEA National Championships in equitation over fences, as well as Rider of the Year in the SEC under Gwin’s guidance.
Gwin is a graduate of Mary Washington College in Virginia after four years on the IHSA team, where she competed in the open division. She began her coaching career at Sweet Briar College, leading the program for four years before going to Radford University.
She set up her own business at Walnut Spring Stables, establishing a premiere hunter/jumper boarding and lesson facility on a 750 acre farm in Blacksburg, Va. Gwin is a past president of the SWVHJA, a member of the USHJA and USEF, and has judged locally throughout Virginia over the past twenty years. She is currently serving as the chairwoman of the NCEA promotions committee.
