Each issue, MSEDA will highlight a member who is active in the organization to give other members a peek into their horse-loving lives. Interested in being featured? Email Sarah at redhorseenterprise@gmail.com

By Sarah E. Coleman

Where are you from?

I was born in Dearborn, MI, and I grew up in Bloomfield Hills, MI.  I attended Hope College in Holland, MI and studied French at University of Grenoble, France. I also have an MBA.

 

What brought you to Kentucky?

I was a Kmart General Manager for 20 years and I moved 12 times in 20 years, so every time that I moved, I had a new horse experience. I was downsized in 1994 and then became Festival Coordinator for the United States Pony Club.

What do you do full time? Do you enjoy it? 

For my full-time job, I am a financial advisor for Cetera Financial Specialists. I have an office in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., and I am licensed in 15 states.

What other activities do you enjoy?
In the past, I played violin in symphony orchestras and quartets. I have also had art exhibited at Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

When did you begin riding? 

I started taking lessons when I was 6 years old, but I had been crawling on every horse I saw since I was a toddler. I began with western lessons for 3 years, then switched to English.

In the past, I rode hunter/jumpers, did a 50-mile endurance race, exercised racing Arabian horses, rode in the hills of West Virginia, trained in dressage with Teri Foley, Carol Grant and Theo Wilkinson, and helped on a Clydesdale breeding operation.

How long have you been a MSEDA member?

I have been a MSEDA member for over 15 years and am a past member of the Board of Directors

You’re a Technical Delegate (TD) for the United States Equestrian Federation. In which disciplines?

I am a USEF Technical Delegate in:

Eventing "r"

Dressage "R"

Vaulting "r"

I am a FEI Level 1 Steward in:  Eventing, Dressage, Vaulting and Reining

How did you become interested in that role?
After I became Chief of Fence Judges for Rolex Lexington Three-Day Event CCI ****, I was looking for a way to help the sport. With my management background, being a Technical Delegate seemed to fit. My last store I managed for Kmart was $15 million in volume and I had 250 employees and 18 managers.

What does being a TD entail?
A TD helps the organizers, the competitors and the judges with rule interpretation, but our main role is to protect the horse and help keep a level playing field. A TD also promotes safety at horse shows.

You are heavily involved in helping multiple horse trials and shows. Can you tell us what your role at these events entail?
I coordinate volunteers (jump judges, communicators, stopping stewards and interior crossing guards) for 8 and or 9 horse trials, and one dressage show, a year--this includes the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** . I was also a Chief Fence Judge for the 1987 Pan Am Games and  coordinated for the 2010 World Equestrian Games. I fence judged at Rolex for many years and became Chief of Fence Judges in 1992.

What other horse-related endeavors have you been involved in?

I have been President of the Kentucky Horse Council and Area Steward for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Do you own a horse?
My horse foundered from the Cushings, and Dr. Ric Redden saved him. “Be Tough Willie” taught the vets that little veins  and arteries can regrow in the hoof wall capsule, so he was in Dr. Redden's lectures to veterinarians and farriers for many years.