Amanda Love
Head Coach of the WTAMU Equestrian Team and six-year Amarillo resident
In the middle of the cover photo session, Amanda Love wraps up her story about how she came to Amarillo with one brief statement: “I followed the horses.”
For most of her 27 years, Amanda has loved horses. Growing up in a Navy family, her parents always signed her up for riding lessons in an attempt to get her involved in whatever community to which they moved. When other kids played soccer, she rode horses.
“I originally wanted to go to school to be a geophysicist,” says Amanda, Head Coach of the WTAMU Equestrian Team. “But the door closed on that opportunity and one opened at Blackhawk. As soon as I got into the program I knew that’s where I needed to be - that horses would be the venue in which I could teach and help others.”
By Blackhawk, she means the junior college in Kewanee, Illinois, where she obtained two associates degrees in Equine Science and Horse Science Technology.
“I knew I didn’t want to give it up [horses] in college, so it ended up being the focus of why I went to college,” she jokes. “Basically, I have four degrees in horses so I could work with people.”
Amanda started at WT in the fall of 2003, graduated two years later with a degree in Agriculture Business and Equine Industries and was the assistant coach of the Equestrian Team. By fall of 2007, she was hired as the head coach.
“We have all the same resources as the football team, so I have a team of 40 young women who compete from September to May in horsemanship, reining, equitation on the flat and over fences,” says Amanda.
The challenge comes when riders show up to a competition without their own horses. The host university provides all the horses, so riders draw a horse’s name from a hat, set their stirrups and compete. It’s at this point that riding becomes completely different from any other sport. It’s like a golf player showing up at a tournament and using someone else’s clubs.
“Nobody’s going to go to a tournament and get signed by Nike,” says Amanda. “You’re not going to make money off of this. Instead, we focus on life skills, communication skills and critical thinking. They are students first and athletes second.”
Her hard work and passion for the team is paying off. Currently, the WTAMU Equestrian Team is ranked 5th in the nation, out of 350 schools. Fortunately for them, Amanda has no plans to leave Amarillo.
“I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere. I think about moving sometimes when I’ve had other offers, but I have yet to find a good reason to leave. It’s the perfect size town for me,” she says. “I love the atmosphere, the agriculture and the way of life. I love living in a place where my closest neighbor is three miles down the road. Whether you work in cattle or horses, the people understand why you’re here. They understand how to live off the land.”
by Jennie Treadway-Miller
Jennie was a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press for eight years prior to moving to Amarillo in 2008. She is an avid reader, runner and writer.Sowing a Seed and Sharing the Benefits: The Randall Master Gardeners
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