Ashley Henry is the Equestrian Director and Head Coach at SCAD. In her twenty-one years of coaching at SCAD, they have won over one hundred National and Reserve National titles. In 2026 Henry guided the Bees to another IHSA National Team Title making it their fifth win, with previously having earned the title in ‘24, ’17,’16 and ‘15. This past season SCAD won its fifteenth straight IHSA Regional Championship title, as well as securing their thirteenth uninterrupted National Tournament of Champions Series Title as well as making history in 2026 as the highest scoring team in the 35-year history of the Tournament of Champions.
In 2014-15 Henry led SCAD to one of the program's best seasons as the Bees won the IHSA National Championship for the first time in school history as well as being the first school to win both divisions of the ANRC National Championship, and the Tournament of Champions Series Title. Henry led the team to repeat this feat in 2025-2026 as well as in 2016-17 and 2023-24. In 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2018-19, they repeated winning three of the four Championship titles, taking reserve in the fourth.
Since Henry started coaching, the team has continued its prominence on the intercollegiate riding scene, with forty-seven American National Riding Commission (ANRC) National Champion team and individual wins. In addition, Henry coached SCAD riders to win the Intercollegiate Horse Show Associations National (IHSA) Reserve Champion title in the coveted Cacchione Cup in 2010, 2023, 2024 and the National Champion title in the Cacchione cup in 2012, 2019, 2025 and 2026. The back-to-back Cacchione Cup titles were historic as the rider was one of only four athletes in the history of the IHSA to win the National title consecutively since 1972.
Before joining as coach, Henry was a student at SCAD and earned a B.F.A. degree in metals and jewelry. Henry was an award-winning rider on the equestrian team from 2001-05, helping SCAD earn their first ever National Team titles. While at SCAD she was also captain of the team and continued to compete on the AA show circuit. Henry grew up riding and competing in her home country, the Bahamas, before attending the Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills, Maryland where she was also a competitive equestrian.
Henry has been awarded the SCAD Athletics Frances Wong Coach of the Year Award for her successful seasons five times. The United States Equestrian Federation presented Henry and the SCAD team with an intercollegiate award for achievement of excellence for five years in a row. The IHSA recognizes riders for their academic achievements with an IHSA All-Academic award, which annually SCAD equestrian team students are recognized. In 2023 one of Henry’s students was recognized as SCAD’s female athlete of the year, in 2019 and 2024 two additional equestrian athletes were recognized as SCAD’s male athlete of the year.
In addition to coaching the SCAD team, Henry has also acted as an adjunct professor for the SCAD equestrian studies major. Henry is involved with several other professional equestrian associations, she is on the ANRC board of directors, an Equestrian Talent Search clinician, local/unrated show judge, and IEA show steward. Henry has written several articles for equestrian magazines, and been featured on several podcasts. When not coaching the SCAD equestrian team, Henry enjoys time with her family while continuing to focus on professional development
