The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) Board of Directors welcomed six new board members at the 2016 CHA Annual Membership Meeting at International Conference on October 20th in Murfreesboro, TN. The new board members include: Elizabeth Duffy, Camp America, Douglasville, GA; Hayley Eberle, National Reining Horse Association, Oklahoma City, OK; Shellie Hensley, Macksburg, IA; Kathi Jogan, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR; James Rickner, Camp Chippewa, Ottawa, KS; and Lauren Walsh, American Quarter Horse Association, Amarillo, TX.
Elizabeth Duffy serves as the Client Development Manager for Camp America, which is the largest provider of international staff for American summer camps. Every year she recruits hundreds of horseback riding instructors to work at camps all over the country. In her current position, Duffy has spearheaded web design projects, organized recruitment events overseas for hundreds of camp professionals, and worked in conjunction with the Department of State to improve standards compliance for private sector exchange programs. When summer camp is out of session, Duffy resides in Georgia, where she enjoys lake life with her dogs, Sadie and Rowan, and her beloved horses, Smudge and Molly.
Hayley Eberle is the Manager of Marketing and Communications for the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA). She has served as the staff liaison for three NRHA committees and on the American Youth Horse Council (AYHC) Board of Directors and several AYHC committees. Eberle earned a bachelor’s degree in Horse Science with a minor in Business Administration at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) while competing on the school’s Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) team and the MTSU judging team. In 2012, she earned her AQHA Show Management Certificate.
As a CHA Master Instructor, Shellie Hensley, of Macksburg, Iowa, has 20 years of teaching experience, including as a therapeutic horsemanship instructor, coach of an IHSA team, a draft team driver, and trail guide. She has served two terms on the CHA Board of Directors and has been the CHA State Representative in Ohio, Michigan, and Iowa, in addition to serving on a variety of CHA committees. Hensley is a CHA Assistant Clinic Instructor and an Accredited Site Visitor Trainer. She has used her vast experience in various states to help in the camping industry as a manager of year-round riding programs run by the county, the YMCA, and the Girl Scouts. Recently, her focus has been on building a horsemanship program focusing on veterans and at-risk youth, riding and training her own string of school horses, and riding part-time with her husband, Randy, who is a full-time farrier.
Kathi Jogan’s teaching career kicked off at Louisiana Tech University before she landed her current position at the University of Arkansas, where she teaches a variety of equine courses, implements innovations in curriculum, organizes and manages large volunteer-run projects, and coordinates fundraising events. Her research, focusing on best practices in instruction in equine programs, has been shared in national and international conferences and published in journals. She has ridden, trained, and showed reining and English horses and taught riders in English and Western disciplines. She also has experience training racehorses and managing Thoroughbred breeding farms.
James Rickner is the current Director at Camp Chippewa in Ottawa, Kansas, where he resides with his new wife, Lauren. He is CHA Certified to teach English and Western and is a CHA Certified Day Ride Trail Guide. Rickner first discovered Camp Chippewa while attending Ottawa University for his bachelor’s degree in Biology and Business Administration and then for his MBA, and he worked at the camp seasonally as a horse wrangler for several years. Rickner has attended various American Camp Association (ACA), United Methodist Camp Retreat Ministries, and CHA conferences and clinics. He has been a member of the Great Plains Camping Board as the representative for Camp Chippewa, volunteered at a therapeutic riding facility, and has been a consultant for other area riding programs.
Lauren Walsh is the Chief Marketing Officer for the American Quarter Horse Association. She started with AQHA in 2006 as the Manager of Direct Response Marketing and then took on the role of Director of Membership. In her current role, she leads the marketing staff and oversees the organization’s marketing, public relations, event management, print and video production, and corporate partnerships. She has been a member of the Junior League of Amarillo, a board member, and recently the Membership Vice President for a local grief counseling service called The Hope and Healing Place, as well as a volunteer for therapeutic riding programs. She rode on the Penn State Equestrian Team while she was getting her bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Public Relation and is currently working on her MBA from West Texas A&M University.
CHA would also like to welcome the following returning board members to the 2017 board: Jennifer Eaton, Interscholastic Equestrian Association, Groveland, MA; Tara Gamble, TG Horsemanship, Ardrossan, Alberta, Canada; Christine Henry, American Paint Horse Association, Fort Worth, TX;. Amanda Love, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX; and Jim McGarvey, Back Country Horsemen of America, Calhoun, GA.
The CHA Executive Committee consists of President Beth Powers, Bellefontaine, OH; President Elect Tammi Gainer, Pegasus Farm, Alliance, OH; Vice President of Regional Relations Anne Brzezicki, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN; Vice President of New Initiatives Dr. Bob Coleman, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; Secretary Julie Fischer, Allenspark, CO; Treasurer Terry Williams, Blanchester, OH; and Immediate Past President Peggy Adams, Greensboro, GA.
To find out more about the CHA Board visit http://cha-ahse.org/store/pages/28/Board_Of_Directors.html.
CHA Instructors Change Lives Through Safe Experiences with Horses. The purpose of CHA is to promote excellence in safety and education for the benefit of the horse industry. CHA certifies instructors and trail guides, accredits equestrian facilities, publishes educational manuals, produces educational horsemanship DVDs and YouTube Safety shorts, and hosts regional and international conferences. For more information on the largest certifying body of riding instructors and barn managers in North America, Certified Horsemanship Association, please visit www.CHA-ahse.org or call 859-259-3399. To find a certified horseback riding instructor or accredited equine facility near you, visit www.CHAinstructors.com.
