Although alumna Caitlin Marshall started riding as early as four-years-old, her family couldn’t afford a horse right away, leaving her to ride mostly ponies or anything that “had four legs and [a] neigh.” When she was thirteen, she received her own horse, one that would make the move with her from Pennsylvania to Oakdale, California.

Caitlin became a junior rider in high school and remained unaware of the sport’s collegiate opportunities until her mother found Fresno State’s Equestrian program — the West coast’s only NCAA team at the time.

As a Bulldog, Caitlin majored in Ag Business and thrived as an athlete, becoming team captain her senior year.

“We were a family, we weren’t just a team," she said. "A win or a loss, those are the kinds of things that fade eventually, but those relationships you build with one another, those are the most important things.”

After graduation, Caitlin returned to Oakdale to become a professional rider and trainer. One day, a former teammate, who was the current Assistant Hunt Seat Coach, called to ask Caitlin to return to Fresno and help the girls prepare for national championships. Not long after her temporary return, Caitlin received another phone call.

Being back on campus as a staff member came with a number of adjustments, but none as interesting as walking into her new office.

"It had been my coach’s office," she said. "So it felt kind of odd as I was moving in to be like, ‘This is a place that I used to come and sit on the opposite side of the desk and now I’m sitting behind the desk.'"

As a coach, she wants the best opportunities for her girls and works to keep pushing the program forward.

See more.