University of Georgia Athletics
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Diandra St. Hilaire
March 02, 2012 | Equestrian
March 2, 2012
ATHENS, Ga. - Diandra St. Hilaire, a member of the University of Georgia equestrian team from 2007-2011, is now a fifth year senior and has made the jump from a rider to a member of the equestrian staff for her last year at UGA.
St. Hilaire, native of Canada, was recruited by UGA in 2006 at a NRHA tournament in Oklahoma. After the competition, former UGA western coach Carly Nelson, approached St. Hilaire and offered her a scholarship.
St. Hilaire proved to be an outstanding rider for UGA, competing and winning the Varsity Equestrian National Championship three years in a row, and winning the Southern Equitation Championship twice in her career.
Diandra attributes her success to the support of her parents and her team.
"Being apart of the team has been the best opportunity of my life," St. Hilaire said. "Having the support of my parents and doing something I am very passionate about has allowed me to be successful."
St. Hilaire said making the transition from rider to coach was difficult at first but she has enjoyed the experience. In the office, Diandra helps with recruiting, compliance, coaching, and budgeting.
"As a rider you don't understand all the behind the scenes work that is done to make a team successful," she continued. "From preparing for competitions to keeping up with the girls workouts I have been busy. I now appreciate all that my coaches put in to allow the team to run smoothly."
Diandra admits that the hardest challenge at first was to find balance coaching former teammates.
"It is challenging because I don't want to step on anyone's toes, St Hilaire said. The upperclassman typically want my insight on how certain horses ride while the younger girls are a privilege to coach because they look up to the upperclassmen so much. The team is made up a great group of girls, who are easy to coach."
St. Hilaire is graduating in May and is looking forward to the challenges of perusing a career in law. She plans to take a year off and intern with a district attorney, while studying for the LSAT and working towards obtaining her work visa.
St.Hilaire says although she may not always be competing, riding will always be apart of my life.
"I may come to a point in my life that I am not riding everyday or participating in competitions but I'm pretty passionate about it and it will always be a part of my life."
St. Hilaire has had the best of both worlds having the opportunity to ride and coach. Riding prepared her to be a great coach and coaching is preparing her for her future endeavors both, in and out of the arena.
