WACO, Texas – One of the earliest architects of the sport as we know it today, Meghan Boenig has garnered endless respect, and many awards, for her hard work.
 
She wasn’t born into an equestrian family, but was “born horse crazy,” growing up next to riding trails near her childhood home in New York. Her first word wasn’t “mom” or “dad,” it was “horse.”
 
Her grandparents helped immerse her in the horse world with Pony Club activities in Virginia, after a lot of begging from young Boenig, where she gained a holistic understanding of riding, teaching and horse management. 
 
Initially thinking she wanted to be a veterinarian, she set off for Texas A&M after earning her bachelor’s in biology from Berry College where she had reconfirmed her love of teaching. She found her path shifted to a different kind of teaching when a chance request from a graduate program professor to help with the varsity team turned into a coaching role, announced on a white board.
 
“It said that Tana [McKay] and I were to be the new co-head coaches of the varsity team,” Boenig recalled. “We had no idea. We were just doing what we were told, and the rest is quite frankly, history.” 
 
“There was so very little real strategic thinking about growth or future, at least initially, because everything was brand spanking new. We were having to fit in practice times at seven o’clock at night after all the other classes had been taught and rodeo team practiced and things of that nature. There was so much advocacy for having structure and equipment to help the team. There was so much raw talent, and there was also so much desire to go and do that we did find a lot of success.”
 
The early days saw grooming taking place out of cars, but Boenig saw the potential for something greater. Alongside McKay, she dreamed of a head-to-head competition model that would not only level the playing field but elevate the sport’s legitimacy. The dream took root while the team was on a long bus ride across Texas. Boenig and McKay brainstormed about a head-to-head format.
 
Fast forward and Boenig had moved back to Georgia to be with her mother, which became the opportune moment as a position opened up at the University, taking their team to the varsity level and being fully supported.
 
“I jumped at it and I feel very, very fortunate that the timing worked out exactly right.”
 
Quick relationships formed with her two Southeastern Conference counterparts, and they began discussions about what she and McKay had started brainstorming. Gung-ho toward the ideas to literally change the game, trial runs with different formats were taken after IHSA meets and inspiration taken from other sports’ formats.
 
“We started trying a bunch of different things and really quickly found out how much our student-athletes loved the format of one school versus another and that each course was ridden twice. A huge factor for us was that we went to a lot of gymnastics meets and we loved the format, the alternating of athletes from each school, and the intensity. It really started to coalesce around the idea of four events, two specialty events and two position-driven, fundamental events. And it just started making sense.”
 
Playing with the format for a year or two, the three schools invited others to come and try what they had created. Explaining the format and draw on an overhead projector, the predominant format was introduced to the masses. And the rest is history.
 
Two decades later, and not only is the NCEA and its format established, but so is Boenig’s place in history. She’s accumulated seven national titles six Southern Equestrian Championships, seven reserve championships, three SEC titles and a record of 206-84 headed into the 2025 National Championship. An accomplished and touted leader, she’s mentored over 90 NCEA All-Americans and had more than 10 Bulldogs named NCEA Distinguished Alumni, not to mention more than 130 NCEA All-Academic honorees named. She has been named the SEC Coach of the Year on five occasions and has had several student-athletes finish highly for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
 
On top of that, her leadership has inspired her student-athletes to pursue their dreams beyond their collegiate riding days; some becoming coaches themselves, and others riding at the professional level. 
 
“Without Meghan’s leadership at Georgia, the program would not be at the status it is today,” said Georgia graduate and former coach Logan Fiorentino. “She has coached and mentored some of the top professionals in the equine industry. Her coaching tree is also exceptionally impressive as she has coached and mentored more than 10 current and former coaches in the NCEA. This organization has benefitted tremendously from her steady and confident leadership over the past 25 years.”
 
“I am not sure there is any coach more deserving of this honor and recognition,” said alumna and UGA associate head coach McKenzie Lantz. “First as an athlete, I was motivated, cultivated and formed by Coach M. Her dedication to student-athletes and making them the best version of themselves is something that every recruit and their parents are looking for. Coach M instilled in us that a hard work mentality, self-accountability and determination would win championships.”
 
“She is the definition of a champion for young women and for our sport,” Grace Bridges said, a Bulldog alumna coaching at Baylor. “She has poured her entire self into the NCEA for nearly 20 years. She works tirelessly to make this organization the best it can be in an intimidating climate for all of college athletics. Her work at UGA and within the NCEA has benefitted all of us, and I have come to realize that without her, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do what I love as my profession for more reasons than one. I am so grateful to her and all of the coaches who paved the way for the opportunities that our younger generation of coaches have today.”
 
“Coach M invests everything into the NCEA, UGA Equestrian, and each student-athlete she meets,” said former Georgia rider and current Oklahoma State assistant coach Carter Anderson. “She is the reason I, and several other UGA alumni, became coaches. Coach M is the reason that hundreds of girls like me were able to live out their dreams of earning a scholarship to ride horses. She created a path so that there is another choice. Rather than becoming a professional as their amateur status runs out, riders of high-caliber talent can now earn a degree while representing their university in the saddle. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities Coach M gave to me, my teammates, and young riders across the country. I have an even greater respect for her now that I am a coach, if that is possible. In the words of my roommate Alexa Schwartz, “Coach M is college equestrian,” and she deserves to be inducted into the NCEA Hall of Fame.”