AUBURN, Ala. – Mary Meneely will return to the Auburn equestrian coaching staff as associate head coach and will serve as Western coach once again, head coach Jessica Braswell announced.
"I'm excited to welcome Coach Meneely back to the Plains," Braswell said. "Her success at the college level and in the industry speaks for itself. Coach Meneely has a passion to lead young women in and out of the arena. She has great familiarity with our roster and will be ready to hit the ground running. We have a goal of winning championships and Coach Meneely is going to help us continue that tradition."
Meneely will replace Taylor Searles as the team's Western coach. Searles recently stepped down to pursue other opportunities.
"Returning to Auburn and coaching collegiately feels like coming home," Meneely said. "Every moment is an opportunity to inspire and mold the next generation of athletes into champions both on and off the field. Auburn is an extraordinary community that only a select few have the privilege to encounter. I'm grateful to athletics director John Cohen, executive deputy athletics director Rich McGlynn, sport administrator McRae Clay, head coach Jessica Braswell and head coach emeritus Greg Williams for this opportunity and I'm eager to uphold our winning tradition! War Eagle!"
Meneely was on the Auburn staff for seven seasons from 2015-16 through 2021-22. While at Auburn, she helped the Tigers win three national titles (2016, 2018, 2019) and five Southeastern Conference championships (2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).
Meneely coached her student-athletes to 31 NCEA All-America honors. She guided Searles to two NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Year honors (2019, 2022) as well as Deanna Green to the same award in 2020.
At the conference level, Meneely coached her riders to eight SEC Rider of the Year honors – five in Horsemanship and three in Reining. Her student-athletes totaled 15 All-SEC recognitions in Horsemanship and 11 in Reining and she had eight SEC Freshman Riders of the Year during her time on the Plains.
In addition, Meneely was a part of the Auburn staff that led the team to two undefeated seasons – 2018-19 and 2019-20.
During her two years away from the Plains, Meneely ran Coach Mary Meneely Consulting. The program provided mentoring and expert guidance to youth riders looking to compete in college by delivering top-tier coaching, clinics and lessons.
Prior to her first stint with Auburn, she was a member of the Georgia equestrian coaching staff. She was first named assistant coach in 2010 and was promoted to associate head coach in March 2013. With the Bulldogs, she helped the program win two national championships and three reserve national championships.