USEA Convention Program

27 C O N V E N T I O N S P E A K E R S HELEN MURRAY Helen Murray grew up in an equestrian family in Hamilton, Massachusetts eventing, pony clubbing, and fox hunting, ultimately competing through the CCI2* level. In 2008, she accepted a position with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), where she worked in the Marketing and Communications department for six years. In her time at the USEF, Helen covered many of equestrian sports' most prestigious competitions, including serving as the Press Officer for the U.S. teams at the 2012 Paralympic Games and the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Since 2015, Helen has worked for EQSportsNet, managing communications for the company and serving as a content expert and producer during live shows. In 2017 Helen took over as the Executive Director of the Event Riders Association of North America (ERAofNA). TIM MURRAY Tim grew up fox hunting in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and began eventing in 1970. He has competed through the Intermediate level, but for the last 10 years has focused his riding efforts at buying and retraining OTTBs. As his interest in competing diminished, Tim became involved as an eventing official. He obtained his "r" TD license in 2013 and his "R" TD license in 2016. He recently passed his examination to become a 1/2 star FEI TD. Tim has also been active in the administrative side of the sport, serving six years on the USEA Board of Governors and six years as a Trustee of the USEA Endowment Trust. For 10 years he co-chaired the USEA Young Rider's Committee and is currently a member of the USEA Eventing Licensed Officials Committee. In his non-horse time, Tim is a Trust & Estates lawyer in Boston, Mass. KAREN O'CONNOR Karen Lende O'Connor has competed in five Olympic Games, three World Equestrian Games, two Pan American Games, and has earned multiple top-10 finishes at major international events including the Badminton Horse Trials and Kentucky Three-Day Event. In 1993, Karen was the number one ranked lady rider in the world and she has been named U.S. Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year 10 times. She earned team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, team bronze at the 1998 World Equestrian Games, team bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, individual silver at the 2003 Pan American Games, and individual and team gold at the 2007 Pan American Games. She finished ninth at the 2012 London Olympics with Mr. Medicott, where Karen served as the highest-ranking U.S. rider at the Games that year. In 2015 Karen was appointed coach to the Mexican Eventing Team and now spends her time teaching students, commentating at international events, and inspiring others through motivational speaking. DOUG PAYNE Doug is a top level eventer and show jumper and he has been named to and ridden on Nation's Cup Teams for the U.S. Eventing Team with wins both nationally and internationally. He has been profiled in and contributed to countless national publications and media outlets. In 2014, he published his first book, The Problem Horse Repair Manual. It has been a tremendous success immediately garnering a 5-star rating from Amazon.com. In addition, he, along with Jim Wofford, produced the acclaimed The Rider's Eye instructional DVD. Doug is a USEF "r" Judge, Technical Delegate, and USEA ICP Level III Certified Instructor. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. Doug is from a horse centric family. His mother, Marilyn, has judged two Olympic

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