The Auburn Equestrian team has been one of the most successful teams at the university over the last seven years.
Such success is often attributed to the hard work of a head coach like Greg Williams, but Williams is quick to note that coaching is a two-way relationship.
"Much of our success comes from the team's ability to buy into the coaching and the program." Williams said
Williams was born in Paragould, Arkansas.
He has been around horses for the better part of his life, competing in rodeos and showcasing horses since he was young.
Competing and caring for horses was a family affair in the Williams household.
"I grew up around horses," Williams said. "My mom was a rider and really got me interested in competitions."
After graduating from Auburn High School in the mid-'80s, Williams attended college at Auburn University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Animal Sciences.
He returned to The Plains in 1993 to work in the Horse Teaching and Researching department of the College of Veterinary Medicine and head the equestrian club team.
"It's a phenomenal feeling to come back to Auburn and coach," Williams said.
Williams and his wife, Sandi, brought equestrian to Auburn as a varsity sport in 2002 after it was a club sport for several years, making it the 21st and most recent sport to become varsity.
The team experienced immediate success, reaching the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Finals during its first year.
Williams has taken the program to the highest levels of competition in his seven years here.
He took the Tigers to the top of the Southern Equestrian Conference in the 2003-2004 season. That same year, the Tigers also earned a second place finish at the Varsity Equestrian National Championship.
Two years later, the Tigers were sitting on top of the entire nation after winning their first Varsity Equestrian National Championship.
"It was unbelievable when we won the first championship," Williams said. "We got to stand in front of Samford Hall and walk down to Toomer's corner to roll the tree with everyone around cheering us on."
Since the overall national championship in 2006, Williams has coached the equestrian team to a first place finish in the Hunt Seat discipline in 2008.
Aside from winning multiple championships for Auburn, Williams has also been a key factor in the creation and maintaining of the Auburn Horse Center.
With his impressive resume, Auburn always has very talented recruiting classes.
"It's great to have some of the greatest riders in the country talking about and wanting to come to Auburn." Williams said.
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