The Texas A&M equestrian team is a group of riders who showcase a commitment to horsemanship and teamwork, competing at the highest levels with a focus on trust and mutual respect between rider and horse.
As the Spring term arrives, the riders are preparing for competition — with their first game of the season being against Southern Methodist University on Feb. 1. For these riders, each horse represents more than just athleticism, they are companions, sources of support, and their bond is what drives them to succeed both competitively and in life.
For agribusiness sophomore Isabelle Gonzalez, the path to the A&M equestrian team was influenced by determination and circumstance. As an out-of-state student, Gonzalez knew she wanted to go to A&M for agribusiness. She did just about everything to get recruited, from attending camps to sending videos to the coach — Gonzalez was nothing short of motivated.
“I grew up riding horses,” Gonzalez said. “I started out with ponies and I started competing when I was seven. I competed my whole life in middle school and high school.”
Her journey with Sophie, a young mare she bought after working at her family’s landscaping business, marked a turning point in her equestrian career. Despite being only two years old and having minimal training, she saw potential in Sophie and decided to train her herself. Through their hard work together, Gonzalez was able to show Sophie at a futurity, a prestigious competition of three-year-old horses.
“I never trained a horse before, this is kind of hard, she is really little, but she was so smart and so gifted,” Gonzalez said. “She was my best friend and I ended up showing her at a futurity and we ended up at finals so that was a really big deal. She had a massive impact on me just teaching me how to work with young ones and how to figure things out, and she also gave me a lot of confidence.”
In college, Gonzalez faces the challenge of bonding with different horses each day, as the team finds out which horse they’ll ride just before competition. With only four minutes to warm up, she emphasizes the importance of showing respect and confidence to quickly establish trust.
Marketing sophomore Kate Egan was drawn to the equestrian program because of the team’s family-like atmosphere. Coming from New Jersey, she felt immediately welcomed by the A&M team, which helped her feel like part of the group from the start. While A&M’s academic excellence and athletic support were major factors in her decision, it was the sense of community that made the program stand out among others.
“I always knew that I wanted to ride D1 in college,” Gonzalez said. “There’s so many great schools that have equestrian team programs. The thing that drew me most to the A&M team was the family culture that we have.”
Her love for horses started at a young age, tagging along with her older sister to riding lessons before beginning on her own at age four and competing at age seven. Over the years, she competed in various equestrian events, blending her love for horses and her competitive nature. This experience laid the foundation for her journey toward competing at a collegiate level.
“I’ve been competing ever since then, and it’s been the most rewarding, amazing experience just meeting people from all over the country and all over the world and learning from amazing professionals and trainers,” Egan said.
One of the most significant relationships in her riding career was with Ypaja Kashmir, an eight-year-old horse that she trained and competed with before coming to college. Despite both of them being new to the equitation scene, their partnership led to winning the national final, making their journey even more special.
“He came over from Europe having no experience in the type of riding we do over here, and I just started my career in the more competitive levels of the equitation,” Egan said.
Egan shares that the skills she’s developed working with horses have translated into valuable lessons handling relationships with people. As a team member, she’s learned to adjust her communication style to meet the needs of both horses and teammates.
“Learning how to handle a 1200-pound animal and their own needs and emotions really helps you handle other humans and people. My personality isn’t going to mesh with every horse because you’re not dealing with an object like other sports, you are dealing with an animal so learning what cues or the way you communicate something to them and accommodating your communication best helps into accommodating how you communicate to other people.”
Allied health senior Rylee Shufelt, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was drawn to Texas for its equestrian opportunities and the unique blend of cultures she’s encountered. Growing up, her passion for horses was ignited by her grandfather, a lifelong cowboy who introduced her to riding at a very young age. Riding together in the mountains and going on roundups, she developed a deep bond with horses.
“My grandfather on my dad’s side was a famous cowboy artist, and he was a cowboy his whole life,” Shufelt said. “He got me into riding and I started out when I was a baby. I fell in love with horses and we would always ride in the mountains and go on roundups and I would sit in front of him in the saddle. There’s a story that whenever we would turn around, I would start crying because I didn’t want to get off the horse.”
Over the years, Shufelt has formed a strong connection with a horse named Celsius, whom she often turns to for support. Walking him to his stall after a tough day would offer her comfort and how their bond remained strong even as he faced health challenges. After three months of riding him, Celsius became sick for three years and eventually underwent colic surgery.
“Celsius has almost died on me three times, it was pretty tragic,” Shufelt said. “The recovery process for [colic] is a long time. Honestly, I quit riding for six months because, in that process, I was leasing horses and those horses were getting hurt and I was just so torn. The bondage between the horse and the sport was getting to me and I was like, ‘Maybe I am bad luck and need to leave,’ so I quit riding for a little bit.”
Despite hardships, their perseverance led to a major success at their first show back, placing second at Capital Challenge, the final event of the year.
“I get on some horses and they are so special and some of them ride so nice,” Shufelt said. “It makes you realize that these are God’s gifts on Earth and they are given to us.”
In the end, it’s the combination of passion and hard work that allow Shufelt to excel in both her sport and her studies. Her commitment to the horses pushes her to stay disciplined and accountable as she makes it a priority to get everything else done before turning her attention to the horses.
“Being on a team you have leadership roles whether you take them or not,” Shufelt said. “I not only wanted to make a difference on my team, I wanted to prove to the world that equestrian is a sport.”
