Amanda Brightwell

Position:
Horsemanship
Height:
5-7
Class:
Junior
High School:
Alamo Heights
Hometown:
San Antonio, Texas

2011-12 (JUNIOR)
Earned honorable mention All-America status in horsemanship from the NCEA after an impressive junior campaign … also named to the inaugural All-Big 12 team … went 10-4-2 with two MVPs, averaging 73.3 points per ride … unbeaten over a four-month span, going 6-0-2 from mid-October through early March … recorded the team’s second-highest score of the season, a 77.5, on two occasions—both coming against Oklahoma State … total was also a career high … defeated OSU’s Marissa Dalton 77.5-77 in Stillwater (2/25) to earn her second career MVP … performance earned her Big 12 Rider of the Month honors in horsemanship … also picked up an MVP in her next ride, a 74.5-point showing in a victory over K-State’s Amelia Crites (3/2) … earned two wins at NCEAs, helping the western team to its fourth straight national title … defeated Fresno State’s Christa Beezley (4/12) in the quarterfinals 145.5-140.5 … downed South Carolina All-American Maggie Fortune (4/13) in the semis, 148-146 … success carried into the classroom as well … was a first-team NCEA Academic All-America and first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree ... named a Texas A&M Athletics Scholar Award winner.

2010-11 (SOPHOMORE)
Named the western team’s Rookie of the Year after transferring from UC San Diego ... totaled an 8-3-1 record in horsemanship ... scoring average of 73.81 was third-highest on the western team ... first career MVP came in the Big 12 semifinals against Kansas State (4/1) after a 152-point ride ... picked up three postseason wins, including a 152.5-150.5 defeat of Georgia’s Katelyn Van Allen (4/15) in the Varsity Equestrian National Championship semifinals ... won five of last six rides to end regular season ... season-high score was 76 in a two-point win over Baylor’s Meghan Murphy (2/12) ... named a Texas A&M Athletics Scholar Award winner.

2009-10 (UC SAN DIEGO)
Rode one season on the UC San Diego club equestrian team, which competes under the IHSA umbrella ... was the Tritons’ regional high-point rider.

PERSONAL
Amanda Ruth Brightwell is the daughter of Charles and Andrea Brightwell of San Antonio ... born April 4, 1990 in Albuquerque, New Mexico ... has an older brother, Cory, and an older sister, Brett ... majoring in Spanish while pursuing a minor in biology ... a 2008 graduate of Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio ... has been riding 15 years, mostly all-around ... trainer is Brad Jewett ... placed eighth in her division at the 2008 AQHYA World Show and sixth in 2009 ... a four-year letterwinner in softball, was an all-district and all-city selection for Alamo Heights ... a success in the classroom as well, was a National Merit Scholar and a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society.