Riding back home to the Plains: Haley Pembroke’s return to Auburn

AUBURN, Ala – Friday’s meet for Minnesota Crookston’s head equestrian coach Haley Pembroke is set to be a sweet one as she returns to the Loveliest Village on the Plains to take on the top-ranked Tigers.

Pembroke graduated from Auburn in spring of 2020 and was a four-year member of the equestrian program, competing in Horsemanship throughout her time with the team. While with the Tigers, she was a part of two national championship teams (2018, 2019), two Southeastern Conference title teams (2019, 2020) and two teams that went undefeated.

Following graduation from Auburn, she began her post-graduate career at the University of Nebraska in the fall of 2020, where she received her Master of Arts in business with a specialization in intercollegiate athletics administration.

Throughout her time at Nebraska, she gained valuable experience through her graduate program and had the realization she wanted to continue working in the world of collegiate athletics. From being the graduate assistant for Nebraska’s women’s gymnastics team to working in Nebraska’s ticketing and athletics offices, Pembroke was utilizing her skills wherever she was able. However, her passion for equestrian always lived in the back of her mind.

The summer before Pembroke started graduate school, she contacted the head coach of Nebraska’s equestrian club team to offer her assistance and was pleased to hear back.

“It ended up being the coolest use of my free time,” Pembroke said. “They let me come in and assist the riders in whatever way the coach found useful during practice that day.”

She went on to volunteer with the team for two and a half years and helped the team bring home a win at the IHSA Western Semifinals in 2021.

In August of 2022, Pembroke started her career with Minnesota Crookston as an assistant coach, focusing on the western team. And in the fall of 2023, was named head coach for the Golden Eagles.

Before she became a Golden Eagle, she was—and always will be—an Auburn Tiger.

While at Auburn, Pembroke took full advantage of all the resources offered to her and opportunities set before her. And because of her ambition and drive, she was named the 2020 NCAA Women’s Enhancement Graduate Scholarship winner and the 2020 SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award winner.

“It was kind of surreal to have those recognized in terms of things that reward your character and your leadership abilities and your involvement in the community,” Pembroke said.

Throughout her career, Pembroke has worked with multiple colleges and visited countless campuses, but none of them touched her heart the way Auburn did.

“The Auburn Family is a real thing,” Pembroke said. “I don’t think there is any other community or fan base quite like it in the entire United States.”

Pembroke proudly looks back on her time as a student-athlete at Auburn and admires how the Auburn Family loves and supports Auburn equestrian at every meet.

And she extends her love to not only the fans, but also the Auburn equestrian staff.

“The coaching staff is one of the biggest reasons why I decided to go into college athletics in the first place,” Pembroke said. “It was really amazing to be a student-athlete in Greg Williams’ program and be a part of everything he has built. Seeing who Greg was as a leader and as a fundraiser, and everything he did to evolve collegiate equestrian, it was pretty amazing just to be part of that.”

She took a lot of memories from her time at Auburn, but also a lot of lessons about leadership and character development that she has put toward her personal coaching approach.

“The leadership aspect of this sport is really important, and I aim to speak things to the team I coach that inspire them to be great people not just at the barn, but also in their classrooms and communities,” Pembroke said.

When Pembroke returns to Auburn for Friday’s competition, she eagerly awaits seeing Toomer’s Corner and reflecting on all the memories as she embraces the full circle feeling of coming back to Auburn as a head coach for the opposing team.

As for the meet on February 7, Pembroke loves the challenge of watching her team compete on the road in new environments and on new horses.

She’s excited for the new experience for her team this weekend after competing with the same set of horses not only at home in Minnesota, but also among their conference opponents.

“Auburn always has such great support at their meets, to experience an equestrian meet where you truly have spectators, I think that will be really fun for them as well,” said Pembroke.

And as she reflects on her time here and where she is today, Pembroke credits being a student-athlete at Auburn and how it opened numerous doors for her as a young professional. From the lessons she learned to the people that guided her through it all, Pembroke is grateful for her time at Auburn and how she has utilized it as an instrument to get her where she is today.