Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress

Academy of Achievement2012 Alumni Honorees

Loranne AusleyLaurie Chapman-Bosco

Parker PearsonYvette Seger, PhD

Jennifer S. Welter, PT, DPT, CERP, RVT

Loranne AusleyLoranne Ausley is theSouth ern Director for Pro -ject New America, a politicalresearch and strategy firm.She is “of counsel’ to theHollimon PA Law firm, andowns and manages her ownconsulting firm. Ausley is anattorney who served as anelected Member of theFlorida House of Repre sen -ta tives for 8 years. In 2010,she ran as the Democraticnominee for Chief Financial

Officer of Florida, one of Florida’s four statewide electedCabinet positions.

While she gave up horses many years ago, she spent herformative years as an active member of the Tallahassee PonyClub – eventing in the southeastern United States, going toPony Club rallies and “knowdowns”. Loranne spent twosummers training with Major Jeremy Beale in Pennsylvania,where she ultimately earned her “B” rating. She attendedcollege at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College where shewas active for several years with the Bedford County Hunt.

After college, Loranne entered the world of politics and law,working on the campaign and staff of US Senator BobGraham, and later attending Washington & Lee UniversitySchool of Law. After law school, Ausley dedicated her careerto the service of others ranging from senior positions in theClinton Administration to her work with some of Florida’smost respected leaders including US Senator Bob Grahamand Governor Lawton Chiles. As a Democratic leader in theState House, Loranne established herself as an inde pen -dent-minded leader unafraid to take on tough problemsand find real solutions. Ausley developed a policy expertisein health care, and in 2008 was selected to oversee Florida’s $300 million child health insurance program.

Today, Ausley remains active in a number of local andstatewide organizations. She was instrumental in creatingWhole Child Leon, a community based initiative focused onyoung children and their families, and she continues toserve as Founding Chair. She serves on the Board of theUnited Way of the Big Bend, is an appointed member of the

Leon County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls,a member of Leadership Florida’s Class XX, and PTA Trea -surer at her son’s elementary school in Tallahassee.

Loranne credits her Pony Club background with instillingthe values that she still holds today: hard work anddiscipline, the love of competition and the importance ofteamwork. The love of competition led her to another threephase sport – triathlon. Since 1999, Loranne has completed9 marathons and over 50 triathlons. She completed theBoston Marathon in 2006, Ironman Florida in 2007, and theEscape from Alcatraz triathlon. She is currently training forthe Tallahassee marathon in February of this year.

Loranne lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband BillHollimon, their 8 year old son and their dog Remy.

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Alumni Biographies

LaurieChapman-BoscoSince early memory, LaurieChapman-Bosco’s annualChrist mas list featured a ponyor horse. It wasn’t until hersenior year in high school thatthe dream was realized. Duringher junior year in high schoolher family moved to NewHampshire to a house with asmall barn in the back yard, onone acre. She was offered afree horse during the next yearand she rushed home to sharethe wonderful news with her

parents. The horse was free, the barn was already built; howexpensive could horse ownership be?

Laurie got that first horse as a 17 year old with NO prior horseexperience. Neither did her parents, or they never would haveallowed that first horse.

Pony Club was joined for safety reasons. Since the first horse wasa rather inappropriate ex-racehorse who didn’t deal well with arank beginner, much time was spent at the local hospital gettingradiographs in the early years. Laurie’s mother heard about PonyClub and thought that might be a cost effective tool in stayingout of the emergency room.

Laurie had to really explore other avenues of participation in USPCin her first two years of membership. Owning a horse withminimal carpal flexion and uneven, bouncy gaits and that wasoften unsound necessitated that. Pony Club offered the reasonsto hone one’s skills at paying attention to detail. If riding was a bittricky, then excellence in horse management was a reasonablegoal. Pony Club also offered a large group of very generousmembers and their parents, willing to loan sound horses whennecessary.

Fortunately, while attempting to compete at a local horse show,she met the judge, Susan McLean, a graduate A from Groton,Massachusetts. Again, Laurie’s mother assessed the situation andasked Susan if she would instruct Laurie, then a D-2. Under Susan’stutelage, Laurie became a functioning C-2 within 10 months ofregular instruction, both un mounted and mounted.

During her sophomore year at the University of New Hampshire,her mother suggested that Laurie should consider going toPorlock Vale Equestrian Centre in Great Britain for the BritishHorse Society Assistant Instructor program. Two other clubmembers were going and that might be a shared life experience.

Upon returning from Great Britain, Laurie continued to learn andride, and competed on her own horse through Training Level inEventing. The sport is expensive, so creativity in employment wasnecessary, and it had to fit into the schedule of a commutingcollege student. Employment ranged from groom and stablehandfor Runnymede Racing stables, where weanlings grew up andracehorses came to rest and rehab; to construction laborer on thebackfill crew, to becoming the first woman member of the UnitedAssociation of Pipefitters and Plumbers, Local 138, out of Salem,Massachusetts. She was also a nuclear certified welder for fouryears and probably the only DC of a local club in the then EasternNew England region who was.

During one National Examiner seminar, Laurie heard about a jobat the University of New Hampshire (UNH) teaching equineconformation. She got the job and taught while attending UNHto finish the Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. At the end ofthe semester, she was asked to teach another class called “LightHorse Tech” and so designed that class content based on theapplied skills needed to successfully pass a B rating.

The Thompson School applied equine management specializa -tion has morphed over the years and several equine classesbecame the base for most of the options for the Equine Sciencemajor at UNH. After earning a Master’s degree in Adult Education,Laurie’s position has morphed along with it, from teaching a fewclassroom classes and some riding classes to becoming aProfessor of Applied Animal Science and the Applied AnimalScience program chair.

Laurie is married to an incredibly understanding man and has twogrown children, neither of whom ride. Her family lives on a smallfarm in New Hampshire with a horse, dog, cat, many chickens andFranklin, the resident Muscovy duck. She credits USPC withshowing her that excellence can be striven for and that thejourney itself is an amazing and rewarding experience, especiallywhile working with the people she has been blessed to work with.

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Alumni Biographies

Parker PearsonParker Pearson is the VicePresident of Marketing forAdvanced Logic Industries,a privately held IT inte gra -tion & software develop -ment firm. She has held thisposition for the past twelveyears. A graduate of SweetBriar College (VA) Parkeralso shows successfullytoday in the Adult AmateurHunter division and in someequitation, having previ-ously won the Southwest

Virginia Hunter Jumper Association (SWVHJA) Older AdultEquitation Medal Final and medaled 3 times at the VirginiaCommonwealth Games (2 silver, 1 gold). She is a formerSWVHJA Board member.

Parker is a graduate of the Somerset Hills (NJ) and the Valeof Aylesbury (UK) Pony Clubs. She was awarded her colorsfrom the Essex Fox Hounds (NJ) and grew up competing ineventing at the Young Rider level, dressage, combineddriving including several top 10 finishes at Gladstone, alongwith success in equitation, hunters and jumpers. As a juniorshe trained with a number of wonderful teachers includingSally Ike, Michele & Tim Grubb and Emil Spadone. She alsofree-lanced as a groom for many of the top U.S. hunter/jumper barns, eventing teams and combined drivers. Shewas honored to have the opportunity to work at the U.S.Equestrian Team (Gladstone) working for Chrystine JonesTauber.

Over the years, Parker has realized the challenges andimportant life lessons learned from competitive involve -ment with horses. Here is Parker’s short list of key lifelessons:

• First: There are no shortcuts. Really. There isnothing like a green horse to show you that shortcuts can have disastrous long-lasting results.

• Next: Success is 90% showing up – and workingreally hard, even when no one is watching. Toattain our own “success,” our pursuits must becomea practice unto itself: show up and work hard, evenon the details no one else may appreciate.

• Lastly: Have a plan – and be ready to deviate fromit. Just like courses and horses, “riding the plan” isonly the first step. Real power comes fromdeveloping the flexibility to calmly improvise whenPlans A and B don’t work. Good horsemen don’tpanic; they react and revise.

These pieces of wisdom have been a guiding force inParker’s professional life as well. Regarding the last piece ofadvice, in Parker’s own words: “Learn to do this: ideally withyour sense of humor and patience intact, and you’ll beprepared for success at whatever lies alongside or beyondyour journey with horses.”

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Alumni Biographies

Yvette Seger,PhDAn interest in the inter -section between sci enceand public policy resulted inYvette Seger abandoningher lab coat and moving toWashington, D.C., whereshe is currently a SeniorScientific Analyst withThom son Reuters. This roleallows Yvette to combineher doctoral train ing incancer genetics with the

Federal government’s need for methods to effectivelyassess research investments. Her efforts are focused onconducting quantitative evaluations of programs fundedby the National Institutes of Health using a combination ofmeasures, ranging from demographics to bibliometrics.Yvette is also the subject matter expert for the developmentof public-facing web tools, such as the National CancerInstitute’s Interactive Budget Analysis Tool, and Research InView, a proprietary faculty data collection tool.

Yvette’s transition from the lab bench to the Beltway beganduring her undergraduate studies at Ohio WesleyanUniversity, where she double-majored in Zoology andPolitics and Government. Her studies culminated in Honorstheses in both majors – one identifying genetic markers ofequine cryptorchidism and the other on the need forgenetic non-discrimination legislation in the age of genetictesting. Following completion of her BA, Yvette chose topursue a PhD in Genetics at SUNY-Stony Brook, andconducted her doctoral research at the internationallyrenowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). Herresearch – funded by a pre-doctoral fellowship from theDepartment of Defense Congressionally Directed MedicalResearch Program – sought to elucidate the geneticelements required to convert a normal human cell into onethat is cancerous. Her work showed that this “trans for -mation” could be accomplished via a combination of threeoncogenes, and specific mutations in these genes helpedelucidate potential therapeutic targets. It also showed thattelomerase – the enzyme that confers cellular immortality– is not required for the actual transformation process as

had been thought previously, but does play a role in tumormaintenance and disease progression.

During the last two years of her doctoral studies, Yvetterepresented CSHL at several “Capitol Hill Days” in whichscientists met with members of Congress to discuss theimportance of Federal research funding. These experiencesprompted her to pursue a career in science policy.Following graduation, she received a Christine MirzayanScience and Technology Policy Fellowship from theNational Academy of Sciences, during which she conductedanalysis on the appointment of Presidential science andtechnology advisors. Prior to her current position atThomson Reuters, Yvette has also served as a policyassociate with the research advocacy group, FasterCures,and as a senior policy analyst for the Secretary’s AdvisoryCommittee on Genetics, Health, and Society.

Yvette is a graduate H-A member of Lake Shore Pony Club(Tri-State Region), and was a recipient of the USPC CalvaryAssociation trophy in 1994. She took an eight year hiatusfrom riding during graduate school, but the presence of alint roller in her desk drawer “outed” her as a former PonyClubber to a client, and she once again found herselfactively volunteering with USPC. She currently serves as aChief Horse Management Judge, Horse ManagementOrganizer for the Capital Region, and Co-Chair of thenational Horse Management Committee, and is betterknown as her alter ego, “the Crazy Sock Lady.” Thanks togenerosity of Pony Club families, Yvette returned toeventing in 2007 on Roger Rabbit, with sport pony FindersKeepers joining the mix in 2010. When she’s not writing,riding, stuck in traffic, or on a conference call, Yvette can befound shopping for very un-Pony Club footwear.

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Alumni Biographies

Jennifer S.Welter, PT, DPT,CERP, RVTJennifer is a graduate C-3from the Redwoods PonyClub in the Sierra PacificRegion. After high school,

Jennifer attended college at the University of California,Davis and earned her B.S. in Animal Science with anemphasis on equine science. She then spent the next nineyears working for UC Davis’ Veterinary Medical TeachingHospital as an equine intensive care veterinary nurse andbecame licensed as a Registered Veterinary Technician.Jennifer had the opportunity to provide nursing care forhorses recovering from a wide variety of neurological andmusculoskeletal problems and ultimately specialized inequine neonatal intensive care. She also engaged inteaching veterinary students and assisting with a variety ofresearch projects at the university. During her years at theveterinary school, Jennifer began to explore options toenhance the healing of her patients to improve theiroutcomes. After several successful bouts of physical therapyherself due to riding and work related accidents, Jenniferbecame very aware of physical therapy’s integral role in therehabilitation of human athletes. At the time, equinephysical therapy was just emerging as a field of practice.Jennifer entered a program for veterinary and physicaltherapy professionals offered by the University of TennesseeVeterinary School to become a Certified EquineRehabilitation Practitioner. She is now one of only a handfulof individuals who have completed this program, whichprovides specialized training in equine specific re ha bili ta -tion techniques. Following her certification, Jenniferde cided to dedicate herself fully to the field of physicaltherapy. She continued her education at Samuel MerrittUniversity where she obtained her doctorate in PhysicalTherapy and is now a licensed human Doctor of PhysicalTherapy.

Jennifer now divides her professional time between herbusy human physical therapy practice and her equinerehabilitation work. In her human practice, she specializesin pediatrics with an emphasis on treating children withdevelopmental delays and neurological disorders. Jennifercredits her years of horsemanship developed through Pony

Club for her ability to work effectively with children, sinceboth children and horses require keen observational skillsand patience to work with. Jennifer started her companyEquine Therapeutic Solutions in 2007. She provides physicalrehabilitation and performance enhancement services forequine athletes and their riders along with educationalprograms on rider biomechanics and a variety of equinetopics such as prevention of back pain and pilates forhorses. As one dedicated to the service of both youth andhorses, Jennifer has also donated her time to Ride to Walk,a therapeutic riding center for children with neurologicaldisabilities, as well as to Pony Club.

Currently Jennifer resides in Vacaville, California with herhusband and their new baby boy Connor. In this newchapter of her life as a mother, Jennifer is looking forwardto introducing her little boy to the joys of horses and isalready on the lookout for a good pony! Despite a busyhome and professional life, Jennifer has managed tocontinue riding intermittently through the years, focusingon her first love, dressage. She is currently enjoying herIberian Warmblood mare, Isabella, whom she plans to breedin the next year or two in hopes of bringing along her nextdressage prospect.

Jennifer feels exceptionally lucky to have had theopportunity to grow both as an individual and as a horseperson through USPC. She credits her success in herbusiness and educational pursuits to the work ethic andhorsemanship skills she learned in Pony Club.

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Alumni Biographies

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress

National Youth CongressClass of 2012

Delegates

2012 National Youth Congress and Academyof Achievement Committee Members

*Present at 2012 Congress

Nancy Ambrosiano* Nancy Ambrosiano is a senior public information specialistat Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, focusingon media relations in the areas of nuclear nonproliferation,counterterrorism, intelligence and space science. She is amember of the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Emer-gency Support Team (NEST). She has been a reporter,columnist and freelance writer since graduating fromGeorge Mason University with a degree in English. She haswritten extensively for Equus, Horse & Rider, John Lyons Per-fect Horse, Stable Management Magazine, and is coauthorof the book Complete Plans for Building Horse Barns Big andSmall, now in its third edition. She is a graduate A from Vir-ginia Region, Regional Supervisor of the Southwest Region,president and occasional field master of Caza Ladron Hunt,and a lifelong eventer. Nancy has served on the Quiz Com-mittee and judged Quiz phases at Western Championshipsand Festival for several years. In 2005 she was inducted inthe Academy of Achievement and in 2006 she joined theBoard of Governors, chairing the Communications Commit-tee from 2007 to the present. She has a graduate C-3 (trad)daughter who was a 2007 NYC delegate and who graduatedfrom Kansas City Art Institute and Vancouver Film Schoolmajoring in 3-D animation and modeling and who nowworks for NerdCorps Entertainment animating the Nick-elodeon show “Monster High.” Nancy also has an awesomebut non-riding son and her husband, a computationalphysicist, focuses on modeling and simulation and risk as-sessment for the department of Homeland Security. Nancyand her family live with two hunt horses, her daughter’s re-tired eventer plus a Newfy, two kitties and ferrets.

Megan Dennis*Megan Dennis is an H-A from the New York / Upper Con-necticut Region. She is currently attending Wilson Collegeand would like to have a career in research biology. Sheplayed lacrosse, field hockey, and basketball in high schooland was in the IDA, IHSA, Yearbook and represented herclass as Treasurer. She hopes to have a small training barnsomeday and be a Pony Club volunteer. Megan was a Na-tional Youth Congress Delegate in 2010 in Houston, TX.

Ann Rickard Haller*Ann Rickard Haller is a well-travelled “Army Brat” with a pas-sion for people, horses and the outdoors. A graduate H-Apony clubber from Hood Pony Club (Texas), Ann was amember of more than half a dozen pony clubs. She has con-tinued to be involved in Pony Club for over 25 years as aninstructor, clinician, coach, National Examiner, Chief HorseManagement Judge, past member of the USPC nationaleventing and horse management committees, and pastmember of the USPC Board of Governors. In 2004, Ann wasasked to coach the USPC International Show Jumping Ex-change Team that went to Johannesburg, South Africa. In2006, she was inducted into the USPC Academy of Achieve-ment.

Ann is a USEA nationally-certified instructor (ICP Level II) aswell as being a USPC Level IV National Examiner (examiningcandidates through the A level). She is also a current com-petitor herself, bringing along her young TB-Paint cross,“Master of the House” in eventing and dressage competi-tions. Ann’s education in communications and (human) nu-trition give her a diverse background strongly grounded inteaching in a positive tone. She received several commen-dations and awards for her outstanding work in the produc-tion of integrated nutrition campaigns, including nutritionworkshops, television and radio programming, and televi-sion PSAs. Other “hats” that Ann wears include Show Manager for local schooling dressage and eventingcom petitions; Cross Country controller for USEA recognizedevents; and Media and Press Relations for national eventsincluding Rolex, Fair Hill, Rebecca Farm, NAYRC (Young Rid-ers), and most recently, the World Equestrian Games, whereAnn was the Chief Press Officer for the disciplines of Reining,Vaulting, and Eventing. Ann lives in Oxford, Georgia, about35 miles east of Atlanta, with her husband Roger and a yel-low Labrador, “Miss Maddie”. Roger, a graduate A pony-club-ber, was an international-level event rider and now judges,officiates, and does course design in the US and other coun-tries.

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Committee Member Biographies

Connie Denton Jehlik*Connie Denton Jehlik joined the staff of the United StatesPony Clubs National Office in June of 2010 as the InstructionServices Director. She holds a Masters in Education andteaching certificate in Agricultural Education and MiddleSchool science from California Polytechnic State Universityin San Luis Obispo, CA. She has taught middle school sci-ence and high school agriculture for a total of 22 years. Con-nie joined Contra Costa Pony Club when she was 11 yearsold and received her A rating from Morgan Territory PonyClub. Connie has stayed active in Pony Club through theyears by being involved in the visiting instructors programfor two summers after receiving her A rating and has beenan active Chief Horse Management judge, DC of HoofbeatsPony Club, and HMO for Sierra Pacific and MidSouth regions.Connie has been married to Michael since 1984 and theyhave two daughters, Molly a C-2 and Mary a C-1 who are at-tending colleges in Kentucky. Connie and Michael own afarm in Mount Sterling, KY where they enjoy the outdoorsriding and hiking the Red River Gorge area and small townatmosphere.

Sharon TurnerSharon Turner is a Primary Examiner at the United StatesPatent and Trademark Office, specializing in fields related tobiotechnology and chemistry. Sharon holds a B.S. degree inBiochemistry with a Minor in Chemistry from Virginia Tech,and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Pitts-burgh. Sharon is a Lifetime USPC Member and graduate Afrom the Difficult Run Pony Club, Virginia Region. Sharon isan enthusiastic horsewoman who makes room for riding,training and teaching, while filling other spare time skiingand mountain biking with her husband. Sharon was hon-ored to be inducted into the USPC Academy of Achieve-ment in 2008, and looks forward to continued service onthis committee.

Emily WileyEmily Wiley is a molecular biology professor at ClaremontMcKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps colleges in southern California.After earning her PhD in Molecular Genetics from the Uni-versity of Washington, she was a postdoctoral researcher atthe University of Rochester, then a Visiting Professor atMount Holyoke College before joining the faculty in the

Joint Science Department of the Claremont Colleges. Emily’sresearch investigates mechanisms the cell uses to regulatethe reading of genetic information – how genes are appro-priately turned on or off, or finely tuned in their expression.She regularly publishes her work in this area, and she re-cently received a grant from the National Science Founda-tion to support both her research and the development ofa national initiative to involve undergraduates in genomicsresearch. Emily has kept horses, and particularly Pony Club,as a priority in her life. Since graduating as an ‘A’, she contin-ues to compete in dressage and eventing. She has been aNational Examiner for 11 years and devotes much of hersummer to clinics and testings. Emily was inducted into theUSPC Academy of Achievement in 2002, and is the formerChair of the NYC Organizing Committee. In addition to rid-ing, she is enthusiastic about any activity that gets her out-side enjoying nature.

H. Jerry Schurink H. Jerry Schurink grew up on Doornhof Farm in Shaftsbury,VT. Jerry’s parents, Henry and Janet founded the Benning-ton Pony Club (BPC) in 1968 with Henry the acting DC for40 years. After high school, Jerry worked at Klosterhof inMedingen, Germany, an auction facility and stallion trainingcenter where Bereiter candidates develop their skills andknowledge before taking their national exams.

Currently, Jerry is Director of Riding at Bridgewater College,Bridgewater, VA, after spending 22 years as the Director ofEquestrian Studies in the Department of Veterinary and An-imal Sciences at the University of MA. While there, he taughtriding and didactic courses in both the associates and bach-elors degree programs, and was the Head Coach of the IHSAEquitation team.

Jerry has trained, ridden and coached through the ad-vanced level in eventing, and is a USEA Instructor Certifica-tion Program Level 3 Instructor, Faculty, and NationalCommittee member.

Jerry has been blessed with the fortune to share his passionfor horses with his best friend and constant source of inspi-ration, his wife of more than 25 years, Rebecca, who is alsoan accomplished rider, instructor and coach. Aside from hisequestrian pursuits, Jerry’s other interests include open seafishing, golf, skiing, mountain biking and motorcycle riding.

Academy of AchievementNational Youth Congress Committee Member Biographies