Baylor Equestrian Completes Coaching Staff
WACO, Texas – Baylor Equestrian has announced the addition of three new members of its coaching staff for the 2024-25 season, including assistant coaches Grace Boston and Bobbie Piddock, and Director of Operations Leah Ely.
“We are thrilled to welcome these three into the Baylor Family,” Head Coach Casie Maxwell said. “Grace, Bobbie and Leah are going to be great additions to our program. They each bring a passion and love for our sport and will be able to immediately step in and impact our wonderful student-athletes.”
Boston will serve as the assistant coach for Jumping Seat, Piddock will serve as the assistant coach for Western and Ely will head up logistics for the program as the Director of Operations.
A four-year starter for Texas A&M, Boston is poised to begin a coaching journey following a decorated career for the Aggies. Native of Lutherville, Md., Boston was named All-Southeastern Conference in Fences from 2018-20 and was named Texas A&M’s Most Outstanding Performer in 2019 and 2020. She was also honored in 2022 as an SEC Rider of the Month.
“I am very excited to welcome Grace Boston to Waco as she starts her coaching journey,” Maxwell. “Grace’s twin sister was a student-athlete for us and we are thrilled to have the Boston family back as part of our program. Grace brings great passion for coaching and recruiting, and we look forward to helping her develop as she starts her coaching career.”
Boston comes to the Bears after serving as a barn manager and show groom in Ocala, Fla., at the World Equestrian Center. She previously worked as the barn manager and assistant trainer at Fox Farms in Wimberly, Texas. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in sports management from Texas A&M in 2022 and was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll in 2018.
“I am very excited to join Baylor Equestrian as an assistant coach and am eager to make a positive contribution to the team, said Boston. “It is an honor to work with Coach Maxwell, Coach Bridges, and Coach Weisinger who are so talented and respected in our sport. I look forward to sharing my passion for equestrian to help our student-athletes achieve their personal bests in and out of the arena. It is my privilege to join Baylor and this team as we continue to build on the success of this program.”
Piddock joins the Bears after serving as the assistant coach for Western at South Carolina for the last two years where she coached the Horsemanship and Reining disciplines for the program. She was charged with leading the Gamecocks’ recruiting efforts and coordinated all Western Collegiate summer camps.
“I am so excited to round out our coaching staff with the addition of Bobbie Piddock who will serve in our fifth coaching position,” Maxwell said. “We are so grateful to have the opportunity to expand our coaching staff so that we all have the ability to pour into our student-athletes more. Bobbie brings great coaching experience with her and will work alongside Coach Weisinger and I in the arena. She will also have the added title of Player Personnel Coordinator with which she will be tasked with enhancing opportunities for both current student-athletes and prospects.’
Piddock joined the staff in Columbia, S.C., following a season on the staff as an assistant coach at UC Davis, where she worked specifically with horsemanship and reining events. She also served as the volunteer assistant coach at UC Davis in 2021, where she worked with UC Davis head coach Jessie Weisinger.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Davis and her master’s degree in sports administration from Arkansas State in 2021. She was a team captain at UC Davis in 2019-20 after transferring from UT Martin. She was named an Eastern Collegiate Athletics Conference Horsemanship Rider of the Month in her student-athlete career and earned academic honors from the ECAC and the National Collegiate Equestrian Association. She sports a UC Davis record horsemanship score.
“I am honored to work alongside a coaching staff who have a profound commitment to NCAA Equestrian and all of the encompassing factors involved within it,” said Piddock. “Through my experience coaching the sport, I have developed a strong and consistent passion for player development, and I cannot wait to bring that passion to a great organization. "The horse is equipped for the day of battle, but victory is the Lord's" (Proverbs 21:31).”
Ely joins the Baylor staff after serving as an assistant coach at The University of Findlay (Ohio) for the last three seasons, where she also serves as the Animal Sciences Student Success Coordinator since May of 2023. She has also served as an assistant coach with KM Equestrian IEA, a team that won the national championships at the middle school level.
“I am thrilled to welcome Leah Ely to our staff,” Maxwell said. “Leah brings a wealth of administrative and coaching experience with her and I know she will serve as a huge asset to our program. Through her interviews she demonstrated a passion for helping student-athletes have a excellent collegiate experience and we are excited to welcome her ideas to our staff. I look forward to working alongside her and helping her grow in this new role.”
Ely owns a bachelor’s from The University of Findlay, with focuses on animal science, equestrian studies, and equine business management. She is a two-time reserve national champion in the Western IHSA.
“I’m so excited to be joining the staff at Baylor,” Ely said. “I’m so grateful to serve a wonderful program to the best of my ability and incredibly thankful to Casie for the opportunity. I’m ready to get to Waco and get going at serving our great student-athletes.”