SMU Athletics

Laura Persons is entering her fifth season as an assistant jumping seat coach for SMU Equestrian in 2025-26.

In her fourth season, Persons helped SMU continue to solidify its place at the top of the sport. The Mustangs started off 3-4, but rattled off seven consecutive victories to close the regular season to earn the No. 1 overall seed for the NCEA Championships in Ocala. SMU would advance to the finals for the fourth time in the last five seasons, before falling to Georgia.

Persons led the Jumping Seat side to play a large part in SMU's resurgence in the spring season. The Mustangs went 6-3-1 in the discipline after January 1st.

The success led to Elli Yeager earning First Team Ariat All-America accolades on the Flat and Honorable Mention honor in Fences along with Augusta Iwasaki getting Honorable Mention honors on the Flat. Iwasaki later earned the NCEA Championship MOP in Fences, and Hannah Hoch and Iwasaki were both named to the All-Championship Team for Fences.

In Persons' third season, she helped lead SMU to its second consecutive NCEA Dual Discipline National Championship. Under Persons, the SMU Jumping Seat arena was awarded an NCEA Rider of the Year, two Nationals MOPs and two All-Championship Team honorees. Persons helped SMU's Jumping Seat events earn an overall record of 11-3-2, and had two All-America selections.

In Persons' second season on the Hilltop, she helped guide SMU to a historic season. The Mustangs finished the year with a program-best 13-1 record and won the program’s first NCEA National Championship. Persons helped mentor Augusta Iwasaki, Madigan Eppink, Emma Engel and Hensley Humphries to All-America status. 

In Person’s first year as the Jumping Seat Coach, SMU added its fourth consecutive ECAC Conference title and finished No. 3 in the final NCEA poll of the season. The Mustangs were 11-7 on the year and 4-1 in the conference. At the NCEA Championships in Ocala, Florida, SMU took down No. 1 Auburn in convincing fashion 12-8 in the quarterfinals. Persons helped Taylor Madden earn the nod as a first-team all-America selection in the Flat and NCEA co-Rider of the Year, along with freshman Elli Yeager earning second-team honors in Fences. Person's first season saw Hensley Humphries be named as the  ECAC Freshman of the Year honors.
    
Persons joined the Mustangs following a successful stint at the Dallas Equestrian Center. Her top students have gone on to earn top-10 finishes at Junior Hunter Finals, Championships and Circuit Championships in the High Junior Jumper division at WEF, Team Gold at the NAYRC in Traverse City, Michigan, and a spot on the Young Rider's Nations Cup team for the United States for the upcoming finals.
  
Persons started showing on the national "A" circuit when she was seven years old and has competed in and won at many of the premier horse shows in North America, including Indio, Ocala, Spruce Meadows, Culpepper, the Olympic Park in Atlanta, Great Southwest Equestrian Center, The Colorado Horse Park, the Kentucky Horse Park, and Tryon International Equestrian Center.
 
Standout career finishes for Persons include winning the Duncan Ross' Associates Stake Class in Spruce Meadows, Canada in 2000 as well as having multiple wins in the Large Junior Hunters at HITS Winter Circuit. Persons also developed numerous young hunters and jumpers that have won multiple year end awards both the zone finals and national finals.
 
In 2006, Persons moved to Houston and worked as an assistant for Tony Font before starting her own training business in Austin.

As the owner and head trainer at Serendipity Farms Austin for 13 years, Persons ran the hunter jumper training program, overseeing operations, training and staff for 50 horses. While competing numerous young prospects in both the hunter and jumper arenas to national awards, she also amassed a resume of successful students. Persons' students have been successful at a national level, earning top-10 placings at events such as $50,000 USHJA International Derbies, and Zone 7 year-end awards and Pony finals.

Persons has spent over 15 years teaching and training both riders and horses. Throughout her career, Persons has been privileged to study under and work with some of the nation's top riders and trainers, including Peter Pletcher, Nona Garson, Anne Kursinski, Chris Kappler and Bernie Traurig.

Persons earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Cornell University. She has two sons, Buck and Quin, who live with her in Dallas.