Bryan Bradley. Photo courtesy of Bryan Bradley
Gladys, Va. – Feb. 5, 2026 – The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) leadership named Bryan Bradley the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at their board meeting in early January. Bradley, a Cazenovia College Equestrian Team alum who competed in both hunter seat and Western disciplines, has coached since 1994 and served on the IHSA board for nearly 25 years.
"I have known Bryan for years, first as competing alumni and young coaches in Zone 3, then working together on the board," said IHSA Vice President Kelly Francfort. "He is deserving of this honor, and it is wonderful for him to be recognized for his lifetime participation and dedication to the association."
Bradley grew up in the historic town of Port Deposit in Cecil County, Maryland. His family ran Hopewell Training Center, an Arabian show barn. During high school and college, Bradley served as riding director for Chesapeake Center Summer Camps.
In 1983, Bradley entered the newly coed Cazenovia College and became the first male member of the IHSA team. In 1994, he started coaching the University of Delaware IHSA team, leading them to a national championship in 1997. He coached the team through 2014 and also served as assistant coach for both the Drexel University and Villanova University IHSA teams. In 2023, Bradley became the Western coach for the Washington College (Chestertown, Maryland) Western team and now serves as their head coach. He also coaches the Penn State Berks (Reading, Pennsylvania) team at shows.
When asked how he manages to coach four schools, Bradley said, "With the four teams that I'm currently coaching at a regular IHSA show, I don't have that many riders. I have fewer students than when I was coaching for the University of Delaware. It makes it very manageable."
The active coach has also been deeply involved in IHSA governance. One of his mentors was Naomi Blumenthal.
"She was one of my professors in college and then kind of took me under her wing when I joined the board of directors," he said. "I've been the regional president in Zone 3, Region 5, through a lot of growth. I've seen the Region split three times. In one of those splits, we moved to Zone 4."
He currently serves as chair of both the Intercollegiate Standards and Ethics Committee and the Personnel Committee. He has previously served on the Insurance and Public Relations Committees. Bradley also manages the large silent auction at the IHSA National Championship.
Bradley helped launch IHSA Western competition in Zone 3. His schools have hosted Zone Championships and Western Semi-Finals. He also created "Battle in the Saddle," a fun competition for riders and teams not qualified for Zones.
"What I enjoy most about coaching is watching incoming freshmen come in, scared, shy, bashful, inexperienced riders or in the lower levels and seeing them grow and mature and become better horsemen and women," Bradley said. "Maybe they stay in the industry or just keep in touch after graduation and into their adult lives. Not only have I become friends with some of those riders, but a lot of the time, you become friends with their parents. You get to keep in touch through their milestones like weddings and the births of children."
While the announcement was made at the 2026 IHSA winter board meeting, the IHSA leadership will have a formal presentation to honor Bradley’s contributions during the 2026 IHSA National Championship at Tryon International, in Spring Mill, North Carolina, May 1-3