BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott Athletic Department has lost one of its most tenured coaches as Stephanie Brightman, the 19-year head coach of the Gulls equestrian team, has decided to walk away from the program she started back in 1996.
"I have nothing but pride for what has been accomplished by the riders from our program over my years at Endicott," said Brightman. "I am not walking away from Endicott or from my student-athletes but stepping aside so the program can continue to grow. I know that the people that I have coached and worked alongside will be lifelong friends even after my departure from Endicott."
Brightman, one of the most respected trainers of junior and adult riders in the region, built the Endicott program up from a four-person squad in her first year to over 20 strong riders that compete against the highest ranked schools in New England and the country. Through her hard work and dedication to building the foundation to the program, Brightman was able to create a highly competitive team.
"I truly enjoyed the challenge of working with a wide range of talent from beginners to expert riders. In the end, everyone who was a part of our program was there to compete and represent Endicott to the fullest."
Brightman and her long-time assistant coach Susan Koso have been directing the team's participation in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), which is a national group of competing schools throughout the country.
"Coach Brightman as always established a great relationship with the team members, year after year," said Koso. "Many team members who graduated years ago are still in touch with Coach Steph."
Locally, Brightman has been a contributing board member to the North Shore Horseman's Association (NSHA) since 2003, an organization with over 300 members that runs hunter/jumper shows and offers youth scholarships to local riders entering college.
In recent seasons the Endicott equestrian team, led by Brightman's experience as a high-point champion and two-time IHSA national competitor with her alma mater Colby-Sawyer as well as her years as a professional teacher and trainer, has climbed into regional and national recognition. Susie Pelick, Lauren Horth, Chelsea Conant, Bethany Prussman, Alisha Phipps, and Megan Piermarini have all qualified for IHSA Nationals over the past decade with several other riders including Gareth Benschoff, Anna Pavlov, and Horth all vying for the Cacchione Cup.
"Coach Brightman, who has been such a positive influence and role model for so many riders over her 19 years here at Endicott, will be sorely missed," said Director of Athletics Brian Wylie. "Under her leadership, she has shaped one of the most successful programs in New England centered on the same ideals and values that parallel Endicott. She has produced not only phenomenal riders, but developed young men and women that represented themselves, their program and Coach Brightman with the foundational principles she believed in so strongly. We are thrilled that she called Endicott her home the last 19 years and provided countless life-changing experiences for members of our Equestrian program."
