Madeline Jordan: bound for Baylor Equestrian

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Madeline Jordan, a senior honor student at Aucilla Christian Academy (ACA), has signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Baylor University and compete with the Baylor Equestrian Team. She has been offered both academic and athletic scholarships.
Addressing the assembly of classmates at the signing ceremony in the ACA auditorium on Nov. 10, Madeline thanked God and her parents, Monica and Grady Jordan, for the opportunity she is being given.
“My parents have been with me since day one, literally,” she said. “They have really showed me throughout my life the true meaning of dedication, hard work and most importantly love. They have been there with me through the earliest mornings at horse shows, through the latest nights at horse shows, and I could not be more grateful for all the opportunities that they have provided for me.”
ACA Principal Richard Finlayson closed the ceremony saying, “Congratulations, Maddie! God has given you great opportunities and great skills, and we are so proud of the fact that you have used those gifts to do your very best for him. So keep that up at Baylor. You're going to make a great impact there, from an equestrian perspective but also for Him. We are so proud of your dedication and commitment.”
In an interview after the ceremony, Grady Jordan commented, “I think this is a fantastic day. Maddie has worked extremely hard. Her mother has worked extremely hard. As a family it's been a lot of long roads and travel, and again, early mornings, late nights, but at the end of the day, this is where we want her to be: in school and going to a great university.”
“We are so proud of her!” added Monica Jordan.
The Jordans visited the Baylor campus last Fall, and Madeline found it all very nice — the town, the girls on the equestrian team, the coaches and Baylor's live bear mascot. The family felt very welcomed, comfortable and reassured that it would be the right place for Madeline. When she becomes a freshman this Fall, Madeline will bring substantial horseback riding skills and experience with her to a Division 1 equestrian team currently ranked 3rd nationally.
After receiving her first pony at the age of five, Madeline rose up the competition ranks and was competing at the national level by the age of nine. She was named the 2017 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Pony Finals Champion and Owner/Rider Champion. In 2018, she was awarded the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Zone 4 12-17 Equitation Championship and was silver medalist in the USHJA Children's Hunter Team Challenge. In 2019, she was awarded the USHJA Zone 4 Horse of the Year and recognized for having the highest non-professional scores in Hunter Derbies. The year 2020 brought accolades for the Platinum Performance Hunter Prize, Zone 4 Finals Handy Hunter Challenge, Zone 4 Finals Large Junior Hunter Champion and twice being named Best Junior Rider on a Horse. This year she placed 13th in the World Equestrian Center $100,000 Equitation Premier Championship, placed 3rd in the World Equestrian Center $75,000 Hunter Derby and won the USHJA Zone 4 Handy Hunter Challenge.
In addition to her English jumping performances in the show ring, Madeline has maintained a 3.7 unweighted GPA at school and was recognized for her volunteer work by the South Winds Dressage Eventing Association. She has been featured in several magazines and named one of the top 100 women in the South in the book Southern Women: Stories of Innovators, Artists and Icons
When Madeline starts at Baylor, the horses she has been riding will have to be sold. It will be one of many adjustments she'll face as she goes away to college in Waco, Texas.
“We will ride the team horses,” she explained. “It's going to be sad [to sell my horses], but it's going to be good to see them do the same thing they did with me and help other kids accomplish their dreams too.”
Understandably, Madeline is “super excited” to be joining Baylor's Equestrian Team. She is looking forward to joining in on all that involves: the training, the practices and, of course, the competitions.