Baylor EQ: Get to Know Loretta-Jean Devening

[Ingram, Brent]

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Aug. 5, 2024

EQ: Get to Know Loretta-Jean Devening
Get to Know Baylor’s Equestrian Student-Athletes

For more information contact: Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651, brent_ingram at baylor.edu<mailto:brent_ingram at baylor.edu>



Editor’s Note: This is the 10th part of a Summer series allowing the Baylor fans to get to know some of the elite student-athletes from the equestrian team on BaylorBears.com.



A native of Dallas, Texas, Loretta-Jean Devening graduated from Laurel Springs School before venturing to Waco. She had a decorated prep career that included an 11th place finish at the Junior Hunter Finals East Coast and top-two finishes at NCEA, NHS, Jumping Seat Medal in 2022.



At what age did you begin competing in equestrian events?

Loretta-Jean Devening: I first began competing when I was 7 years old



Why did you start competing in equestrian / under what circumstances did you begin?

L-JD: I’m a very competitive person and always have been. After about a year of riding, someone told me that I was ready to enter a show and well that was music to my ears. I loved this sport so much it was always on my mind and literally the only thing I could think about all day everyday so getting to use my love for the sport and competitiveness was a huge excitement … even though it was on a barley broke mustang pony I had a blast.



What is your earliest memory of riding?

L-JD: Just feeling so at peace when I was around the horses. Like nothing else in the world mattered. Everything was quiet.



Who is your inspiration in sports and why?

L-JD: Mario Soto. He is a sports psychologist who I owe a large amount of my success to. Mario absolutely changed my life. He helped me understand my sport and the pressure of competing at such a high level. Mario gave me a better perspective on life and mentored me through some of the most monumental moments in my career. Mario made me into a better human and a better rider.



Who is a current/former collegiate or professional athlete whom you admire and why?

L-JD: My Trainers Courtney and Scott Lenkart are professional riders with accolades too long for me to list. Not only have they trained me to where I am today but they are the best possible examples of great horsemen. Beyond their athletic ability, they demonstrate integrity and discipline better than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. I look up to them so much because although they have big names in this industry, everything they do revolves around the well-being of the horse, which is how it should be. Furthermore, I’ve spent more time with Scott and Courtney than I have my own parents in the past four years. Being on the circuit and showing, I was not home a lot and Scott and Courtney helped raise me into the person I am today. They instilled values in me like hard work, truth and a drive to be the best. I am so lucky to know them and hope to carry on a similar level of professionalism in my career one day.



What are your strengths in your discipline? What are the areas you are currently trying to work on the most?

L-JD: I’d say my strengths in my discipline is probably my ability to ride so many different types of horses. Throughout my career, I never really had my own singular horse. I would always rotate and ride any horse available to me at the time when I was younger. I am very comfortable switching onto any horse and feel confident in my abilities to put in a good round or pattern on a horse I don’t know. I feel like no matter how good you get in the sport there is always something you have to work on and this sport will always keep you humble. Right now, something I’m trying to work on the most, is my position in the flat box. Although I have a nice position, I need to get stronger without my stirrups on lazier horses. I think I grew a lot after my freshman year and hope to continue to improve throughout my time at Baylor.



Why did you decide to attend Baylor?

L-JD: I feel like I could go on and on about this question forever. Why did I choose Baylor? Well, who wouldn’t choose Baylor. Although I don’t know that I necessarily did choose it but Baylor chose me. From the second I stepped on campus. I felt a tug on my heart, and I know that is such a cliché thing to say, but it is genuinely the truth and I don’t have another way to describe it. I had such real talks with the coaches and the girls here on the team. All seems so genuine and kind. The organization of the barn was top-tier in the horse care as well, which is something that is very important to me. It was interesting because Baylor was not necessarily even on my radar before I went to visit. But the second I stepped foot on campus that day I knew that was the only place I wanted to be. Besides just how much I instantly loved the equestrian team, the Christian culture at Baylor is something that drew me in completely. The way you can feel God‘s presence on campus is something special and honestly, I have a really hard time describing what it is like to be surrounded with like-minded people who are working to grow in their faith and serve their community as Christians. The academics at Baylor speak for themselves, but its academic programs played a huge role in the reasons I came to Baylor. Now this might be a silly reason but a lot of the buildings reminded me of Harry Potter and well that is simply the most magical movie series ever and one of my favorites so it really just felt like home. Like I said, I don’t think I really chose Baylor. It wasn’t even on my radar but Baylor chose me the second I stepped on campus in Waco. I knew this is where I was supposed to be.



Have there been any big obstacles that you have had to overcome in your life? How did you overcome them and how did that experience help shape you?

L-JD: Unfortunately, I have had a lot of big obstacles to overcome in my life although looking back on them I would not be the person I am without any of the struggles I’ve gone through. I have one that specifically stick out to me. I was 17 and in the process of college recruitment, trying to qualify for nationals and world championships as well as medal finals across the United States. I got a really bad riding accident and fractured my spine. I also tore every muscle from L4 to my sacrum. This was in the middle of my competition season and I still needed many points to qualify for the nationals (competition) that I wanted to compete in at the end of the year. This accident happened at a horse show and earlier that day I had competed in a class I had been working towards my whole life, the WCHR, junior classic down in Wellington, Florida. If I remember correctly, there were about 70 riders competing and the top 12 from the first round get called back to compete for a second round. I had a very good first round and got a nice score but like I said there were 70 riders and so I was not sure if I would make it to the second round. In between the first and the second round, I went to show another horse where the accident happened. I just found out that I qualified to come back for the second round on my personal horse who I showed earlier before I went in the ring and had the accident on the other horse. Although I was not conscious for a little bit, and the medics recommended I go to the hospital. I was not about to let a dream I had been chasing my whole life down the drain when it was sitting right in front of me. Looking back on this to this day, I’m still not really sure how I did this because of how much pain I was in. I think it must have been the amount of adrenaline I was experiencing, I got a jump, and although it hurt too much to fully sit in the saddle, I have seated around the ring in the second round of the junior classic to an even higher score that I got in my first round and ended up overall after I returned home to find out my diagnosis and was told to take at least four months off. I had another show in two weeks.



I laid in my bed for those two weeks and contemplated a lot. The pain I was in will affect my riding and the fact that if I don’t show at all in the next four months. I certainly will not make it to nationals or finals I wanted to go to impact likely of getting recruited. Despite the amount of pain, I was in I put on a back brace and hobbled to my horses when it was time to get on. I iced my back before and after I rode and immediately go back to laying down the second I got off. I went to college recruiting and I went to nationals and WR finals, although this might not have been the best decision for my body, it was the decision I knew I had to make for my career. Finally after about a year, I stopped feeling as much pain. This experience shaped me because I truly learned what grit meant and now I live by that word. It showed me how much you can truly do when you really want something and whenever I’m struggling, I look back and remember how much genuine pain I was in while I continued to push through and compete in some of the most prestigious events in our sport and always gives me hope that I can continue to persevere and do anything.



What do you enjoy doing outside of equestrian and school?

L-JD: I’m a super adventurous person. Outside of school and riding I spend a lot of time training in cirque du Soleil. I do the flying trapeze and aerial silks. It is something I’ve loved for a really long time and just like riding, is a huge adrenaline rush. I love going to the gym, hiking, fishing, hunting and spending time with any types of animal. I also love hanging out with my siblings and my parents and grandma. But I always have to be busy, whether that’s going on adventures with friends, skiing, playing tennis or just running around with some livestock, I just hate sitting still.



Do you have any pets? What are their names and what role do they play in your life?

L-JD: Oh gosh, I have so many pets. They all play so roles in my life. I have three great Danes Phoebe, Boris and Dixie. They are basically just like little horses. I also have a cat that I got my freshman year of college. I was not planning on getting a pet but he was a stray that I found and I planned on just finding him a new home but I absolutely fell in love with him and he is probably one of the best things that has happened to me. I named him ‘toothless’ just like the dragon from How to Train Your Dragon, because he looks just like him with the green eyes and black hair. Also have two horses that I own and although they are competition horses, I still consider them my pets their names are Metro and Quintino!. My pets always put a smile on my face, and I can count on them to bring joy to any day.



What is something most people might not know about you?

L-JD: I think something a lot of people don’t know about me is that I do flying trapeze in the circus. And I am also a twin. I have a twin brother who is like my best friend!



What would you most like to be known for as a Baylor student-athlete?

L-JD: As a Baylor student athlete, I would like to be known for my work ethic, determination, kindness, ability to spread the gospel and share the word of God. My genuineness, kindness of heart, and athletic and academic ability that Baylor prides itself on.



What advice would you give to a young girl who would like to one day be in your shoes?

L-JD: I love this question because I was this girl once and I wish someone could’ve told me that it will all be OK. I promise we don’t all start out with the nicest horses or the ability to go to the nicest shows and compete at the highest level but that’s what makes you who you are. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do something and if they do, prove them wrong. You are capable of everything you wish for and more, especially if you genuinely believe it in your heart. Riding is a privilege and these animals should be treated like our best friends. We are so lucky to have them. When days get hard remember why you chose the sport and go back to the little girl who once fell in love with horses, simply by the utter amusement of their beauty and grace. Work hard, enjoy the blood, sweat and tears, and the nerves. The early mornings and the late nights because I promise you, you will miss them. There is no background or upbringing that limits your ability to become something great.



- BaylorBears.com -




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Brent Ingram | Associate AD for Communications
Men’s Tennis Sport Program Administrator
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

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