University of Georgia Athletics
Equestrian Clubhouse Is ‘Very Personal, Very Special’
October 10, 2019 | Equestrian, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
BISHOP — Meghan Boenig exuded pride and excitement with every breath Wednesday, as Georgia's new $3.1 million Equestrian Clubhouse threw open its doors for an open house. After years in a trailer behind the Bulldogs' barn, the equestrian program now has a 7,000-square-foot permanent home.
For Boenig, hired by former athletic director Vince Dooley in 2001 and the only head coach the program has ever known, Wednesday was a chance to show everyone in attendance — from UGA President Jere W. Morehead, and J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity, to donors and alumni and friends — just how far Georgia equestrian has come.
"Georgia, you have transformed our sport, how female athletes are empowered and how even our equine athletes are cared for and trained," Boenig said during her brief speech, adding that the new facility is "a physical manifestation of that support."
The new facility also couldn't have been a project more perfect for Georgia's coach, who loves details and design. That attention to detail is part of the reason why the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs have won six national championships and why they're always among the top three or four teams in the country.
With the Clubhouse, Boenig worked closely with the experts throughout, making sure that everything was as good and functional and comfortable as it possibly could be. Boenig wanted an ideal, comfortable home for her Bulldogs, she told me back in July while taking a break from looking over the landscaping design plans, and this project at the Georgia Equestrian Complex "feels very personal, very special."
Those words also apply to Boenig and the Georgia program as a whole. She was here before there was even a Day One of the Georgia equestrian program, starting it from scratch and guiding it to the highest of highs both in the arenas and in the classroom.
"I love this building for so many reasons but Coach M definitely deserves this new facility," senior captain Ali Tritschler said Wednesday. "She started this program and it wouldn't be where it is today without her, so to have this kind of represent all the work that she's put into this school and this facility and this program, it's just remarkable and I'm happy for her."
When you walk into the front doors of the Clubhouse, you're greeted by lots of trophies and lists on the wall celebrating all the champions and All-Americans. And for pretty much every section used to recognize Bulldogs for their achievements on horseback, you'll see a section highlighting their academic achievements, as well.
"The theme that you're seeing in that is 'Unbridled Excellence,'" Boenig told me in July. "That's saying that it's bigger than a championship. What we're out here to do and what our purpose is, it's bigger than a championship."
While Wednesday's open house included Georgia's riders showing guest around the facility, and the team had held a few team meetings in their new meeting room — finally no longer having to go to Stegeman Coliseum to have a proper team meeting — the Bulldogs didn't formally move into their new locker rooms until Thursday,
"Those poor, wonderful people have been coming in for team meetings on Tuesday nights and then (we were) kicking (them) right back out, just getting ready for this event," Boenig told me Wednesday. "I cannot wait for tomorrow to happen."
Both Tritschler and sophomore Miller Lantis said they were the most excited about the new locker room, in which everyone now had their own lockers, as well an entertainment system, showers and all the comforts of home.
"We really just got spoiled with this facility," Lantis said with a laugh Wednesday.
Between the big, comfortable locker room and the big, comfortable lounge area, as well as a back porch with a lovely view of a big section of the 109-acre farm — Boenig said the view of the sunset from there is spectacular — the Clubhouse will surely feel like home to the riders.
"We will definitely be spending more time out here than we did before, and that was a lot," Tritschler said, laughing.
Georgia's equestrian program began 18 years ago with the hiring of Boenig in October 2001. Its first home base was a 24-acre property off of Jefferson River Road in Athens, a place where, Boenig said, "there were more pot-bellied pigs and donkeys than there were horses."
Then equestrian moved to the South Milledge Avenue location it shared with the Animal & Dairy Science, before nine years ago moving out to the vast property in Bishop. Now, Boenig and the Bulldogs have their dream home, a place that's comfortable and functional and special.
"There are just going to be so many opportunities and possibilities that we didn't have before that are pretty cool and exciting to have," Boenig said in July.
The Bulldogs are home, in a very personal, very special place.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
