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Shelley Mann Named Executive Director Of Secretariat Center

The Secretariat Center is pleased to welcome the appointment of Shelley Mann as its new Executive Director. With a lifetime of equine experience and more than 18 years in nonprofit leadership driving the advancement of strategic goals, Shelley will take the Secretariat Center's reins beginning September 14.

A long time Bluegrass resident, Shelley most recently served as the Director of Marketing and Communications for The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. In that role, she promoted equine education with a focus on safety, health and management by putting educational and leadership resource in homes, schools and barns.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Secretariat Center team,” says Shelley. “The care and placement of retired racehorses and providing these equine athletes a second career is something I am deeply passionate about. I look forward to utilizing my background in marketing, education and resource development to expand community outreach and share the Center's mission with equine enthusiasts across the United States.”

“We are very excited to have Shelley join the Secretariat Center team, and I look forward to seeing her promote our mission and new strategic plan going forward,” said Secretariat Center President Dr. Holly Schmitt. “She has dedicated much of her professional career to understanding equine health and to supporting community programs. Her experience and skills will be crucial to promoting this organization as the gold standard in Thoroughbred retraining.”

The Secretariat Center was founded in 2004 as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization to prepare off-track Thoroughbreds for happy, healthy, and successful post-track careers through rehabilitation and by giving them a broad-based foundation of skills to ensure a harmonious match with their adopters. While advocating for the athleticism and versatility of the American Thoroughbred, The Secretariat Center also seeks to provide educational opportunities for human development through horsemanship. Located in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, the Secretariat Center showcases adoptable Thoroughbreds and uses its illustrious location to herald the athleticism of this amazing breed by teaching new skill sets to horses of all levels of ability. Visit www.secretariatcenter.org to find your next partner, make a donation or get involved today.

For more information contact Secretariat Center at 859-246-3080 or info@secretariatcenter.org.

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Equitana USA Launches Month-Long Virtual Program

Equitana USA kicks off month-long virtual content, including webinars with equine industry notables, horsemen and women, and exhibitors addressing the care and performance of all breeds of horses. Sessions will include live interviews, panel discussions, expert seminars and educational content. Select Saturdays in September will feature ‘Kid’s Edition’ content. Additionally, scheduled events will include barn tours with Horse Country Inc., sessions on training the performing arts horse, equine photography sessions and Q&A’s with equine legal experts.

Originally slated for this October but canceled last month due to COVID-19 concerns, the annual live event is expected to return to the Kentucky Horse Park Oct. 1-2, 2021.

“We listened to the feedback from the industry after our very difficult decision to cancel the in-person event due to COVID-19 concerns and instantly knew our fans still wanted to connect and learn,” said director Meghan Margewicz. “A lot of the session leaders and experts we would have seen at the event have joined us to present a September packed full of great learning for everyone.”

To register or for more information about the virtual event and programming schedule, click here.

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New Vocations, T.I.P. Cancel Fall Horse Shows

New Vocations Racehorse has canceled its 2020 All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show, a dressage and combined test event, slated to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. Oct. 3. The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) followed suit and canceled its dressage and combined test championships, originally slated for Oct. 4.

“It was a difficult decision to cancel the October show, but we feel that the safety of our show team and exhibitors is the most important,” says Anna Ford, New Vocations Thoroughbred Program director. “It has been a struggle this year as all of our live fundraising events have been cancelled. However, we have some virtual events in the works that we hope to launch in the near future.”

Run concurrently, the two shows typically host more than 400 Thoroughbreds at the Kentucky Horse Park each fall.

“T.I.P. continues to explore consolation competition options for early 2021,” added Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and coordinator of T.I.P. “We look forward to the 2021 championships next fall.”

Horses qualified and declared by the August 3 deadline for the 2020 championships will be eligible to participate in the 2021 events. A list of those horses is available at tjctip.com/About/CSDH.

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2020 American Eventing Championships Cancelled

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) and Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI) have made the extremely difficult decision to cancel the 2020 edition of the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. The USEA Board of Governors weighed every option, but ultimately voted not to proceed to host the national championships due to the health and safety concerns of holding a national competition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Canceling the AEC is devastating for so many who have worked so hard to get to this point,” said USEA CEO Rob Burk. “With riders coming from 41 states we could not ignore the geographic pull of this event and the implications of that. The immense amount of uncertainty caused by recent cancellations of similar-sized events at the Kentucky Horse Park weighed heavily on the USEA leadership.”

“If the AEC had moved forward, I am confident that our team led by EEI, Mary Fike, and the USEA Staff would have put on a spectacular competition in as safe an atmosphere as is possible. Ultimately though the inability to guarantee that the event wouldn't be canceled by regional governments or other authorities left too much uncertainty. By canceling before the closing date for entries we are hopeful that riders can reroute to their local events which desperately need their support and are working incredibly hard to hold safe events. Over the next month, the USEA Board of Governors will look into the qualifications for the 2021 AEC to see what can be done for those that worked so hard to qualify in 2020.”

“The USEA Board of Governors held a lengthy discussion tonight and it was not an easy decision,” added USEA President Max Corcoran. “We have full faith in EEI, the Kentucky Horse Park, and the competitors themselves that we could run a safe competition, but ultimately we voted not to proceed. It's the horrible decision of what we want and what is right. The AEC is a national championships with competitors coming from 41 different states, and it is not in the best interest of our members to host such a geographically diverse competition during a global pandemic. I am very sad that we are not having the AEC this year, but in these uncertain times, we wanted to make the decision as far out as possible in order for people to plan accordingly. Not hosting the AEC will be a financial hit for both the USEA and EEI, but in the end, it is the right decision ethically for the staff, volunteers, officials, and competitors. I look forward to cheering you all on in Kentucky in 2021!”

“While canceling the 2020 AEC was a difficult decision, we know that the health and safety of our competitors far outweigh any event,” said EEI Executive Director Lee Carter. “USEA, EEI, and Mary Fike recognize that 2020 has created challenges for many organizations. Our hope and expectation are that in 2021 we will be stronger than ever. Until then . . . on we go!”