Willows Senior Signs to Ride Equestrian at Ave Maria University

Article written by Kathryn Stangel

On Friday, April 26th, Senior Grace Hinley signed with Ave Maria University, FL., to join the school’s intercollegiate equestrian team. Willows held a ceremony for the event that afternoon, as friends, family, and coach attended to celebrate Hinley’s success.

As Willows college counselor Nancy Brinkerhoff said, it was a dream come true for Hinley.

Hinley knew she wanted to attend Ave Maria ever since she discovered that they were one of the few colleges to emphasize equestrian at an intercollegiate level.

“I was looking for a small Catholic school,” said Hinley. “And obviously I wanted some sort of horses. To what degree, I didn’t know.”

As it turned out, Ave Maria was the only school Hinley applied to that had a competitive team.

“It worked out perfectly,” said Hinley.

Hinley credited several people for her success, from her coach for the past 10 years, Bonnie Hanlock, to her parents, Anne and Gerry. Although, as Mrs. Hinley stated, it was no easy task to raise an equestrian.

“The early years were a lot of time, just the traveling and staying at the barn,” said Mrs. Hinley. “Which actually, when I look back at it, was great time spent.”

Her coach praised Hinley for her commitment to the sport, honoring her with a short speech that captured her pride for her trainee.

“What makes Grace so unique is that she’s out there for her horse and for his personal best,” said Coach Bonnie.

Aside from competing, Hinley looks forward to earning her business degree at Ave Maria. She intends to incorporate her passion for horses into a career, possibly in training young girls to compete.

“Wherever that [business degree] takes me, I hope it takes me into the horse industry,” said Hinley. “I wanna keep helping people with horses.”