DANBURY, Conn. – For the third time in the last four years, University of Tennessee at Martin head equestrian coach Kim Leiter has been named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
The award was announced at the conclusion of the 2024 ECAC Championships, which were held in Rancho Murieta, Calif. on March 25-27. The Skyhawks picked up their fourth consecutive ECAC reserve championship at the event after earning the No. 1 seed in the tournament for the second straight year.
Leiter, a Janesville, Wis. native who also won this award in 2021 and 2023, has presided over a 2023-24 UT Martin squad that has been ranked in each of the 18 National Collegiate Equestrian Association polls. The Skyhawks reached as high as No. 8 – ranking that high for the first time since March 27, 2018 – and stayed in that slot for the final five editions of rankings in the regular season.
UT Martin also produced a school-record six All-ECAC honorees and three ECAC All-Tournament recipients in 2023-24, including major award winners Emma Schaefer (ECAC Reining Rider of the Year), Kate Mills (ECAC Fences Freshman of the Year) and Sydney Hott (ECAC Championship Fences MOP).
In addition, a dozen different Skyhawks accounted for 27 combined ECAC Rider of the Week or Rider of the Month awards this season. UT Martin’s Frappe also garnered national attention with a NCEA Horse of the Month honor on March 21.
Facing a stacked schedule that included 10 nationally ranked opponents, the Skyhawks went 6-8 overall with a 4-1 mark in ECAC competition in Leiter’s fourth season at the helm of the UT Martin equestrian program.
