NEWS from MHC’S INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS
NEWS FROM INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS Member Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill wel-
comes Connie Sawyer and Dan Laufer to their growing team of professionals. Connie is a vet- eran of the equestrian industry with vast experi- ence as the manager of the Longines FEI Jump- ing World Cup™ North American League (NAL). She will be leading all aspects of the broadcast production and streaming for the Maryland 5 Star. Dan’s career spans over 20 years in the production of large-scale indoor and outdoor events, including his time as the Director of Op- erations for the Citi Open tennis tournament. Dan will be responsible for directing all event overlay and operational logistics for the Mary- land 5 Star in close cooperation with the Maryland Department of Nat- ural Resources and the new Fair Hill Special Event Zone.
Kudos to member Denise Parsons, who was recognized by the Na-
tional Association of Realtors for her volunteer work with her 501c3 char- ity Gaited Advocate Intervention Team, Inc. (GAIT), which has helped to rehabilitate or retrain over 200 horses since it was founded in 2016.
Most folks in the equestrian community know JoAnn Dawson as
the owner and operator of Fairwinds Farm in Cecil County, but what they may not know is that she is also a SAG actor, movie & tv animal wrangler, book author and now movie script writer. Her script Cream of the Crop is now in the early stages of fundraising and production. “The movie is about a subject that is dear to my heart: the preservation of family farmland for future generations. The relationship that develops between the young couple personifies the struggle that faces so many farms today – the desire of a family to keep the farm they love against all odds.” The main character of the screenplay is Jodi Stafford, a high school Ag Science teacher. JoAnn’s SAG name is also Jodi, and she teaches Equine Science and Acting at Cecil College. Coincidence???
Member and realtor Laura Lee Jones has pledged to donate $1,000
to the Maryland Horse Council Foundation/Maryland Equine Transi- tion Service from each sales transaction if her client mentions “METS.”
CLARIFICATION In this column in the March issue, we
published “Taxes in Time of Covid” by member and dressage rider Nikki Wingire, but we inadvertently spelled her name incorrectly and neglected to tell you any- thing about her business, Cappetta LLC. Cappetta is pretty cool, as it specializes
in working with businesses in the equine and agricultural industries. With 15+ years of accounting and bookkeeping experience, services include general bookkeeping (for example, monthly reconciliations, general ledger maintenance, accounts payable and receivable), con- troller services (for example, regular client reviews of financial reports)
and assisting clients’ CPAs with year-end planning and tax preparation. Cappetta is Quickbooks certified.
WELCOME NEW MEMBER: CLARITY RIDING Originally from a tiny town in Vermont,
“wedged way up north between Lake Champlain and Canada with more cows than people - with some Morgan horses mixed in,” Elizabeth Farina landed in Mary- land mostly for the weather (“the air hurts your face in Vermont from October through March), but stayed because of our “amazing equestrian community.” Elizabeth sought out a career in the horse industry, earning a BS in Equine Science from the University of New Hamphire, studying at the Universi- ty of Limerick in Ireland, and completing a two-year apprenticeship in farriery back in the U.S, teaching and training throughout those years. She continued to do both after arriving in MD in 2008, and in 2016 launched her own business, Clarity Riding in Davidsonville. With rapid growth taking her through several properties, Clarity has evolved into an active riding school for all ages and training program focusing on dressage, endurance, gaited horses, and jumpers. Clarity also partners with GAIT to assist in training and adopting rescue horses. Elizabeth took a creative approach to learning how to be a small
business owner. She enrolled in SCORE, a program to foster small busi- ness owners through mentorship and education. Little did she know how much that mentorship would pay off until her business faced the crisis of the pandemic. In Elizabeth’s own words:
COVID was scary. As a riding school, our overhead is about 30% more
than what we can cover with boarding/training horses alone. If the school horses aren’t working, we are underwater. We had a rainy day fund and our barn family was amazing with many people continuing to pay lease and lesson fees throughout the stay at home orders. I am incredibly grate- ful that I had the knowledge and ability to have proper business licens- es and procedures set up so that we could utilize COVID grant and loan programs.
I spent a lot of stressful hours filling out convoluted
applications but it paid off when we were able to receive a PPP loan, EIDL, and Maryland grants. During Phase One reopening, we adapted our riding lesson and
summer camp program to COVID guidelines and added in a farm-based education program for the fall. We added more time between students and hired more instructors to space out riders. We did have to raise les- son and board rates to cover some added expenses, but on the whole I feel so grateful and lucky that our outdoor and naturally distanced set-up has allowed the riding school and training program to get almost back to normal and provide an outlet for kids and adults to socialize safely. Looking ahead to 2021 we are optimistically anticipating a full schedule for our 3 competition teams, a safe summer camp season, regular private and semi-private riding lessons, and some extra educational programs.
This feature is a benefit for MHC Industry Professional Members. To learn more or submit news & updates, contact Business Network Co-Chairs Jane Seigler & Crystal Brumme Pickett at
IndustryNews@mdhorsecouncil.org
50 | APRIL 2021 | THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION BECOME A MEMBER •
JOIN.MDHORSECOUNCIL.ORG 800-244-9580 |
www.equiery.com
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