Ashley Henry is the Equestrian Director and Head Coach at SCAD. In her twenty years of coaching at SCAD, they have won over one hundred National and Reserve National titles. In 2024 Henry guided the Bees to another IHSA National Team Title making it their fourth win, with previously having earned the Reserve Team National Titles in 2018,’19 and ‘23. In 2025 SCAD won its fourteenth straight IHSA Regional Championship title, as well as securing their twelfth uninterrupted National Tournament of Champions Series Title.
In 2014-’15 Henry led SCAD to one of the program's best seasons as the Bees won the IHSA National Championship for the first time in school history as well as being the first school to win both divisions of the ANRC National Championship, and the Tournament of Champions Series Title. Henry led the team to repeat this feat in 2016-’17 and again in 2023- ‘24. In 2015- ‘16, 2017- ‘18 and 2018- ‘19, they repeated winning three of the four Championship titles, taking reserve in the fourth.
Since Henry started coaching, the team has continued its prominence on the intercollegiate riding scene, with forty-four American National Riding Commission (ANRC) National Champion team and individual wins. In addition, Henry coached SCAD riders to win the Intercollegiate Horse Show Associations National (IHSA) Reserve Champion title in the coveted Cacchione Cup in 2010, 2023, 2024 and the National Champion title in the Cacchione cup in 2012, 2019 and 2025. Before joining as coach, Henry was a student at SCAD and earned a B.F.A. degree in metals and jewelry. Henry was an award-winning rider on the equestrian team from 2001-05, helping SCAD earn their first ever National Team titles. While at SCAD she was also captain of the team and continued to compete on the AA show circuit. Henry grew up riding and competing in her home country, the Bahamas, before attending the Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills, Maryland where she was also a competitive equestrian.
Henry has been awarded the Frances Wong Coach of the Year Award for her successful seasons five times. The United States Equestrian Federation presented Henry and the SCAD team with an intercollegiate award for achievement of excellence for five years in a row. The IHSA recognizes riders for their academic achievements with an IHSA All-Academic award, which annually SCAD equestrian team students are recognized. In 2023 one of Henry’s students was recognized as SCAD’s female athlete of the year, in 2019 and 2024 two additional equestrian athletes were recognized as SCAD’s male athlete of the year.
In addition to coaching the SCAD team, Henry has also been an adjunct professor for the SCAD equestrian studies major. Henry is involved with several other professional equestrian associations, she is on the ANRC board of directors, an Equestrian Talent Search clinician, local/unrated show judge, and IEA show steward. Henry has written several articles for Practical Horseman magazine, The Plaid Horse, Sidelines magazine and has been featured in many articles in the Chronicle of the Horse, including the 2015 cover of the magazine, along with two covers of the USHJA In Stride Magazine. When not coaching the SCAD equestrian team, Henry enjoys time with her family while continuing to focus on professional development.
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