Discovering his passion for riding in fifth grade, senior John Hutchinson has put much effort into becoming an accomplished member of the Liberty University Hunt Seat Equestrian team.
Hutchinson discovered the sport during his childhood when his sisters wanted a horse and began riding. Initially, Hutchinson was not interested, but over the years, he began to enjoy the sport. Now, he has been riding for the past 10 years.
“It’s really neat because one has to cooperate with an animal. …You have to learn different horses and what works with them,” Hutchinson said.
During his younger years, Hutchinson rode with an organization called the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), which is similar to the Liberty Equestrian team, with the exception of being connected to a university. A variety of ages can participate in the organization.
When Hutchinson was searching for colleges, he chose Liberty due to scholarships and an offer to ride with the equestrian team.
“I knew I wanted to ride in college,” Hutchinson said. “I chose Liberty because my twin sister and I came here and we really, really liked pretty much everything about it.”
Hutchinson has faced various challenges while working with Liberty’s Equestrian team that have pushed him in his abilities as a rider. One of these difficulties has been learning to work with a variety of horses.
During practice, riders use Liberty’s horses, but at competition, they have to use the horses that are from the specific college where they are competing.
“It’s very difficult to learn to adapt to different horses because they require very different types of riding,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson has a horse named Diego that has a lazy temperament and needs a lot of motivation to go. After Diego sustained an injury, Hutchinson switched to riding a different horse, one that was the complete opposite with lots of energy.
“He (Diego) seems to be a bit more naturally motivated,” Hutchinson said. “Through that I learned how to ride both types of horses better.”
Riders focus on performance details while practicing techniques, as it can be easy to make mistakes during a competition causing a lower score. Each event has specific technique categories that the judges will critique and award points for. There are two types of riding classes: flat and fences.
In each class, judges look for how well the horse is ridden, how the rider maintains a connection with the horse and how well the rider gives direction.
A typical season for the equestrian team will have eight shows for riders to prove themselves and earn points. If a rider earns enough points to go to regionals they can qualify for zones. If they place first or second at zone competitions, riders can qualify for the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) Nationals.
Throughout Hutchinson’s time in the sport, he said mastering techniques, like diagonals and leads, can be very difficult and take time to perfect.
“To master it you have to do it all your life, but you could be fairly decent after a year,” Hutchinson said. “I had to learn everything through hard work and practice.”
Hutchinson is the most decorated member of the equestrian team this season. Hutchinson placed 4th in the Cacchione Cup at Zones this season. He earned the Cacchione Cup 2024-2025 High Point Rider Award, as well as placed first in Open Flat and Open Fences during the IHSA Hunt Seat Regional Competition hosted by Liberty Feb. 22.
During his time on Liberty’s team, Hutchinson has developed close bonds with his teammates. He participates in team social events each week which range from ice cream trips to bowling.
While he is in the process of finishing a degree in industrial and systems engineering at Liberty, Hutchinson is considering pursuing his master’s at Virginia Tech University. Hutchinson hopes to go into the field of data science and plans to continue riding, hopefully one day owning his own barn.
“Ride as much as possible and enjoy your time doing it because it is really a blessing to be able to do something like that,” Hutchinson said.
Loranger is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.