Pony Club Podcast United States Pony Clubs, Inc.

Pony Club Podcast cohosts Sarah Evers Conrad and Megan Scharfenberg talk to Heather Bell, a longtime A-certified member in Eventing and volunteer, who is also helping on the Sierra Pacific Region's Local Organizing Committee to host the 2024 USPC Convention, Presented by Via Nova Training and Sponsored by Lincoln Memorial University. She shares a sneak peek all about the convention and she also tells us about her really interesting career...so tune in to learn more. This month's episode is supported by Kentucky Equine Research, who is also the sponsor of the hands-on Horse Management Room and a supporting sponsor of the Research Project Fair at the 2024 USPC Convention.

You can enter the Horse/Human Bond Art Contest here: blog.ponyclub.org/the-horse-human-bond-art-contest/

Guest, Heather Bell: Heather Bell says she feels very lucky to have found Pony Club, where she grew as a rider, going up through the Eventing track to her A. With her A, she was able to move straight into the horse industry as the Director of Riding at the University of Massachusetts Equine Studies Program at the age of 23. Although she changed careers, she found that what she learned in Pony Club—organization, teamwork, confidence, and how to tie a stock tie—all came in handy in her professional life as an endangered species biologist.  When she found that she could give back to Pony Club by becoming a National Examiner, she jumped at the opportunity.  She finds it very rewarding to help an organization she is passionate about, and she finds that she is energized in her own riding and horsemanship by staying connected to Pony Club. Now, Heather is a participating member of the Gold Country Pony Club in the Sierra Pacific Region, and also a Life member.

Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner.
Learn more about the United States Pony Clubs at www.ponyclub.org Email podcast hosts at communications@ponyclub.org Inquire about advertising at fundraising@ponyclub.org Read the blog at blog.ponyclub.org. Sign up for our e-newsletter. Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner. Follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/USPonyClubs Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedstatesponyclubs YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/UnitedStatesPonyClubs TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@unitedstatesponyclubs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ponyclub ...

Pony Club Podcast cohosts Sarah Evers Conrad and Megan Scharfenberg interview the District Commissioner of Bluegrass Pony Club, Holly Wiemers, and Center Administrator for Brook Hill Farm Pony Club Riding Center Jo Anne Miller. This month's episode is supported by Kentucky Equine Research.

Guest, Holly Wiemers: Holly Wiemers is the District Commissioner, or DC, of Bluegrass Pony Club, one of several clubs in the Central Bluegrass area of Kentucky. She’s held the DC role for almost seven years. Before that, she served the club as secretary. She has a daughter, 16, who joined when she was 6 and is now an H-B and a C-2 in Eventing, and a son, 13, who was 4 when he joined Pony Club and who is now a D-2. She, along with her husband, also plan and implement the Midsouth Region’s annual Tetrathlon rally each fall. She has worked for the University of Kentucky for the past 17 years, heading up marketing, communications, and public relations efforts for UK Ag Equine Programs.

Guest, Jo Anne Miller: Jo Anne Miller is the Executive Director of Brook Hill Farm, a fully accredited horse rescue and therapeutic riding center. Brook Hill Farm is a United States Pony Clubs Riding Center that works with rescue horses in all of the programs, and Jo Anne serves as Center Administrator.  She is a retired professor of Equine Science at Randolph College, and her passion is looking at the wellbeing of horses through science.  She has been the co-chair of the PATH Equine Welfare Committee, and she is currently the chair of the EQUUS Foundation’s Equine Welfare Advisory Group, serves on the Equine Welfare Committee for Horses in Education and Therapy International, is on the wellbeing committee for the Horses and Humans Research Foundation, and on the Virginia Horse Council. 
Learn more about the United States Pony Clubs at www.ponyclub.org Email podcast hosts at communications@ponyclub.org Inquire about advertising at fundraising@ponyclub.org Read the blog at blog.ponyclub.org. Sign up for our e-newsletter. Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner. Follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/USPonyClubs Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedstatesponyclubs YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/UnitedStatesPonyClubs TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@unitedstatesponyclubs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ponyclub ...

Pony Club Podcast cohosts Sarah Evers Conrad and Megan Scharfenberg interview Nikki Gorrell, Pony Club dedicated volunteer and mounted games secretary at USPC Championships, and USPC’s Activities Department staff with Activities and Events Director Erin Roland and Gillian Stover, USPC’s Activities and Events Coordinator. This month's episode is supported by Kentucky Equine Research.

Guest, Nikki Gorrell: Nikki Gorrell is a C-1 Eventing Pony Club graduate from Elkridge-Harford Hunt Pony Club in the Maryland Region. Her dad was a B-level graduate, her aunt an A-level graduate, and her sister was an H-B graduate. Coming from a Pony Club family, Nikki knew she wanted to continue to volunteer despite taking a step back for college and her career. Starting in 2019, Nikki began volunteering on the national level for Mounted Games. Now she is a member of the Competitions Committee as a Mounted Games and Eventing representative. After moving to the Midwest Region, Nikki is getting involved on the regional level and looking forward to starting her mounted career again.

Guest, Erin Roland: Erin Roland is the Activities and Events Director for the United States Pony Clubs. She joined USPC in 2017 as an intern for both the Activities Department and then the Marketing Department before being hired full-time in February 2018 as the Activities and Events Coordinator. In March of 2023, she was named the new Activities and Events Director.

Guest, Gillian Stover: USPC Activities & Events Coordinator, Gillian Stover, is a Lexington, Kentucky native and lifelong horsewoman. Gillian is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky and enjoys eventing on her off-track Thoroughbreds. 
Learn more about the United States Pony Clubs at www.ponyclub.org Email podcast hosts at communications@ponyclub.org Inquire about advertising at fundraising@ponyclub.org Read the blog at blog.ponyclub.org. Sign up for our e-newsletter. Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner. Follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/USPonyClubs Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedstatesponyclubs YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/UnitedStatesPonyClubs TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@unitedstatesponyclubs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ponyclub ...

Pony Club Podcast cohosts Sarah Evers Conrad and Megan Scharfenberg interview Annie Rogers, a Pony Club graduate with a special love of Tetrathlon, and Tori and Magda Lubov, a mother/daughter Instagramming Duo. This month's episode is brought to you by Stoneleigh-Burnham School and supported by Kentucky Equine Research.

Guest, Annie Rogers: Annie Rogers has earned her H-A in Horse Management and her B in Eventing. She is a graduate of Radnor Hunt Pony Club in the Eastern Pennsylvania Region. A recent graduate of Cornell University, she studied Information Science with a concentration in Data Science. While active in Pony Club in high school, she was involved in Tetrathlon and Eventing. After moving away for college, she tried out polo as a way of continuing to ride and spend time with horses. She spent four years on Cornell's women's polo team and was able to travel for tournaments and the Division I National Championships by her senior year. Outside of academics and polo, Annie conducted cyber policy and artificial intelligence research, ran a Model UN Conference for high school students, and was an active member of her sorority. In true Pony Club fashion, though, she spent most of her free time helping teach polo, riding, and horse management to Cornell's first-year polo team. She will be moving to New York City in the fall to begin a full-time job in tech consulting.

Guest, Tori and Magda Lubov: As a D-3 certified Pony Club member in Eventing, Tori Lubov has dabbled in many disciplines, but jumping has always been the biggest passion for her. She is a member of the Mercer Meadows Pony Club in the New Jersey Region. This 12-year-old is not afraid of new challenges, and she recently started showing in the hunters arena with her grey pony, Percy “The Lightning Thief.” Together, they are showing in children’s hunters this summer. Her mom, Magda, is a former District Commissioner, or DC, of the Pineland Riders Pony Club, which Tori used to be a member of.
Learn more about the United States Pony Clubs at www.ponyclub.org Email podcast hosts at communications@ponyclub.org Inquire about advertising at fundraising@ponyclub.org Read the blog at blog.ponyclub.org. Sign up for our e-newsletter. Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner. Follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/USPonyClubs Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedstatesponyclubs YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/UnitedStatesPonyClubs TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@unitedstatesponyclubs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ponyclub ...

Pony Club Podcast cohosts Sarah Evers Conrad and Megan Scharfenberg interview Liz Halliday-Sharp, a 5* Event rider who got her start in Pony Club, and Lydia Eilinger, chair of the NYB. This month's episode is brought to you by Stoneleigh-Burnham School and supported by Kentucky Equine Research.

Guest, Liz Halliday-Sharp: Liz Halliday-Sharp is a C-3 alum from Fallbrook Pony Club in Southern California and an inductee into the 2008 USPC Academy of Achievement. She has been a strong member of high-performance eventing for many years. She has represented the U.S. in multiple Nations Cup teams, was reserve for both of the most recent World Equestrian Games and the Pan American Games, was selected for the 2020 Olympic Team, as well being named the 2020 U.S. Eventing Rider of the Year. Currently, she is the #1 Eventing rider in the U.S. and ranked within the top 10 in the world according to points rankings, in addition to placing in the top 3 at last month’s Land Rover Kentucky Five-Star Three-Day Event. With the most international eventing wins in the world for the past three years running (more than any other man or woman), Liz is very excited for the future with her talented group of horses and hopes to be a part of many U.S. teams for years to come. In addition to competing, she has a passion for inspiring young athletes in equestrian sport, and she hopes to encourage the next generation of top eventers to be their very best.

Guest, Lydia Eilinger: Lydia Eilinger has been a member of Pony Club since age 8 and is an H-A HM and C-2 in Eventing. She serves as the District Commissioner of Milton Pony Club in the South Region. Lydia stays super busy with Pony Club activities as she just moved into the Chair position of the NYB after starting out as the secretary, and the Chair of the NYB Regional Youth Board Committee. She has also been a Visiting Instructor and traveled all around to teach Pony Club groups. She also represented the South Region as part of the 2022 National Youth Congress. She is also the Quiz secretary at this year’s USPC Championships East. 
Learn more about the United States Pony Clubs at www.ponyclub.org Email podcast hosts at communications@ponyclub.org Inquire about advertising at fundraising@ponyclub.org Read the blog at blog.ponyclub.org. Sign up for our e-newsletter. Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner. Follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/USPonyClubs Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedstatesponyclubs YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/UnitedStatesPonyClubs TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@unitedstatesponyclubs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ponyclub ...

Pony Club Podcast cohosts Sarah Evers Conrad and Megan Scharfenberg interview Joan Leuck-Waak, a senior Pony Club member who joined Pony Club for the first time in her later years and now also serves as a Horse Management Organizer. This month's episode is brought to you by Stoneleigh-Burnham School and supported by Kentucky Equine Research.

Guest, Joan Leuck-Waak: Co-owner of Angels Flight Farm, LLC, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin along with her husband Richard, Joan Leuck-Waak first joined Pony Club in 2018 and now at age 63, she is enjoying everything it has to offer. She is a professional in the equine industry, offering dressage lessons and horse training, has earned her USDF Bronze and Silver medals, and is currently working toward her Gold medal. She has trained in the U.S. and Europe with U.S. and European Team members, had success at the novice level of eventing, and in hunter/jumper circuits, and been a member of the Los Angeles Police Department’s mounted unit. Joan is proud to be a member of the United States Pony Clubs and has earned certifications at H-B HM, D-1 Eventing, C-2 Flat, and B Dressage, and is currently involved in the Dune Riders Pony Club in the Lake Shore Region. She also graciously gives of her time when she can as a Horse Management Organizer in her region.

Hosts: Sarah Evers Conrad is the Marketing and Communication Director at the United States Pony Clubs, and Megan Scharfenberg is the USPC Marketing and Instruction Coordinator
Learn more about the United States Pony Clubs at www.ponyclub.org Email podcast hosts at communications@ponyclub.org Inquire about advertising at fundraising@ponyclub.org Read the blog at blog.ponyclub.org. Sign up for our e-newsletter. Thank you to our Pony Club corporate sponsors: Kerrits, who is the official apparel sponsor; Shapley’s, the official grooming products sponsor; The Horse; Triple Crown, the official feed sponsor; Wintec, the official saddle sponsor; and Zoetis, the official Equine Health and Wellness Partner. Follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/USPonyClubs Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedstatesponyclubs YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/UnitedStatesPonyClubs TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@unitedstatesponyclubs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ponyclub ...