Head Coach Greg Williams led Auburn to its first overall Varsity Equestrian National Championship in 2006 and to its first discipline title, Hunt Seat, in 2008. Entering his seventh season at the Tiger helm, Williams has three returning seniors along with a large group of talented underclassmen. Williams looks to continue setting the bar high at Auburn. The team will be equipped to handle the challenges of the upcoming season due to the knowledge gained from last season. The returning riders coupled with the young new talent will allow Coach Williams to return his team to championship form in 2009. Williams' has changed the face of women's athletics and has put the equestrian team on the map. Since his return to his alma mater, Williams has continued to add wealth to this program and is building it to new heights. Since the 1996 debut of the equestrian program, Williams has orchestrated the building of the Equine Center and helped to change the club program to Auburn's 21st varsity sport. He led the Tigers to the 2004 Southern Equestrian Championship as it finished second in the nation. Williams is in his 13th season as head coach of the Auburn equestrian team, the seventh year as a varsity sport. Last season, Williams led the Tigers to a Hunt Seat title and a sixth place finish in Western at the Varsity Equestrian National Championship. He coached Lyndsey Jordan to the National Reining Horse Derby, where she competed for an individual national title. In 2006, he led the Tigers to their first Varsity Equestrian National Championship, the third National Championship Auburn University received in one month. He coached Whitney Kimble and Ashley Griffith to the NRHA Derby where they competed for an individual national title. In 2005, Williams' Tigers upset the No. 1 Western team in the nation, Oklahoma State, in the first meet of the season. The Tigers finished third at the Southern Equestrian Championship and were sixth overall at the Varsity Equestrian National Championship. Williams coached Whitney Kimble to the NRHA Derby, where she competed for a national title. That marked the first time that an Auburn rider received an invitation for the event. In the 2003-04 season, Williams' Tigers upset the competition to become the 2004 Southern Equestrian Champions, the first championship in Auburn equestrian history. That same year, Williams led the Tigers to an incredible runner-up finish at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships. He guided Auburn to the IHSA National Finals in both Hunt Seat and Western in the program's inaugural 2002-03 varsity season. The Tigers were one of only five teams to have a Hunt Seat and a Western team to reach nationals. Born in Paragould, Ark., Williams graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in Animal Sciences in 1986. His career in the horse industry began at a young age as he showed horses, competed in rodeos and roping contests. His mother also competed and passed on her passion for horses. Williams' beginning years as a professional were spent in the South and the Southwest training pleasure horses as well as cutting, haltering and roping horses. These horses were shown at Futurities, Congress and World shows. He began his work at Auburn 16 years ago running the Horse Teaching and Researching Unit. He also continued his professional showing career during his first years back. He is continuing his education at Auburn and is currently working towards a master's degree in adult education. Williams' vision goes further than his education. He is currently working on a plan for a new center for the equestrian team. The facility will include new covered arenas, stables and barns and will be a reality in a few short years. He is also incorporating veterinary sports medicine into the equestrian program. Williams and Dr. Robert L. Gillette have started a research initiative for the advancement of equine sports medicine. They are heading up a research team that will study different issues in equine sports medicine. Areas of interest are biomechanics, exercise physiology, nutrition, athletic performance and general heard health. The goal of the research will be to study areas of equine sports medicine that have not been studied before and disseminate that information to the equine community for the betterment of the equine athletes. Williams and his wife, Sandi, have two daughters, Toni, 25, who was a member of the Auburn equestrian team and Erica, 20. |
  
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