West Texas A&M University Athletics

Amanda Love recently completed her eighth season as the head coach of the West Texas A&M equestrian team. The Lady Buffs have enjoyed a large amount of success during Love’s time at WT, including winning the team’s second National Championship in program history in 2013.
 
With Love at the helm of the program, the Lady Buffs have also placed in the top-five at the IHSA National Championship four times, won an IHSA Semi-Finals Championship three times (2013, 2014, & 2015), were IHSA Semi-Finals Reserve Champion four times (2007, 2008, 2010 & 2012), two Zone VII Hunt Seat Championships (2007 & 2010) and two Zone VII Hunt Seat Reserve Championships (2008 & 2009), nine-straight Regional Championships in Western competition (2007-2015), five Regional Championships in Hunt Seat competition (2007-2011) and two Regional Reserve Championships in Hunt Seat (2012 & 2013).
 
This past season, 2014-15, the Lady Buffs finished third overall in Western competition at the IHSA National Championship while having two individual National Champions and two individual Reserve National Champions. Prior to that, the team won its ninth-consecutive Western Regional Championship and third-straight National Western Semi-Finals Championship.

In 2014, WT’s Western team placed fifth at the IHSA National Championship and had three individual titles and one Reserve Champion, including Julia Roberts who won the AQHA Cup. The Lady Buffs qualified 12 athletes between individual and team events at the show, 11 in Western and one in Hunt Seat competition. The team was crowned Regional Champions and won its second-straight National Western Semi-Finals Championship.
 
Under Love, the Lady Buffs won their second National Championship in program history in the 2012-’13 season. The Western team took top honors at the IHSA event with three individual titles and one reserve title.
 
Prior to becoming WT’s head coach, Love served as the Assistant Coach with the Lady Bufs from 2005-‘07 and was a student instructor at Black Hawk College from 2002-‘03.
 
Love was a student-athlete on the equestrian team at Black Hawk College for three years and won an individual IHSA National Championship in Western in 2002. She also rode at WT for two seasons.
 
She also rides professionally and competes in the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) and American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) in reining and working cow horse events. Her accomplishments there include a NRCHA Southwest Regional Championship in Limited Open Bridle in 2012 and a top-10 finish in NRCHA Limited Open Bridle at the Celebration of Champions in 2011.
 
Love has served on the IHSA Board of Directors since 2007 where her duties include organizing the Nation Championship each year. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Certified Horsemanship Association (2013-present) and the Panhandle Reined Cow Horse Association (2011-present) and is an instructor in Animal Science at WT.
 
She received an AAS in both Equine Science and Horse Science Technology (’03) from Black Hawk College, a B.S. in Agri-Business/Equine Industry and Business (’05) from WT and a M.S. in Agriculture (’07) from WT. Love grew up in Grayling, Mich. and attended Grayling High School.