Join Adrienne Sternlicht, Kasey Perry-Glass, Daniel Bluman, Liza Boyd, and More in Conversation with Equine Tech Collab!

On March 19, 2019, the public is invited to hear firsthand from riders Adrienne Sternlicht, Kasey Perry-Glass, Daniel Bluman, Liza Boyd, as well as top industry professionals like equestrian mental skills coach Tonya Johnston, MA; US Equestrian show jumping team veterinarian Dr. Tim Ober; FEI head groom Danny Ingratta for Team Millar; and innovator in equine rehabilitation Dr. Sheila Schils, as they discuss maintaining equine soundness and managing the rider's mental component of equestrian sport.

The special, panel-format event marks the inaugural Masterclass Innovation Series: A Mindful Approach to Horse and Rider, presented by the Equine Tech Collaborative and benefiting the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund. It begins at 5 p.m. at The Wanderer’s Club in Wellington, FL. 

Tickets for the evening are $25 and can be purchased online here through Equine Tech Collab member Event Clinics.

Proceeds from all ticket sales will go to benefit the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund. Learn more about the 501(c)(3) organization here.

The evening’s conversations and question-and-answer segments will include:

The Soundness Spectrum: Maintaining Horses' Soundness Through Proactive Management – In the evening’s opening panel, featured experts will discuss what it takes to proactively manage a horse’s soundness and how a mindful approach can improve your horse’s well-being and reduce the risk of lameness. Panelists will include:

• Dr. Tim Ober – Ober has been the official veterinarian of the US Equestrian show jumping team since 1999, caring for some of the country’s most famous show jumping horses. Ober joined Steele and Associates in 2001 and currently has practices based in Gordonsville, VA, and Wellington, FL.

• Dr. Sheila Schils – A dressage rider herself, Schils, Ph.D. M.S., is an innovator in the field of equine rehabilitation, a member of the team of professionals at Wellington Equine Sports Medicine, and the president of Equinew. Prior to going into private practice, Schils was a professor in the pre-vet program at the University of Wisconsin for more than 20 years. Schils developed the use of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in horses for injury rehabilitation and prevention and is a published author on the topic of equine rehabilitation.

• Liza Boyd – One of the country’s top hunter riders and trainers, Boyd is a three-time winner of the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby Championships, as well as the winner of more than 25 USHJA International and National Hunter Derbies. In the USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider program, Boyd’s record is unmatched; she is the only rider to have won the WCHR Pony, Junior, and Professional titles, a record she established in 2013 with her first victory in the WCHR Professional Finals. She also won the WCHR Professional Finals again in 2017 and 2018.

• Danny Ingratta – Ingratta has been an integral part of the team at Millar Brooke Farm since 2011, now serving as the head groom for the team that includes 10-time Olympian Ian Millar, Olympian Amy Millar, Jonathon Millar, and Kelly Soleau-Millar. Ingratta studied animal biology at the University of Guelph and has since traveled the world with “Team Millar,” having now groomed at major championships including the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

• Daniel Bluman – Originally hailing from Colombia and now competing for Israel, Bluman is a two-time Olympian and three-time World Equestrian Games (WEG) competitor. In recent weeks, Bluman has seen great success at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), including winning the $134,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 CSI5*.

In Good Company: Top Riders Discuss the Skills and Practices That Help Them with Mental and Emotional Challenges – Competing at any level of any sport comes with its share of mental stressors, and at the highest levels of equestrian sport, the psychological component can make or break a rider’s ability to perform their best.

Event attendees will hear first-hand how riders from across disciplines handle stress, fear, anxiety, and more when it comes to riding and competing. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to ask their own questions regarding the mental and emotional challenges of the sport during this panel and open discussion.  

Panelists will include:

• Kasey Perry-Glass – Hailing from California, Perry-Glass is a U.S. Dressage Olympic team bronze medalist and a WEG team silver medalist with recent wins at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF). Perry-Glass is currently ranked fifth in the world on the FEI Dressage World Rankings.

• Adrienne Sternlicht – Sternlicht made her U.S. show jumping Nations Cup debut in May 2017, and since then the 25-year-old has been a member of numerous Nations Cup teams and accumulated a number of top individual finishes. Sternlicht most recently made headlines as part of the USA’s gold medal-winning show jumping team at the 2018 WEG.

The panel will be moderated by Tonya Johnston, MA, a Mental Skills Coach, author, and A-circuit competitor who specializes in working with equestrian athletes.

Each panel discussion is planned to last approximately one hour, including a Q&A session, with additional panelists to be announced soon!

The Masterclass Innovation Series: A Mindful Approach to Horse and Rider is the first in a series of events presented by the Equine Tech Collaborative, a group of like-minded horse people working to solve problems in the equestrian industry through innovative, technology-based solutions. Learn more about the Equine Tech Collaborative at www.equinetechcollab.com.

About the Equine Tech Collaborative

The Equine Tech Collaborative was formed in 2017 by founding companies BarnManager, Equo, Jumpfax, and StableGuard. Each of the founders was looking for ways to grow their startups on a startup budget and to continue to develop their offerings to ensure that they were providing the best possible solutions for those within the equestrian industry.

Through conversation, collaboration, and coordination, these four founders created a group to share experiences and work together toward shared goals for the betterment of the lives of equestrians everywhere. Today, the Equine Tech Collab has grown and continues to be strengthened by the innovation that occurs when you bring people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise together and through the addition of new partners including Electronic Vet, Epona Exchange, Etalon Diagnostics, and Event Clinics. Learn more about the Equine Tech Collaborative at www.equinetechcollab.com.