Susan Posner

Susan started riding in Germany at the age of 9 when her father was stationed there for the U.S. Army. At the age of 12 she won her German Bronze Riding Medal. She evented the great Pinto mare "Poltroon" through Preliminary. Susan was the first ATA member to take a Trakehner mare to Grand Prix. She has been riding and training through Grand Prix for over 30 years. Susan has competed in the selection trials for the Pan American Games and the World Championships. She has been a USEF 'R' Judge for over 25 years & also has her Western Dressage judging license. Susan has her USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals as well as her Silver & Gold Freestyle Bars. Susan has coached 3 riders to medals at the NAJYRC's. She has also been the horse show chair for KDA for 15 years, the MSEDA Vice President of Dressage and runs MSEDA Dressage at the Park. Susan has worked with all different breeds of horses from imported Warmbloods to Arabians to Fresians. She has also had a very successful career with mares. Susan's clientele ranges from adult amateurs to young riders. She is currently training & coaching in Lexington, Kentucky.

Sue Mandas 

Sue Mandas is a USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist, has also earned her Silver and Gold Freestyle Bars, and is a USEF "S" judge. Sue has been involved in the sport of Dressage as competitor, trainer, breeder and instructor for over 40 years. She is a USEF “S” dressage judge, a “R” Sport Horse Breed judge, and an FEI 3* Para-Equestrian Judge. A longtime member of the USDF Sport Horse Committee, she currently also serves as an At Large Director on the USDF executive board. Involved with breeding warmblood Sport horses for many years, her first Grand Prix horse was one she bred, raised and trained herself, with the help of instruction through clinics. Sue is a USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist and earned the Silver and Gold Freestyle Bars.  Sue has trained many horses to the FEI level, winning Regional Champion or Reserve Champion at every level, Second through Grand Prix, and making the USET longlist several times. Currently, she is living in Centerville, Ohio, where she rides, trains and teaches.

Max Corcoran

Meet panelist Max Corcoran. Max is former U.S. Eventing Association president, who gained recognition as a groom and barn manager for the O’Connor Eventing Team. While working with the O'Connors she traveled to the Olympic Games, World Championships, Pan American Games, and numerous CCIs all over North America and Europe. After leaving the O'Connors, Corcoran also worked as a freelance groom and has served as stable manager for the Canadian and Venezuelan Equestrian Teams. Max has a wealth of knowledge and is considered one of the foremost experts on horse management in the world. She also works as an event organizer for competitions such as The Fork Horse Trials at Tryon and the Ocala Jockey Club International Three-Day Event. While working with the O'Connors she traveled to the Olympic Games, World Championships, Pan American Games, and numerous CCIs all over North America and Europe. 

 

Karen Winn

Karen Winn grew up riding hunt seat in Princeton, New Jersey, but became interested in dressage and eventing while attending the University of Massachusetts in the 1970s. She was an active member of the UMass Intercollegiate Horse Show team and Equestrian Drill Team, while completing a BS degree in Animal Science.

Karen came to Lexington, Kentucky in 1976 to teach riding at the University of Kentucky, and remained in the area, getting involved in many aspects of the horse business, and completing a second BS degree in Accounting at UK. She has worked for Midway College, the American Hanoverian Society, the US Pony Clubs, the American Saddlebred Horse Association, and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, and is now retired.

Karen has had a long association as an instructor with the Lexington and Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police units, and has been active with the Young Event Horse committee of the US Eventing Association, the Masterson Equestrian Trust, the MSEDA, Kentucky Dressage Association, and the Retired Racehorse Project. Karen participated in the original MSEDA Learner Dressage Judge Program, and first became a USEF licensed official in 1980. She currently is a USEF “R” rated Dressage and Western Dressage Judge, and a USDF Bronze and Silver Medalist. She is an FEI Eventing Judge and Technical Delegate, as well as an FEI Eventing Chief Steward. Karen has officiated at competitions across the US and in Canada, France, Ireland, Great Britain, Colombia, Costa Rica, and New Zealand. She also frequently judges in the Arabian Sport Horse division.

Karen lives on a small farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and competes when time permits in Western Dressage on her homebred Thoroughbred, Shawkilito, who recently achieved his WDAA Register of Excellence. She also competes with her Black & Tan Coonhounds in conformation and various performance events, and is on the board of the Lexington Kennel Club and president of the American Black & Tan Coonhound Club.

Marilyn Payne

Marilyn is an FEI 4* Eventing Judge and a USEF “S” Dressage Judge who has officiated at major eventing and dressage competitions in the U.S. and around the world.  In addition to judging  twice at the Olympics – a rare honor – and at the World Equestrian Games, she has presided at the European Eventing Championships and the Central American Games, and has judged every 4* event in the world. She makes time in her busy judging schedule to teach seminars for FEI Eventing Officials and training programs for USEF dressage judges.  She is a member of the FEI Eventing Committee, representing the perspective of judges worldwide.  She is also a member of the USEF High Performance Committee and the USEF Eventing Committee.

Marilyn has been instrumental in establishing the U.S. Eventing Association’s Young Event Horse (YEH) Committee, and spreading the word among breeders and competitors about this unique competition. Under her leadership, the YEH program and the training of YEH judges has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2017, Marilyn will teach a YEH seminar in Florida for officials, competitors and breeders.

An active competitor in eventing and dressage and a highly popular clinician and trainer, Marilyn enjoys teaching all levels of riders, using a systematic approach to bring out the best in each horse/rider team. Whether she is judging at the Olympics or the World Equestrian Games, teaching a novice rider the basics of dressage, or staying up all night with a mare about to foal, Marilyn gives her total concentration to the task at hand, using the skills acquired during her lifetime with horses to assure the best possible outcome.

Don’t Forget!  Education at annual meeting will count as education hours!