United States Eventing Association

Mary Coldren

Mary grew up with horses and had her first pony at age 4. Her parents operated a boarding and lesson facility that catered to all disciplines. Mary grew up primarily showing in Western Equitation, but was exposed to every style of riding, including a season of showing a Saddle Seat horse for an injured rider. She obtained a degree in Equine Breeding and Business Management from Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA. It was there that she became addicted to Eventing while working for Judy Thayer, and living at the Radnor Hunt Club. That was in 1984, and she has been involved with Eventing ever since as a Competitor, Volunteer, Organizer, Treasurer, Entry Secretary, and is a Licensed Official, holding a R TD license. Currently she is the Director of Plantation Field Equestrian Events in Unionville, PA which each year hosts 3 USEF Recognized events, and 3 Starter Horse Trials, in addition to the CIC1*/2*/3* in September. In 2015 Mary was also Secretary for 14 events in Area II including Fair Hill International, the Surefire Farm Horse Trials, the Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy, the Virginia Horse Trials, and the Radnor Hunt Horse Trials. She is also travels to Aiken, SC in the winter to help out with the Sporting Days Farm Horse Trials. In the past, she has also worked as chief Scorer, including at the Central American Games in Puerto Rico.

Mary lives in West Grove, PA with her wife Shirley and their 2 cats and a dog. She stopped riding in 1996 after being diagnosed with MS, but wanted to stay involved with her “Eventing Family” so made a career working administratively. In some capacity or another, from April through October, she is at an Event 23 of the 29 weekends. Once dubbed by The Chronicle of the Horse as the “unofficial queen of ride-time scheduling, she’s the cheerful wizard behind the curtain at many East Coast events, making sure each rider has a workable time schedule and the day goes smoothly.”

Making of a Great Show Secretary: An open forum for current Secretaries to share ideas and discuss issues that we all deal with. Anyone thinking about becoming an entry secretary is encouraged to attend. Additionally, any riders interested in learning ways that they can help make the secretary's job easier are invited to attend.

Rob Burk

As of December 2015, Rob Burk takes over as the second Chief Executive Officer in the history of the United States Eventing Association (USEA). Prior to his appointment as CEO, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Director of Programs for the USEA. Burk draws much of his leadership experience from previous roles as an Executive Director and Senior Advisor within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as the Executive Director of a Governor appointed statewide equine industry advisory board and stable inspection/licensing program within the Maryland Department of Agriculture. He has provided advice and guidance to four Secretaries of Agriculture and two Governors. Burk has evented throughout his life with notable success as a Young Rider in California. He has served as an intercollegiate equestrian coach for Otterbein University (OH) and the United States Naval Academy (MD). He graduated from Otterbein University with a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Veterinary Medicine/Pre-Graduate Equine Studies and earned a Master of Science from Virginia Tech. Burk, a graduate H-A Pony Clubber, attributes much of his success to his upbringing through Pony Club and his trainers and mentors based in California, Ohio, Maryland and Ireland. He is married to Dr. Amy Burk, an Associate Professor with the University of Maryland - Equine Studies Program, and has two daughters.

Intercollegiate Program Open Forum: Join Rob Burk as he discusses the first official year of the USEA Intercollegiate Program. Rob will walk through a brief history of program, as well as its accomplishments in the last year, including the addition of a leaderboard for college athletes. He will also disclose the exciting additions for the program coming in 2016. Do you see a vision for the intercollegiate program? Do you have suggestions on how to make it successful as possible? Rob welcomes all interested parties to share their thoughts on the program.

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The 2015 Annual Meeting and Convention will be held December 2-6 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel and Resort.

Register by logging onto your Online Services Account. Click here for booking and use the Reservation Code: 12400612328

Click here for a full schedule. We can't wait to see you there!