Coordinators

   Ellen has been active in the Tri-State Region since 1973 when after graduating from college with a degree in Physical Education she became Jt DC of Dutch Fork Hunt Pony Club as well as Whipper-In for the Hunt. She became Master of Foxhounds for DFH in 1976.  Pony Club involvement has included, CHMJ, HMO, TD, Dressage Judge at Unrecognized Events, Committee member for Upper Level Testing and D & C Standards as well as being a National Examiner (30 years this year). According to Ellen, the highlight of her Pony Club activities was being honored at the Jubilee Celebration in 2004 as a “Legend” one of 212 people chosen from over 5000 nominations for service to Pony Club for a minimum of 25 years.
   Outside of Pony Club Ellen spent five years as Executive Director of Peace Point Equestrian Center where duties included organizing IHSA, IDA & and IEA Horseshows, PRCA Rodeos, AERC Endurance Rides and Team Roping. In 2007, Peace Point hosted RFD-TV’s Best of America By Horseback. Peace Point was also one of the first Pony Club Riding Centers.  Ellen also served as Interim Director of Equine Studies at Bethany College while it was partnered with Peace Point and helped in developing the Equine Program at Bethany College.
   Growing up in New York State Ellen had a brief involvement with Golden’s Bridge Hounds Pony Club but without a horse she was unable participate in club activities. This is one of the reasons Ellen tries to provide horses for members of Peace Point Pony Club so they can have the opportunity she did not.  While attending High School Ellen rode at Salem View Farm which was conveniently located next to her High school and run by George Morris. Foxhunting and Eventing followed college and today she participates in Cowboy Mounted Action Shooting.  Ellen is still raising horses and one thing remains constant she is still actively involved in  Pony Club, once again as a Joint District Commissioner. 

I am happy to begin serving as the Assistant Regional Instruction Coordinator and wanted to share some ideas Connie and I have discussed for the upcoming year.

-Club Level Instruction/Ratings 
I’d like to see the return of the weekly Pony Club meeting! We need to pump up our instruction programs for many of our clubs with a year-long lesson plan implementing the detailed curriculum set forth from the National Office. We know what our kids need to be doing for ratings. What we need is a plan for how to teach it, how to gauge the progress, and how to know when they will be successful enough to rate. We can no longer send our riders to ratings without the foundations of a basic, balanced position. 

The great news is I am here to help! At our yearly Instructor and IC meeting, we will sit down and put together this year-long outline. We will talk about what our instructors need to be focusing on in their lesson plans and how we can keep track of progress. We’ll share ideas about unmounted meetings and how to provide the most education to our members in the most enjoyable way. 

I will also help keep track of our members’ progress with you. We want every child to be the most successful they can be and don’t want to send them to ratings prematurely or unprepared. When your members are ready to rate-up, a copy of the checked-off standards of proficiency will be sent to me for review. If there is a trend of “prepared members” repeatedly failing testings, I will visit and work with you to find ways to improve your program. Our goal is to set our kids up for success! 

There will also be a directory available of Regional Examiners that best fit the Pony Club standard. We will rely on you to help build up this list, so that we can share it and help everyone have access to the best people. The same will be done with our Instructors. We want every child to have access to the best professionals we can find, and if you have an extraordinary instructor that teaches and understands the Pony Club way, please share their information with me. 

-Regional Clinics 
I’d like to build upon the great clinics we already have in place, like this year’s Standards & Rating Clinics, and provide even more opportunities for our members. The D3/C1 clinics are a great place to start introducing the more advanced knowledge, such as lungeing and teaching, that our members will require as they rate up. 

I would like to also implement a regional C2 rating for next fall, spanning over a weekend with a clinic on Saturday and rating on Sunday. I’d like to bring in a national examiner and start to introduce our coming C2s to the quality that will be expected as they work forward to their C3. The C3 is now such an important rating with the introduction of specializations, I feel taking the pressure off of meeting a national examiner for the first time might help more riders to succeed.

Background
I am a professional trainer specializing in Dressage. I have been riding and teaching professionally for over 15 years and have had the pleasure of working with the Hunter’s Run Pony Club for the past several years. I earned a Bronze Medal with the United States Dressage Federation, am close to completing the USDF’s Instructor Certification Program, and am also participating in the USDF “L” Program. I am a board member of the Mid-Ohio Dressage Association and am their Awards Chairperson. I am also pursuing my Ohio 4-H Judge licensure. I operate my family’s Dogwood Grove Farm in Granville, Ohio and am the Dressage Trainer at Auchmeddan Stables in Pataskala, Ohio. I hold a B.A. from the Ohio State University and attended Capital Law School.