Albion College riders Phoebe Martin (on left) and Anna Huard (on right) are seen here with head coach Chris Mitchell at 2025 IHSA Nationals in Mill Spring, North Carolina on May 2, 2025. Mitchell received the IHSA's Lifetime Achievement Award later that day.

CHRIS MITCHELL IS THE 2025 IHSA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT

(Editor's Note: Because Campus Equestrian is nearly a one-person operation sometimes we intend to write something in a timely manner that is ultimately delayed for weeks or months or even in this case, close to a year.

Since 1993 the IHSA has awarded one of their board members the Lifetime Achievement Award. According to what is written in the IHSA Nationals programs each year the award recognizes those who have put in decades of service and dedication to collegiate equestrian sports. In early 2025 it became public knowledge that Chris Mitchell, at the time the hunter seat head coach at Albion College and the Region President of Zone 6, Region 1, would receive the annual award. Up to this point Campus Equestrian had not written an article on the annual Lifetime Achievement award-winner, other than to acknowledge the recipient during our story on IHSA Nationals when the award is given out.

But because Mitchell was chosen this writer felt compelled to write a full story that was separate from the Nationals story. The main reason for this is because of Mitchell's association with a particularly large number of schools over the past 43 years. And Mitchell is both a "behind the scenes" and "in front of the scenes" individual, with a good example of 'behind the scenes' as Chairperson for the IHSA Hall of Fame committee and 'in front of the scenes' as keeper of the in-gate at IHSA Nationals events. And he is an all-around caring person.

After the long delay - and yet another team for Mitchell - our story is finally here - Editor).

Mitchell (on left) coached Cornell University for over a decade. At the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions in Towson, Maryland on September 26, 2010 Emily Kowalchik of Cornell (center) was a winner in what would now be called the limit fences. On the right is Tournament series founder Jim Arrigon, who trained Emily Kowalchik and her sisters as they grew up. Emily Kowalchik is now a regular at many of the big shows.

This writer was elated when he heard that Chris Mitchell was to receive the IHSA's Lifetime Achievement Award at 2025 IHSA Nationals.

Mitchell is the 32nd recipient of the award (twice the award was given to two people in the same season while no one received the award on three occasions). To the best of this writer's knowledge Mitchell is only the ninth recipient who competed in the IHSA as an undergraduate, sharing that honor with Anne Brzezicki, C.J. Law, Jim Arrigon, Mary Drueding, Patte Zumbrun, Kelly Francfort, Megan Taylor and Bob Cacchione. But unlike those others Mitchell was a 'one man team' at Westchester Community College (now known as S.U.N.Y. - Westchester Community College which is located in Valhalla, New York). Mitchell knew the IHSA well before enrolling at Westchester CC as his mother Mary Jane Mitchell was already the head coach of Marymount College. Westchester previously had fielded a team but by the time Chris was graduating high school the team had shrunk to zero riders. Mitchell started the team back up and was 'the team' for the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons.

After graduation (which included receiving a four-year degree from a school in Virginia) Mitchell was involved with a number of riding facilities in the New York Metropolitan area including Lion Hill Farm, which was at one time the home of the Sacred Heart University equestrian team. Mitchell was involved with Sacred Heart when they were getting started in the IHSA 35 years ago.

In either 1999 or 2000 he became the head coach of the Cornell University Equestrian team. Around this time Mitchell married the former Martha Froehlich, who herself competed in the IHSA for a school then known as Centenary College (is Mitchell the only Lifetime Achievement award winner to marry an IHSA rider?). With Cornell in the same region with Skidmore College through mid-2010 Mitchell was reserve high point team in Zone 2, Region 3 on nearly an annual basis. When finally separated from Skidmore, Mitchell won a pair of Region Titles with the Big Red.

Mitchell coached Randolph College for seven seasons before the school dropped their riding program. As was the case at Cornell Mitchell won multiple Region Titles. In this photo taken May 3, 2019 at IHSA Nationals in Syracuse, New York, Mitchell watches Randolph rider Kirby Tidmore on course in the over fences phase of the Cacchione Cup. Tidmore, who was the last Randolph rider to compete prior to the end of the program, went on to place sixth in the Cacchione.

In 2012 Mitchell became head coach at Randolph College in Virginia (a school previously known as Randolph-Macon Woman's College). Now in the highly-competitive Zone 4, Region 2 alongside the likes of Hollins, Bridgewater College, the University of Virginia and for a time Sweet Briar College, Mitchell led Randolph to their first Region Title since 1999 when the Wildcats came out on top in 2017. In the spring of 2018 Randolph College surprised many by announcing they would drop riding at the end of the following season. Despite this setback Mitchell was still able to guide the Wildcats to another two Region Titles under difficult circumstances.

Mitchell was then seen helping Washignton & Lee University at shows (another Zone 4, Region 2 school). In the Spring of 2022 Washington & Lee won their first-ever Region Title.

In 2023 Mitchell became hunter seat head coach at Albion College (whose hunter seat team moved from Zone 6, Region 4 to Zone 6, Region 1 at that time). Mitchell immediately had the Britons close behind annual region champion University of Findlay and frequent runner-up Lake Erie College, occasionally winning shows over both. It was during Mitchell's second season at Albion that the IHSA selected him as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Mitchell was recognized for this during the first day of 2025 Nationals.

Chris Mitchell is a second-generation head coach as his mother Mary Jane Mitchell (on right) coached Marymount College for better than two decades into the early 2000's. They are seen here near the in-gate during 2015 IHSA Nationals in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Chris Mitchell has manned the in-gate for hunter seat classes and the occasional western class at IHSA Nationals for perhaps two decades, during which he receives information over his headset from multiple walkie-talkies around the arena.

Not long after Nationals another opportunity presented itself. Gordon Reistrup, the longtime head coach at Washington & Lee decided to retire. With Mitchell and his family still living near Randolph College it seemed like a natural fit to take the reins from Reistrup and become the General's head coach. As this story goes to the virtual presses, Mitchell had guided the Generals to high point team honors at a Hollins-hosted show on February 21, 2025 the day before. How many head coaches in IHSA history have four high point team ribbons with four different schools?

And our story would not be complete without a comment from another Lifetime Achievement award winner. Jim Arrigon, who in 2005 received the award for his efforts at Miami University of Ohio, had a humorous story to tell about one time when Mitchell worked with Arrigon during one of Arrigon's Equestrian Talent Search clinics during the Randolph years.

"When Chris first went down to Randolph College, I did an ETS Boot Camp there in August or September... I can't remember, but it was HOT!," said Arrigon. "Chris's offices had no air conditioning. They had air conditioners, but they didn't work. They just hung in the windows, taunting us with their presence. Anyway Chris said he couldn't get the money from the college to replace the air conditioners. At the end of the weekend, when I usually write a check to the college for the horse usage, I wrote him a partial check, then went out to my truck and brought in two new air conditioners that I had bought at Lowes the previous night. I literally paid him in AC's! Chris was all nervous that he would get in trouble for it."

--Steve Maxwell