Garland Hughes rode for the CofC equestrian team from 1988-92 and competed at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship for four-straight years. In 1990, he won the team Walk, Trot and Canter Class and led the Cougars to a fifth-place finish. The following year, Hughes won the Novice Equitation over Fences and led the Cougars to the IHSA Reserve National Championship, their second in three years. He finished his career with a third-place finish in the Intermediate Flats to lead the Cougars to sixth at nationals. Hughes graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and is the founder and owner of The Carolina Group, a highly-successful real estate development group based in Charlotte, N.C.