(August 12, 2020 – Columbus, Ohio) – The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) announced the elected members of the 2020-2021 IEA Youth Board. The Youth Board was created by the IEA’s Education Committee in 2016 and is governed by Adult Advisors, Shara Prieskorn (IEA Membership Office Coordinator), Simon Towns (Zone Captain), and Sue Wentzel (IEA National Steward), as well as IEA Alumni Advisors, Hannah Bentz, and Aubrey Braham.
The IEA Youth Board is structured with one student representative from each of the 11 Hunt Seat Zones, four representatives from among the eight Western Regions, and two representatives from among the twelve Dressage Regions.
Each of the following representatives submitted their application for candidacy with a resume, photo, and letter of recommendation. After verifying each application, an election was held in each zone and the members of that zone elected their representative.
“The IEA Youth Board is invaluable to our organization,” stated IEA Co-Founder and Executive Director Roxane Durant. “This program gives adult IEA members and leadership an avenue to hear the youth voice and to offer an opportunity for mentorship, volunteerism, and leadership growth to IEA youth members. We have found the Youth Board to be fantastic advocates for the IEA and equestrian sport and we look forward to another fun Youth Board year.”
The 2020-2021 IEA Youth Board Representatives are as follows:
HUNT SEAT
•ZONE 1 – Paige Dempsey-Weine, a Junior from West Hartford, CT, who rides with Folly Farm
•ZONE 2 – Willow Vince, a Senior from New York City, NY, who rides with Empire State Equestrian Team
•ZONE 3 – Alexis Kinney, a Junior from Hollywood, MD, who rides with A Moment in Time
•ZONE 4 – Bailey Wheeler, a Sophomore from Palm Harbor, FL, who rides with Ravenwood Farm
•ZONE 5 – Emerson Ricketts, an 8th grader from Chicago, IL, who rides with Team Somerset
•ZONE 6 – Clara Lemarr, a Senior from Sleepy Eye, MN, who rides with Sapphire Equestrian Farm
•ZONE 7 – Grace Forsythe, a Senior from League City, TX, who rides with Bayview Equestrian
•ZONE 8 – Cayton Hale, a Junior from Chandler, AZ, who rides with RCR Farms
•ZONE 9 – Alexis Novak, a Senior from Woodinville, WA who rides with Sharkey Farm
•ZONE 10 – Alana Segar, a Senior from Los Altos, CA, who rides with Woodside Team
•ZONE 11 – Angeline Chalifoux, a Senior from Sewickley, PA, who rides with Candy Lane Acres
WESTERN
•REGION 4 – McKinney Atkinson, a Freshman from Chapin, SC, who rides with Flamekissed Equestrian Team
•REGION 5(2) – Olivia Badgley, a Senior from Hilliard, Ohio who rides with Dare Equestrian Team
•REGION 6 – Natalie Dresdow, a Senior from Overland Park, KS who rides with Iowa Equestrian Team
•REGION 4 – Jenna Woody, a Sophomore from Columbia, SC who rides with Flamekissed Equestrian Team
DRESSAGE
•REGION 3 & 4(N) – Abigail Grove, a Sophomore from Cumberland, MD who rides with Mystic Meadows Farm
•REGION 5(S) – Ashley Haselby, a Junior from Royal Center, IN who rides with Kokomo Equestrian
ABOUT INTERSCHOLASTIC EQUESTRIAN ASSOCIATION (IEA)
Now in its 19th year, the IEA has over 14,500 members across the United States riding and coaching Hunt Seat, Western and Dressage disciplines. The non-profit (501(c)3) IEA was organized to promote and improve the quality of equestrian competition and instruction available to middle and secondary school students (grades 4-12) and is open to public and private schools and barn teams. There is no need for a rider to own a horse because the IEA supplies a mount and tack to each equestrian for competitions. Its purpose is to set minimum standards for competition, provide information concerning the creation and development of school associated equestrian sport programs, to generally promote the common interests of safe riding instruction and competition and education on matters related to equestrian competition at the middle and secondary school levels.
For more information, please visit www.rideiea.org
