Eric Hubbard - Equestrian Coach

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

Eric Hubbard

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
ehubbard@mail.fresnostate.edu
Phone:
559-278-8385

Last Updated: July 26, 2023

THE HUBBARD FILE

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Twitter: @coachericfseq
Hometown: Grace, Idaho
High School: Grace High School

EDUCATION
College of Southern Idaho (2001)
AA in Liberal Studies
Idaho State (2003)
B.S. in Educational Sign Language Interpreting
University of Pheonix (2013)
Master's in Education

COACHING HISTORY
Fresno State
2015-Present: Head Coach
Dec. 2013-2015: Interim Head Coach
2015 United Equestrian Conference Champions
Jan. 2013: Assistant Western Coach
University of the South (TN)
2003-2005: Associate Riding Director
& Assistant Western Coach

RIDING EXPERIENCE
College of Southern Idaho
2001, 2002 All-Around Champion
2001 AQHA Western Reserve National Champions
2001 National Champion (Open Reining, Open Horsemanship)

JUDGING EXPERIENCE
American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA)
National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA)
National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA)
American Paint Horse Association (APHA)
Pinto Horse Association (PtHA)
Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC)

Eric Hubbard became the sixth head coach of the nationally ranked Bulldog equestrian program on July 1, 2015, after serving as the programs interim head coach since December 2013. Hubbard enters his ninth season as the head coach of the program, but 12th at the helm after serving three seasons as the interim head coach.

While at the helm of the Fresno State equestrian program, Hubbard has coached championship teams and nationally recognized athletes in both riding disciplines. Hubbard also played a role in the Bulldogs’ conference switch from the United Equestrian Conference to the Big 12 Conference, effective at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

Overall, he has helped produce 16 Bulldog All-Americans over eight years at Fresno State. Of those 16 Bulldogs, six have been named an All-American in multiple seasons and one earned two All-American honors in the same season. Hubbard’s student-athletes have also accounted for 17 NCEA Rider of the Month honors, 30 UEC monthly accolades and 13 Big 12 Riders of the Month.

2022-23 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 3-9
Big 12 Record: 2-4
Hubbard, again at the helm of the Bulldogs equestrian program, helped Fresno State to a No. 3 seed at the Big 12 championship this season. Fresno State had one NCEA All-American in Ana Bertozzi who was a fences honorable mention selection. Sara Tuck earned All-Big 12 honors in the flat.

Fresno State pulled off one of the biggest comeback victories in recent years, defeating then-No. 5 Oklahoma State 10-9 on March 4, 2023. The Bulldogs used seven points in the final two events to defeat the Cowgirls on Senior Day, including a sweep in the flat. It was just the third win over Oklahoma State in program history.

2021-22 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 6-11
Big 12 Record: 2-4
In his seventh season as head coach of the equestrian program, Hubbard continued the success with the Big 12. The Bulldogs earned the No. 3 seed at the Big 12 championship this season, their best finish in conference competition since joining the league. Hubbard coached up a pair of reining All-Americans this season in Lexee Padrick and Bailey Alexander. Also this season were All-Big 12 honorees in Alexander and Cecily Hayes (flat).

Continuing the trend, the Bulldogs had success in the western events this season. The ‘Dogs saw the most success in the reining, recording a 40-30-10 record this season. Fresno State earned six MOPs in the event on the year. In the horsemanship, Fresno State had a 35-41-4 mark with seven MOPs earned. The western squad had a record of 75-71-14 on the year, and secured its third-straight winning season.

In the jumping seat, the ‘Dogs compiled a 60-104-4 record, with the flat leading the way with 34 wins.

2021 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 5-6
Big 12 Record: 2-3
Without the opportunity to play a fall season due to the COVID19 pandemic, Hubbard got the Bulldogs prepared for the spring season in a short turnaround time. Fresno State earned four wins over ranked opponents this season, including a 8-8 tiebreaker win over then-No. 2 TCU on a neutral site. With big wins across the board, Fresno State earned the No. 7 seed at the National Championship and was represented as a team for the first time since 2017.

In the 2021 season, Fresno State had All-American caliber talent in Ana Bertozzi (honorable mention - flat) and Lexee Padrick (second team - reining). Bertozzi and Padrick also earned All-Big 12 honors in their respective events. Bertozzi was also recognized on the conference’s fences all-conference team this season as the only rider to earn a spot on both jumping seat teams this season. In addition to those ‘Dogs, Kameron Thorn (horsemanship) and Julianne Kelley (reining) secured all-conference honors in their second season with the Big 12.

The Bulldogs western squads had another big season in the arena, combining for a 49-43-8 mark on the season. Reining had a slight advantage, recording a 25-21-4 mark. Horsemanship finished with a 24-22-4 record. The Bulldogs won 11 western MOPs on the season - five in horsemanship and six in reining.

The jumping seat teams combined for a 35-63-2 mark with a 16-33-1 record in the fences and 19-30-1 mark in the flat. The Bulldogs totaled six jumping seat MOP honors on the season, with four in the fences and two in the flat.

2019-20 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 8-5
Big 12 Record: 3-2
In his fifth year as the Fresno State equestrian head coach, and first year as a member of the Big 12 Conference, Hubbard and the Bulldogs had their most successful year since the 2016-17 season.

In a year cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bulldogs' season ended on Mar. 12, 2020. Fresno State missed out on one final regular season meet at Oklahoma State, the Big 12 Championship and the NCEA Championship. However, the 'Dogs were trending in the right direction. The Bulldogs defeated six ranked opponents, including the No. 2 and No. 3 teams. They also earned their first-ever win over Texas A&M, and earned their first win against Oklahoma State in 11 years.

In the 2019-20 season, the Bulldogs also earned their highest-ever national ranking at No. 4. Fresno State first earned that ranking on the Nov. 26 announcement by the NCEA, and then twice again in the spring (Feb. 11, Feb. 18). The 'Dogs finished the season at No. 5 in the rankings.

Fresno State had its most-ever All-Americans named in a single season following the 2019-20 year. Bailey Alexander (Reining) and Alivia Hart (Fences) were first team selections, Paige Barton (Reining) and Hannah Buijs (Horsemanship) were the program's second team selections in their events, and Paige Barton (Reining) and Cecily Hayes (Fences and Flat) earned honorable mention accolades.

The 'Dogs also had the Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year in Alexander, along with six additional All-Big 12 selections.

The Western squads combined for a 74-46-10 record with horsemanship notching a 37-25-3 record, and reining finishing with a 37-21-7 mark. The 'Dogs earned a total of four horsemanship MOP's and nine reining MOPs.

In the Jumping Seat, the 'Dogs were 83-69-4 with the flat having a 43-31-4 record and fences posting a 40-38 mark. The Bulldogs earned the fences MOP on nine occasions while earning the flat honor seven times.

2018-19 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 6-12
UEC Record: 4-2

In his fourth year as the Bulldogs’ head coach, Hubbard led the team through another successful season with a team that had 14 freshmen and one transfer who went on to play a major role in the success of the team and will continue to lead the team to success in the coming years.

The 2018-19 competing freshmen and redshirt sophomore transfer combined for an overall record of 33-31-5 with eight combined MOP honors in the western events and 17-49-1 with four combined MOPs in the hunt seat events.

Redshirt sophomore Nicole Campbell led the team with a 10-5 Horsemanship record with five MOP honors. She was named the UEC Rider of the Year after earning three UEC Rider of the Week and three UEC Rider of the Month honors. She also picked up a spot on the All-Horsemanship team and was a NCEA All-America honorable mention recipient.

Representing the Bulldogs in the UEC alongside Campbell were freshmen Brooklyn Moch and Lexee Padrick. Moch was named the Freshman Horsemanship Rider of the Year while Padrick earned the Freshman Reining Rider of the Year title. Senior Alexandra Dirickson earned a spot on the All-UEC Equitation on the Flat first team.

Moch was also named a NCEA Horsemanship All-America honorable mention in 2019 and became the first Bulldog freshman to earn NCEA honors since Rachel Williams in 2015 (Horsemanship honorable mention).

The Horsemanship squad saw its second winning season under coach Hubbard as it finished with a 33-31-4 mark and a total of seven MOP honors.

The most notable win of the 2018-19 season was taking down then-No. 4 Baylor in a 10-8 home victory on Nov. 10, 2018. The 'Dogs bounced back from Baylor's 5-0 sweep in Equitation on the Flat, closing out the meet with a 10-3 finish through the final three events to edge the highly-ranked Bears at the Student Horse Center.

The 2018-19 season is the last season that Fresno State is a part of the United Equestrian Conference, as the university and Big 12 Conference announced the Bulldogs’ move to the Big 12 in May 2019. In its last season with the UEC, the Fresno State equestrian team finished as the runner-ups of the 2019 UEC Championship tournament with a loss to the No.1-seeded SMU.

2017-18 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 6-14
UEC Record: 3-2
Hubbard announced the addition of two assistant coaches in his third year at the helm of Fresno State’s equestrian program (2017-18). Mary Brown was brought on as the assistant western coach while Bulldog alumni Caitlin Marshall led the hunt seat team.

Fresno State was ranked as high as No. 5 in the national collegiate rankings throughout the season.

The Bulldogs finished with a 6-14 overall record, 3-9 in the regular season (3-2 United Equestrian Conference). The Bulldogs defeated the No.2 seeded UT-Martin in the first round of the UEC Championships but fell to the No.1-seeded SMU in the finals.

2018 marked the first year that the National Collegiate Equestrian Association introduced four individual event championships as well as one overall championship. The Bulldogs got a bid to each of the four event championships and advanced to the second round in Equitation on the Flat and Horsemanship. On the Flat, the ‘Dogs defeated UT-Martin 3-1 and swept South Dakota State in the Horsemanship. Each team fell in the second round to its opponent.

Horsemanship was the strongest western event for the 2017-18 squad, going 31-36-7, while Equitation on the Flat shined in the hunt seat arena, finishing with a 31-38-5 mark. Equitation Over Fences tallied a 28-41-1 record and Reining finished at 27-41-2.

Sophomore reining rider Paige Barton led the Reining squad with a 10-4-1 record. Barton picked up monthly honors as the Sept. 2017 UEC and NCEA, and Feb. 2018 Reining Rider of the Month. The Oakdale, Calif. native was crowned 2017-18 UEC Reining Rider of the Year and an NCEA first team All-American. Junior Taeya Harle stood out in Horsemanship with a 10-4-2 record on the season. Harle picked up UEC monthly honors in September and was named UEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year and NCEA Horsemanship All-America Honorable Mention. Harle was named the UEC Freshman Horsemanship Rider of the Year under Hubbard’s reins in 2016.

2016-17 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 9-8
UEC Record: 4-1
In his second season as the full-time head coach of the program in 2016-17, the team went 9-8 (4-1 UEC) and won the consolation finals in the UEC postseason tournament and reached the second round of the NCEA National Championship tournament for the second time. During the season, the Bulldogs took down two No.1-ranked teams for the first time in program history and were ranked as high as No. 5 nationally.

Senior western rider Taylor Brown was named NCEA first-team All-America in Reining for the third time and NCEA second-team All-America in Horsemanship for the second time, while junior Rachel Williams earned an NCEA second-team All-America selection in Horsemanship, her second NCEA yearly honor. Brown was also named the UEC Reining Rider of the Year and UEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year, while freshman Shea Gilson was chosen as the UEC Freshman Reining Rider of the Year. During the season, a Bulldog was named NCEA Rider of the Month four times and UEC Rider of the Month seven times, both program records.

Throughout the 2016-17 season, Horsemanship was the strongest event for the Bulldogs, going 41-24-8 in competitions. In Reining, the 'Dogs went 32-41-3 and Fresno State was 32-41-1 in Equitation Over Fences and 31-39-6 in Equitation on the Flat.

2015-16 (Head Coach)
Overall Record: 4-10
UEC Record: 4-2
In his first season as the full-time head coach of the program in 2015-16, the team went 4-10 (4-2 UEC) and fell in the first round of the NCEA National Championship tournament.

Junior western rider Taylor Brown was named NCEA first-team All-America in Reining, sophomore Sierra Swaffar earned an NCEA first-team All-America selection in Equitation on the Flat, and sophomore Taylor Dixon was chosen for the NCEA All-America Second Team for her performances in Horsemanship.

UEC Riders of the Year included Brown for Reining, Swaffar for Equitation on the Flat and Dixon for Horsemanship. Taeya Harle was named UEC Freshman Rider of the Year for Horsemanship. During the season, a Bulldog was named NCEA Rider of the Month three times and UEC Rider of the Month four times.

Under the tutelage of Hubbard, sophomore Rachel Williams was named the 2015-16 UEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year and All-American along with teammate Taylor Brown, who is a two-time recipient under Hubbard's guidance.

2014-15 (Interim Head Coach)
Overall Record: 10-6
UEC Record: 3-2
Hubbard has led the Bulldog equestrian team to new heights, as Fresno State won the United Equestrian Conference (UEC) championship on March 28, 2015, and were ranked as high as No. 5 nationally during the 2014-15 campaign. The Bulldogs also saw their first winning season in program history in Hubbards third year as Interim head coach in 2014-15.

In April, the team capped off the season by reaching the quarterfinals at the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) National Championships where the Bulldogs fell to eventual national champion, South Carolina.

2013-14 (Interim Head Coach)
Overall Record: 5-6
Hubbard's Bulldogs registered notable wins during his stint as the interim head coach. In February of 2014 the `Dogs defeated No. 2 Baylor and in 2015 defeated three teams ranked in the top six.

2012-13 season (Interim Head Coach)
Overall Record: 3-10-1
Hubbard took over as interim head coach as former head coach Collins Daye left the program. With a short stint and only one assistant coach in Kimberly Hewson-Budnik, the ‘Dogs finished with a 3-10 mark and finish their season in the first round of the NCEA National Championships, falling 5-2 to Texas A&M.

He originally came to Fresno State in January of 2013 as the western coach.

Prior to Fresno State
Hubbard has a passion for the horse industry, one which was built in him since he was a little kid. He was born and raised in Idaho living on his family's farm where they raised beef cattle and had a lot of horses. Hubbard grew up on horseback and throughout his schooling years he went up through the 4-H ranks and eventually into national level horse shows.

Hubbard competed for three years in the IHSA for the College of Southern Idaho (CSI). After graduation he stayed at CSI for two more years working as a coach for the sport that he loves.

In the spring of 2002 he moved to coach at Sewanee, The University of the South. There he was the associate riding director and an assistant coach for the western team. He worked for the Tigers from 2003-05 before moving out to California.

Once in California, he began working as a professional horse trainer. He would train the horses as well as amateur and youth riders two times a week while he received his American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and American Pinto Horse Association (PtHA) judging card. In doing so, Hubbard became qualified to judge equestrian competitions.

Hubbard has extensive riding, coaching, training, and judging experience. As a rider in the IHSA in 2001 he led his team to a Western Reserve National Champion in American Quarter Cup (AQHA) while being named National Champion in Open Reining and Open Horsemanship. In 2001 and 2002 he won the All-Around competing in both the English and Western events. As a professional trainer, he has had World and Reserve Champions along with multiple riders finishing top 10 at the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) and APHA World Show.

He holds judging cards with American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA), National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA), American Paint Horse Association (APHA), Pinto Horse Association (PtHA), and Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC).