When the equestrian competitions kick off at the 2024 Olympic Games at the Château de Versailles this Saturday, Transylvania graduate Hallye Griffin will be right there guiding Team USA. A 2008 alum and political science major, Griffin was appointed as the director of FEI Sport for the United States Equestrian Federation in March 2023. In that role, she serves as the Chef de Mission – essentially the head coach and manager – of the national equestrian team.
Recently, Griffin interviewed with Horse Illustrated magazine to talk about taking on the role.
According to Griffin, she started in equestrian sport while growing up in Lexington.
“I came from an eventing background. I was fortunate that when the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games came to Lexington, Ky., I worked as a competition department assistant. That was really eye-opening to me, to where the horse sport world could take me and my career. After the 2020 World Equestrian Games, I found myself at U.S. Equestrian,” Griffin told the magazine.
Griffin’s time at Transylvania was before the university’s eventing team started. Now, student athletes and their horses are part of Transy’s athletics program. Today’s Transylvania University Eventing Team redefines the varsity sport by offering students the freedom of independent training while fostering a tight-knit community — both on campus and at competitions.
Feature photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian Federation.