NEWS

My main function with the USPA is as the director of membership. I oversee the processing of all new and renewing individual and club memberships and sending renewal reminders throughout the year.

The USPA has over 5,000 individual members and 220 clubs. I also work to provide information on the member benefits such as discount programs and insurance. Another large portion of my job involves overseeing the handicapping process for our playing members. The USPA has three handicap committees (Outdoor, Arena and Women’s) each of which have a chair, circuit handicap chairs and at- large handicappers.

Those committees meet twice a year to review and vote on all handicap changes. We also process new handicaps and review requests throughout the year. The part of my job that I am most passionate about is probably our Equine Drugs and Medications Testing Program, which I manage. The program hires veterinarians and technicians to perform equine drug testing through blood samples. Testing can take place at any USPA club, and I look forward to going to more of our clubs as the program expands.

I grew up in Pine, Colorado, about an hour southwest of Denver. I started taking riding lessons just before my 5th birthday and started showing soon after. I showed Arabian Horses through the national level in a variety of disciplines, including hunt seat, western pleasure, horsemanship, showmanship, trail, dressage and reining. I also enjoyed going on recreational trail rides and pack trips and taught at an equestrian summer camp program.

I attended Colorado State University and majored in equine science with a minor in business. During college I played polo for the first three years and also worked at the school’s Equine Reproduction Center. After college, I moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to participate in the Kentucky Equine Management Internship program.

During the internship, I worked on a Thoroughbred farm mostly preparing yearlings for the Keeneland September Sale. During that time, I played at the Bluegrass Polo Club, which at the time was in Lexington, Kentucky. I then stayed on as an employee of the farm during their foaling season before starting to work at the USPA office in Lexington in March 2011.

In 2013, we moved the main office to Florida, and I moved along with it. I have held a variety of positions at the USPA, including administrative assistant, assistant tournament director, services administrator, membership and handicap manager and membership and handicap director.

When I moved to Florida, I played and groomed at Palm City Polo Club. Two years ago, I moved back to Kentucky, and Commonwealth Polo is now my home club! Over the years I have also played at the Denver Polo Club, Greater Niagara Polo Club, Cincinnati Polo Club, Atlanta Regional Polo Center, and Grand Champions Polo Club. I do not have any relatives that play polo, but my husband, Chris and I met when he started taking polo lessons at Bluegrass Polo Club.

Chris and I have a 13-acre farm outside of Lexington. We currently have seven horses, including my Thoroughbred hunter mare who I brought from Florida, five young off- the-track Thoroughbreds learning new careers-two of them are aspiring polo ponies and the others are hunters and jumpers-and my husband’s retired Arabian cross whose only job now is pony rides for our nephews.

Chris and I also enjoy traveling and outdoor activities like camping and hiking. In fact, I recently received my scuba diving certification. My bucket list includes visiting places like Argentina, Ireland, Australia and Africa.