Jennifer Ridgely is in her 18th season as head coach of the Delaware State equestrian team in 2024-25, serving in the position since Feb. 2007.
In 2024-25, Olivia Brown was named to the Ariat All-America First Team. For conference awards, Brown earned ECAC Fences Rider of the Year and All-Conference Fences.
The Hornets continued to raise their national profile during the 2021-22 season, which was highlighted by her fourth Coach of the Year selection and the team’s highest ranking in the National Collegiate Equestrian Association monthly poll.
On March 28, 2022, Ridgely was named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Coach of the Year for the second time in three years.
Delaware State climbed to No. 7 in the Nov. 2021 NCEA Top 10 Dual Discipline team rankings, the best showing in team history. Delaware State re-entered the national poll the previous month for the first since the 2019-20 season, ranking 10th in the Oct. 2021 vote.
Delaware State's 2021-22 season also featured the selection of Grace Wilson to the Ariat All-America Equestrian First Team, one of five riders nationwide earning First Team honors in the Western Reining discipline. Wilson was Delaware State's third All-America First Team selection, joining Brooke Moore (Horsemanship) in 2016 and Breann Huyett (Reining) in 2012. Wilson's 2021-22 season honors included NCEA Reining Rider of the Month (Nov. 2021), ECAC Rider of the Week (Oct. 2021) and three Most Outstanding Performer awards.
Olivia Brown was a 2021-22 Ariat All-America Second Team selection, one of five second team All-America honorees in Fences. Brown was a three-time 2021-22 ECAC Rider of the Week, while collecting five MOP awards.
Also during the 2021-22 season, a total of 26 Delaware State riders were recognized by the NCEA for their work in the classroom, earning 2022 APHA All-Academic teams and the Academic Honor Roll acclaim for their success both in the arena and in classroom.
Delaware State’s 2020-21 season was highlighted by the selection of Zoe Kirsch (Fences) and Abby Craver (Reining) as Honorable Mention Ariat NCEA All-America.
Victoria Colston was selected as the 2020-21 ECAC Freshman Fences Rider of the Year, in addition to being named to the All-ECAC Fences Team. Kirsch earned ECAC All-Fences recognition.
Sydney Wicklund was named to the 2020-21 All-ECAC Flat Team, while the ECAC presented its Sportsperson Award to DSU's Gracie Wyngard.
A total of 21 Delaware State riders were cited by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) for their work in the classroom during the 2020-21 season, earning American Wood Fibers All-Academic teams and APHA Academic Honor Roll recognition.
During the abbreviated 2019-20 season, Ridgely was honored by the ECAC as its Equestrian Coach of the Year for the first time.
Also that season, DSU's Erin Gordon, Zoe Kirsch and Blayne Bell were selected to the All-ECAC Team.
The 2019-20 Coach of the Year honor was the third for Ridgely at Delaware State. She was selected as United Equestrian Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 and was UEC Co-Coach of the Year in 2017. The 2019-20 Hornets were 10th in the last Farnam NCEA rankings before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Delaware State was second in the final ECAC regular season standings that year. In the last national event polling for the 2019-20 season, DSU's Fences team ranked sixth in the nation, while the Hornets were seventh on the Flat. On the Western side, the Hornets had the 11th best Horsemanship team. DSU's Reining riders were 12th in the nation.
Additionally, Delaware State produced 15 NCEA All-Academic honorees, including four First Team selections and 15 ECAC scholars. This was highlighted by four First Team members during the 2019-20 season.
Ridgely has led the DSU equestrian program to twelve National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) championship appearances, a United Equestrian Conference championship title in 2016, the highest national ranking in program history (No. 8, 2018-19), a Final Four appearance in the Reining at the National Championship (2018-19), and played a vital role in the progression of the sport of collegiate equestrian. Collegiately, Delaware State’s equine athletes have been successful under Ridgely’s guidance with four NCEA Top Ten Horses of the Year.
Since taking over the equestrian program at Delaware State, Ridgely has grown the team from five riders to a roster boasting over 40 team members. She had plans to continue growing to a team of 65 riders by 2023. Ridgely has coached numerous student-athletes to All-America honors in each of the NCEA events and inductions to the DSU Hall of Fame. In 2012, Breann Huyett made history as Delaware State’s first First-Team All-America in the Reining event. Huyett continued her record streak as Delaware State’s first equestrian student-athlete inducted into the DSU Hall of Fame in 2018. Ridgely coached Horsemanship rider Brooke Moore to First-Team All-America status and Hunter Seat rider Hayley Anderson to Honorable Mention All-America in Fences in 2016. Anderson would go on to be Delaware State’s first two-time All-America recipient, receiving Second-Team honors on the Flat in 2018.
Ridgely graduated from McDaniel University in 1991 with a B.A. in Education and received her master’s in Counseling in 1998. She was an educator from 1991-2000, while simultaneously running a successful equine training barn and lesson program. In summer 2000, Ridgely turned her focus solely to her equine interests, establishing Wicked R Western Prod., Inc. It quickly became a staple in the community and boasted a thriving lesson program and training business, along with summer camps, horse shows, and overnight dude ranch camps, until Ridgely accepted the head coach position at Delaware State University in early 2007.
Ridgely has more than 38 years of equine business and competition experience to the equestrian program. She is an accomplished judge and instructor, drawing from her extensive knowledge on training riders in various disciplines. As a youth competitor, Ridgely excelled in the all-around events on the Quarter Horse circuit and later thrived on the First Frontier Pro Rodeo Circuit as a Professional Barrel Racer for more than 20 years.
Ridgely believes that creating a program, and not just a team, is vital for the longevity of the sport of equestrian. Her team carries the greatest number of volunteer hours every semester and carries a consistently-high team GPA, boasting no lower than a 3.0 team average every semester. Ridgely prides herself on molding successful young women to be educated, well-rounded, and productive citizens.
According to Ridgely, her greatest accomplishment is her two horse-loving daughters. Peyton (22), a high school rodeo Barrel Racing Champion, and Rylee (18), a successful all-around rider on the AQHA circuit and the AQHYA Region 5 Director.
