Chris Mitchell was named as the Director of Riding and Equestrian Head Coach at Randolph College in January 2012 and officially took the post in July of 2012. He came to the College after a very successful 13-year tenure at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
In his short time at the helm, the WildCats have had great success. There have been three National Qualifiers, including one National Champion. Reynolds Martin won the 2014 Novice Flat National Championship under the tutelage of Mitchell.
In his 13 years as the Big Red's mentor, he led many members to the regional and zone championships. His teams claimed 27 collegiate horse show team crowns, including four Ivy League titles. Mitchell led his team to a brand new level during the fall of 2011, guiding the group to six invitational titles in eight meets, already matching a school record for victories in a season (six show titles in 2003-04). Mitchell’s teams won a pair of shows (Skidmore, Hartwick) en route to a regional reserve champion showing in 2009-10. His 2010-11 team won its first-ever regular season regional championship after claiming four team blue ribbons during the season.
Mitchell had previously been an instructor and trainer at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y., and was the barn manager and trainer for Lion Hill Farm in Easton, Conn., from 1996-98. During that time, he also served as an equestrian instructor for Sacred Heart University and was an assistant coach and instructor at Pace University. He coached one of his riders to a national championship in walk-trot equitation at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competition and had other riders place among the top 10 nationally in the novice flat, novice fences, intermediate fences and open levels.
Mitchell was a member of the NCAA steering committee for equestrian and is also a member of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA), and a board member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). He is a graduate of Longwood University in Farmville, Va., with a degree in business administration and marketing.
