Interning with The Equiery: Then & Now


By Leah Fondelheit In addition to the staff, readers, freelancers


and advertisers who have worked together to produce Te Equiery over the past three de- cades, there are the interns. Tese young pro- fessionals in the making contributed their own fresh ideas to this magazine. From creating promotional materials, writing articles and coming up with clever cover teasers, among other assignments, these Equiery interns have each left their mark on Te Equiery as much as Te Equiery has imprinted on them. Many of these interns came to Te Equiery


with some type of equine background, but in addition brought a variety of passions. After completing their internships, many have stayed in the equine industry while others have gone on to different career paths. As we celebrate Te Equiery’s 30th Anniversary, we also celebrate these interns and caught up with several of them to find out where they are now!


Margaret Rizzo McKelvy: 2003 As one of the first


Equiery interns, Mar- garet McKelvy had a unique introduction to Te Equiery. She had met then Equi- ery owner/publisher Crystal Brumme Pickett while on a trail ride.


Marga-


ret had explained to Crystal that she was


majoring in communications and public rela- tions at the University of Maryland, College Park. Tis sparked Crystal to offer her an in- ternship with Te Equiery. Margaret contributed to Out & About and


wrote about the Marion duPont Equine Medi- cal Center. She said one skill she honed during her internship that she still applies today is writ- ing. “Writing is a big part of what I do, as well as marketing. All the experience of proof read- ing and writing helped contribute to my writ- ing skills today,” she said. Margaret now runs her own business, Mythic Landing Enterprises, LLC, which offers services from graphic design to bookkeeping, marketing and advertising, to web development, and everything in between.


Lauren Maruskin Foley: 2003


munications,


Studying com- with


a passion for horses and magazines, led Lauren Foley to intern with Te Equiery. During her


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internship, and later as a full-time staffer, she did a bit of everything from writing, database updates, customer service and marketing tasks. One thing Lauren learned during her intern- ship was how to confidently talk with people, whether it be answering phones, helping riders find a lesson barn, or calling someone for an interview. “Horse people are the best, so it was a great way to build my confidence, talking to some really neat people!” she said. Lauren is currently working for Te Chronicle


of the Horse magazine as their Editorial Produc- tion Manager. “With three children ages five and under, I don’t get to ride my horse as much as I used to, but I get to live vicariously through everyone I read and write about in Te Chron- icle,” she added.


Starr Crusenberry: 2004-2005 Having read Te Equi-


ery for many years and just finishing up an internship with Mid- Atlantic Torough- bred’s Maryland Horse, Starr Crusenberry fig- ured interning with Te Equiery was the next step for her career path


objectives. She was able to contribute to sev- eral articles including features on Te Equiery’s Perpetual Eventing Trophy winner and a series on a deadly outbreak of equine herpes. From this internship experience, Starr said, “I still use many of the copy editing skills I put into practice during my time at Te Equiery. Always fact check names, spellings and dates!” She is currently the Head of Marketing & Commu- nications at Victor Insurance.


Lauren Risby: Dec 2006-Aug 2007 Looking for more expe-


rience in an office setting that also involved horses while at college, Lauren Risby and Te Equiery were a great fit. While interning she wrote three articles and completed various other projects.


She stated, “I learned about editing, which has helped me in my personal and work life.” Lau- ren currently works as the Regional Controller at AssuredPartners. “I have two horses and just had a baby boy over the summer,” she added.


Jamie Humphries: 2010-2011 Jamie Humphries became an Equiery in-


tern through her trainer Katherine Rizzo, who happens to also be Te Equiery’s Editor. While interning with Te Equiery, Jamie got an on- location, behind-the-scenes look at the Wash-


ington International Horse Show and when in the office, helped with data entries and articles. Jamie, who now works for the US Dressage Federation, said,


“the


internship helped me make a decision that I wanted to work in the


equine industry. Te Equiery gave me the op- portunity to take my first steps in it.” Jamie has been working for USDF for five years now heading the organization’s youth programs.


Hannah Rosenberg: 2011-2013,2015


Katherine Rizzo was also Hannah Rosenberg’s rid- ing


instructor and


knew of her interest in journalism so she suggested Hannah


apply for Te Equiery’s internship program. Tis internship offered her a host of opportunities with one of her favorites being, “helping to select the cover model for the foal issue!” Al- though she added, “Tat, or going to pick up (and of course sampling on the way back) Lis- bon’s amazing Harvest Fried Chicken, which I think we served at every major event.” Hannah explained that Te Equiery helped


her become a well-rounded writer and market- er. Te internship also helped her understand the spectrum of what goes into producing a magazine or running an event—”an experience which I still value and reference today,” she said. Hannah is currently working as a Digital Marketing Manager at the Verizon Business Group and is getting married next year.


Jenna Beal: 2012


Majoring in journal- ism and growing up rid- ing horses, Jenna Beal’s Equiery internship in- volved writing about events and announce- ments, and securing ad space. One of her favor- ite pieces was the annual foal edition. “We used


pictures of foals that had been sent in and made yearbook superlatives,” she explained. “We got to pick who was class clown, mostly likely to succeed, and many more fun ones.” Some of the skills learned from this internship helped Jenna become more confident and comfortable while talking on the phone with anyone, espe-


continued... THE EQUIERY A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | DECEMBER 2020 | 19


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