(this was mostly drafted by Duncan MacRae who headed the selection committee)
2012 marked the end of the YR team of Gwen Dean and Audrey Wiggins as out YR Coordinators and David and Lauren O’Brien as our YR Coaches. They did a great job over two (three year) terms and we are grateful to them for all the work they did to bring teams to the NAJYRC over the last six years.
Area II is pleased to welcome Pam Medlin and Meg Kepferle as our new YR Coordinators . Meg and Pam volunteered for this important and difficult job and we are confident that they will do a great job but we still needed to select a Team Coach.
An announcement was posted on the USEA and Area 2 websites, emails were sent to PRO and PHC, and an email was sent out to all of Area II members soliciting applicants to take on the job of coaching our future Young Rider teams. We were rewarded with applications from some of eventing’s best and brightest. The applicants were: Joe Meyer, Will Coleman, Emily Beshear, Lainey Ashker, Lynn Symansky and Skyeler Icke, Alison Springer and Sinead Halpin. A committee consisting of Duncan MacRae, Kaiti Saunders, Jan Byyny, Diane McBroom and Carol Kozlowski was appointed to oversee the process of selecting our next coach from this incredible slate of applicants.
After submitting written applications and responses to several questions, each of the candidates was interviewed. After the committee considered their records and their answers to the interview questions, the committee chose Sinead Halpin to be the Area II Young Rider Coach for the next 3 years. It was not an easy decision nor one taken lightly. In fact, the Committee felt that any one of the candidates would have made an excellent Coach but we were constrained to select just one of the applicants to become the next Coach.
We hope that the combination of our new YR Coordinators, Pam and Meg, with Sinead as our new Coach will help to generate participation in the Area II YR program. The NAJYRC is a fantastic venue for our future Eventing talent to get a solid foundation for advancement into the program for High Performance riders aiming for US Team competition. The NAJYRC is also the “Junior Olympics” and so may be the pinnacle of competitive riding for some. Either way, the program is here for you! Take advantage of all that we have to offer and JOIN THE YR PROGRAM!
Please take the time to welcome Pam, Meg and Sinead to the Area II YR team. They will need your support in many ways but they will offer so much in return. Look for an all new program in 2013. Keep your eyes peeled for clinic opportunities for YRs. And rest assured that you may reach out to Sinead at any time for help! Sinead has told us that she will be available to our YR candidates at Events, by phone and perhaps even visiting you at your home barn.
Keep a look out later today for the launch of the AREA II NAYRC and YRAP facebook page!
Pam’s email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Meg’s email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sinead’s email: sinead@This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..com
