United States Eventing Association

Isabel McSwain knew that the University of Kentucky was for her the first time she attended the Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“I went to what was then Rolex at the time and absolutely fell in love with eventing and Lexington,” she recalled. She went home, pulled her retired Saddleseat horse out of the pasture, started eventing, and set her sights on attending UK after graduating high school.

“There were no questions about it—I knew I loved Lexington, and they had an eventing team, so it was perfect.”

She got involved with the UK Eventing Team her freshman year and even brought her Saddlebred with her to school, but early on in her college years, he tore his meniscus and had to be retired.

“I got super short on competing,” she said, “but the beautiful thing with the intercollegiate program and the team at UK in general is that it didn't really stop my experience whatsoever. I would still go to every single team event and to championships and be a part of the social aspects of the team.”

McSwain, who had some experience in photography from her high school days, decided to major in integrated strategic communication and see where life took her. Like most 18-year-olds, she wasn’t quite sure what career path she wanted to follow, but she was hopeful she could find a way to incorporate horses into her work somehow. And then fate introduced her to Taylor Pence.

“I was 18 when I linked up with Taylor Pence [of Incanto Sports], and I helped her with a few horse shows, and she became a mentor to me,” said McSwain. “It was around my junior year when I decided I wanted to take a bigger role on the team, so I ran for the social media chair position and got it. As soon as I started that role, I realized that this could be a really good pathway for me.”

With some guidance from Pence, McSwain began immersing herself in social media and taught herself video production so she could dive headfirst into promoting the team through Instagram Reels and TikTok. After a good year of producing content for the team, the opportunity of a lifetime came knocking at her door. Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), the organization that puts on the Kentucky Three-Day Event, reached out and asked McSwain if she could manage a new TikTok account for the legendary five-star competition.

“That opportunity came through a team recommendation as well,” she said. “If I had never run for that social media chair position, that would have never come around.”

She freelanced for EEI for a couple of years while balancing school and the team. During her senior year, she took on an internship position with Pence’s company, Incanto Sports.

“It was crazy—within the first two months of working with her, I was on a plane to Luhmühlen. It was right after that trip that I knew this was for sure what I wanted to do for a living.”

She joined the Incanto family immediately after graduation and now works as a Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager full-time, representing major equestrian athletes and brands within the equine space. Her love of Lexington kept her in the Bluegrass, but she travels a lot throughout the year and often spends her winters in Wellington working for the season.

“I’m on the road a lot,” she said, “and it's a lot of running around like crazy for long hours, but it’s one of those things where, when you are finishing up your work at a five-star really late at night, you still never feel sick of it because you’re running off adrenaline and passion—it’s just incredible.”

One of the major client accounts she works on is for Olympian Boyd Martin, who has become a fan favorite online for his often hilarious—but also serious—social media content. McSwain is proud to have had a hand in many of the major pieces on his channels.

“I edited Boyd’s world number one video that came out, and that has to be one of my favorite videos of all time—that and the tribute to Annie video before Paris,” she said. “But I also get to work on a lot of funny projects, like I edited his house tour video before the U.S. Equestrian Open, which was a lot of fun.”

She’s been to almost all of the big competitions across the globe, capturing content for her assigned clients—from Aachen to Badminton to Burghley. She can’t pick a favorite, though.

“All of it—it really is just a dream come true.”

A dream that she feels strongly was made possible thanks to her time as the social media chair for the UK Eventing Team.

“I always knew I was going to come to UK, and I did come here a little bit because of the eventing team,” she shared. “I did a lot of touring around schools in Georgia, since I am from there, but nothing felt right whatsoever. The UK truly felt right for me, and I am so glad I went there because had it not been for the team, there is no way I would have the job I have now.”

She encourages anyone considering selecting a school with an intercollegiate eventing team to reach out and make sure it’s the right fit for them.

“Interact with the team on socials; see what the vibes are and how the team interacts, because every team is different,” she said. “Decide if you want a smaller school or a bigger school based off what will feel more comfortable for you. UK is obviously pretty massive—and I know Auburn and Georgia are now too—but there are also a lot of smaller schools that have fantastic eventing teams, like Randolph-Macon. I was always so impressed with Randolph-Macon. You really just have to find out where you feel most at home when picking a school. I never did a sorority or anything like that—I just did the eventing team, and that is where I made all of my friends.”

And for those interested in a career in social media, especially in a niche space like the equestrian one, McSwain said it’s all about putting your work out there and making connections.

“I’ve been so lucky since I’ve been 18—I don’t know where I would be without Taylor as my mentor,” she noted. “But everyone in the industry is super willing to help. Find someone and just learn from them. Immerse yourself—no, throw yourself in—and make those connections. That really goes a long way.”

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. Many events across the country offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually or in teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty, and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship is a capstone event for the program, which is held annually in the spring. The 2026 USEA Intercollegiate & IEL Championships will be held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, on May 15-17. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, PulseVet, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, World Equestrian Brands and Young Rider Magazine for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.