Britney Grover

Robert Reyers may be taking a break from riding while he attends college, but he hasn’t taken a break from horses. He is a co-chair of Brooke USA Foundation’s Young Professionals Committee, which spearheaded the Sunset Watering Hole party earlier this year at the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida. “I was introduced to Brooke USA two years ago, when they first formed the Young Professionals Committee,” Robert said. “They asked if I wanted to help throw a party, and I said, ‘Of course.’”

Running a quickly-expanding equine nutrition company in Versailles, Kentucky, isn’t something Isabel Sempe ever envisioned herself doing before it became a reality—but her life and experiences put her in the perfect position to do so. Isabel learned most of what she knows about horses from growing up on a 2,000-acre farm in Honduras as part of a multi-generational equestrian family. Her father imported horses from Europe as well as North and South America to breed, sell and compete. When she got old enough, Isabel helped care for and develop most of the horses in the program; there were around 80 horses at a time on their family farm. “I learned about issues mainly from our recently imported horses, who endured certain difficulties due to the difference in climates, environmental changes and incorporating the different new feeds into their lives,” she said.

Felix Favor Parker and his childhood best friend, Marcus Fairfax Fountaine, have known that they wanted to go into business together since they were 15 years old. After a failed first venture—a bouncy castle company—they both went to university and then got jobs in the footwear industry. In 2013 they decided to pursue their dream of working together, this time opting for something upscale and in a very different industry: hand-crafted leather boots under a brand combining their middle names, Fairfax & Favor.

Kaiya Lombard is 10 years old and has only been riding for four years, yet her equestrian career has already had more ups and downs than many kids her age on the show circuit. Kaiya lives in Seattle, Washington, and rides at Horse IQ in nearby Redmond, Washington, where she trains with Rob Van Jacobs. She may not attend as many shows as other riders, but she certainly makes the most of the ones she does.

SCAD Savannah – Fall 2023 – SCAD Serve – Faith Equestrian – Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center – Photography Courtesy of SCAD

Elizabeth Ehrlich and Kimberly Ercius operate completely different aspects of their company, Equine Elixirs, but together, they’ve created a thriving, cohesive company beyond anything they could have imagined growing up together in New York. “Building Equine Elixirs together is only the tip of the iceberg for our partnership,” Kim said. “When we were kids, our parents had us alternate weekends showing and grooming for each other so that we were always partners on the same team. That experience set the tone for a lifetime of teamwork.”

They say you can’t have it all, but Mallory Hogan seems to be doing exactly that. She recently completed her undergraduate studies, passed the LSAT and is starting law school—having also competed in eventing up to the CCI4* level across the country. Most remarkably, she’s done it all with—and perhaps thanks to—one horse.

Friday, October 25 2024 / Published in General, Sidelines Feature, Sidelines Spotlight, Weekly Feature

Ivanel “Julie” Johnson has always managed to juggle multiple careers, as an eventing coach and competitor, high school teacher and author. She’s also always managed an increasingly debilitating medical condition. Despite her spondylolisthesis, or spinal displacement, Julie has been involved in able-bodied, para and therapeutic riding for over 50 years.

Like many equestrians, Megan Sorentino has loved horses longer than she can remember. She started riding lessons at 5 and began volunteering at stables as soon as she was old enough, dabbling in dressage and participating in hunter-jumper and Pony Club. After moving to a home barn, Megan began training a little as others noticed her connection with horses and asked her for help. “I didn’t know why I could get things to work when others couldn’t,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I really knew how to help people communicate with their horses better, so I never thought it would become my career.”