For Boo Major’s USC equestrian team, the bar is always high

USC equestrian coach Boo Major and her team are used to jumping over hurdles with great success.

The 2015 National Champion’s biggest hurdle for next year might be the riders’ inexperience. But that doesn’t mean Major has changed her goal.

“Winning the national championship is not an unreasonable goal for us,” Major said of 2016. “We just have a lot of new riders and not as many veterans as we had last year.”

Major’s track record suggests she knows her team’s capabilities, having also won national equestrian championships in 2005 and 2007.

Although she attended Sweet Briar College, a small liberal arts school in Virginia, Major feels most at home in Columbia.

“I’ve always been a part of Carolina since birth,” said Major said. “I’m from here and I came back to USC to get my master’s degree. My grandfather even used to play football here.”

Taking care of horses is another thing Major has known her whole life.

“I’ve been around horses since I was 3 years old,” said Major. “However, when I came to USC, I had to transition to coaching college kids. I was used to teaching upper-level riders who were 13, 14 and 15 years old at the time.”

Her transition has been successful to say the least. In her 19 years coaching the Gamecocks, Major has led them to two consecutive SEC championships in 2013 and 2014 and three consecutive NCEA Hunter Seat National Championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Not to mention, Major is a two-time SEC Equestrian Coach of the Year and was named National Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association in 2014.

One of the biggest influences Major has had on the USC equestrian team is recruiting riders from around the country, including current Hunt Seat Captain Samantha Kraus from Mount Sinai, N.Y.

“I remember I was in Wellington, Fla., when I first talked to Coach Boo,” Kraus said. “It was in the winter time before I chose to go to USC. She was so outgoing and really had a positive impact on where I wanted to go.”

Western Captain Abigail Pait from Sparta, N.J., also was recruited to the team by Major. She agrees that Major is not only outgoing, but also is very honest.

“You’re not going to find a more honest coach than Coach Boo,” Pait said. “She just says it how it is, but she’s always got your back. Every time we’re with her she’s always entertaining. She’s a blast and she’s definitely somebody who rolls with the punches.”

Besides her outgoing personality and honesty, Major’s coaching style is what really sets her apart from others. Kraus says one her of favorite things about practicing with Major is her attention to detail.

“Coach Major is very detail-oriented. She looks at everything and misses nothing,” said Kraus. “She’s always good at complimenting us when we do something right, but she also picks up on the little things we’re doing wrong.”

Kraus added that Major makes her feel very prepared for the matches.

“I remember one time during practice, she (Major) recreated the atmosphere of a real match by blasting loud music and trying to distract us while we were riding,” Kraus said. “It was really funny at the time, but it actually ended up helping us in our next match. When our opponents came in, they were really loud, so what she did during practice helped us not get distracted. She knows how to pump us up and create a winning atmosphere.”

Major’s coaching style and leadership have definitely impacted the team in a positive way and created a winning culture.

Although many of the veteran riders from last year’s national championship team graduated, Major’s new group of recruited riders have already gotten off to an impressive start.

“The freshmen came in, got acclimated and melded in with the group perfectly. They just came in and got with it and they have been wonderful,” Pait said. “The energy this year has been awesome. Everyone’s real fired up and we want to show everyone that just because we are a younger team that we can win big matches. We definitely want to be SEC and national champions this year. That’s always one of our big goals.”

Whether or not the group wins a big title again this year, Major says she will be satisfied with her riders if they do one thing: improve.

“My main goal is to improve as the season progresses,” she said. “Regardless of wins or losses, it’s about seeing an improvement in the group.”