USEA Convention Program

25 convention speakers JENNI AUTRY Jenni Autr y launched her career as an award- winning equestrian journalist with Eventing Nation in 2012 and has covered major events on three continents. She has been a part of the EquiRatings team since its founding in 2015 and spearheads the company's media and communications strategy. Her sports commentar y featuring EquiRatings statistics can be heard on live stream broadcasts throughout the USA and on the Eventing Podcast. Her work can be found in Practical Horseman and Horse & Hound, and on the USEF Network. KEVIN BAUMGARDNER Kevin Baumgardner has been an enthusiastic adult amateur eventer since 1993, which was four years after he first sat on a horse at the age of 30. He has since ridden over a dozen horses in competition, including six at the Intermediate/two-star level and three at the Advanced/three-star level. His current equine partner is Wembley, with whom he has competed at the two- and three-star levels. Kevin, who in his non-horsey life works full-time as a trial lawyer in Seattle, has been heavily involved in the administration and governance of our sport for nearly twenty years. He was president of the USEA from 2007 to 2010, and for the past two years has been the chairman of the USEA Foundation Board of Trustees. Kevin has also participated in horse ownership syndicates for several top-level riders. Kevin describes the sport of eventing and the people and horses in it as "a profound and consistent source of joy and meaning in my life." DAWN BENSON Dawn Benson is the Executive Assistant for a large San Franciso Bay Area water and wastewater agency. She has over 21 years of experience in water agency finance, business operations, customer ser vice, project management, and water conser vation and 11 years in business operations, project management and government security for a large international manufacturer of computer hardware and software. Dawn is the president of the Valley Children's Museum Board of Directors and co-owner of a horse show and event management company, specializing in three- day eventing disciplines (United States Eventing Association, United States Equestrian Federation and FEI) DONNA BOTTNER Donna Bottner is the co-chair of the Adult Rider Committee, Area II Adult Rider Coordinator and organizer of the Marlborough Horse Trials in Upper Marlboro, Mar yland. Her experience in training off-the-track Thoroughbreds is her forte now, having brought several of them up through the levels of eventing and some as sales horses. Natural horsemanship plays a huge part in her retraining program, allowing the horses to let go of the track experience, and allowing them to be safe, sane, and sound for their second careers. MATT BROWN High performance rider Matt Brown has been studying martial arts for over 25 years and has used the principles and techniques he has learned in the dojo to help develop himself while in the tack. He has found that the partner training learned from the martial arts easily translates into working with our four legged partners. ROY BUREK Roy Burek has over 30 years of personal experience in the safety industr y. His grandfather founded Charles Owen in 1911, and the company has since established itself as the gold standard for international equestrian safety. Roy received a chemistr y degree from the University of Oxford (UK) and pursued a career in the corporate world before returning to Charles Owen. Since taking

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