New United States Pony Clubs Board of Governors for 2024

Official Press Release from The United States Pony Clubs. Inc.

March 14, 2024 (Lexington, KY)—The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. (USPC or Pony Club) announced the election of their Executive Committee and the current slate of the United States Pony Clubs Board of Governors, which were all confirmed at the 2024 USPC Convention, Presented by Via Nova Training and Sponsored by Lincoln Memorial University in January 2024.

Jennifer Sweet continues into her third year as USPC President. Sweet was originally connected with Pony Club in 1997 when she signed her daughters, Aubrey, who earned an H-A certification, and Spencer, who earned an H-B, up for membership. She quickly became a valued volunteer and leader when she stepped up to the plate to do whatever she could for her local club and its members. Like most young girls, Sweet had a love for horses, and at age 12, she received her first horse for Christmas. It was a wonderful life-altering gift. She rode and competed locally through her high school years. Then as a young adult, she gave up horses for work, marriage, and family. She and her husband, Kevin, reside in Chehalis, Wash., where they manage their truss manufacturing company.

Deb Kirsch is serving as USPC First Vice President. Kirsch is a Pony Club alum from Norfolk Hunt Pony Club, now part of the Central New England Region. While in Pony Club, she earned her B certification. While serving in many capacities over the years at the local, regional, and national levels, she is currently Treasurer for Clayton Canyon Pony Club and the Middle California Region, and she has been serving on the USPC Advisory Committee. She earned a BA in psychology from Boston University. After college, she continued her Pony Club involvement as a clinician and coach while she pursued her Eventing career as the owner of Looking Glass Farm in Middleborough, Mass., where she taught and trained for 24 years. She also discovered a passion in life for nonprofit management, and she currently serves as executive director of Temple Isaiah, a 900-household synagogue in the East Bay of San Francisco. Kirsch lives in an equestrian community in Clayton, Calif., with her husband, three children, two dogs and a cat, and two of her homebred Looking Glass Farm horses.

Jan Whitehouse of Nicholasville, Ky., continues serving in the role of USPC Vice President of Activities, and has served on the Board of Governors for 15 years. Whitehouse has been involved in Pony Club for over 25 years. She has served as Secretary and as District Commissioner of Keeneland Pony Club for numerous years. Currently, Whitehouse is a Vice Regional Supervisor of the Midsouth Region. She served four years on the Games Committee and four years on the Eventing Committee. She enjoys volunteering at horse trials in the Lexington area and is the Secretary for two USEA Horse Trials. Whitehouse and her husband, Mike, have one daughter, Marty, who is an A Pony Club alum.

Sarah Andres, PhD, of Floyds Knobs, Ind., moves into the role of USPC Vice President of Instruction. Andres is a Pony Club alum who received a BS degree in microbiology from Purdue University and her MS and PhD degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Louisville. She currently works as a program manager for a National Institutes of Health-funded Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) program that helps transform basic scientific research into commercial products from all over the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In addition to being the District Commissioner of Sunny Side Pony Club in Southern Indiana, she has been on the Board of Governors for the United States Pony Clubs, as well as several national committees, including serving as Chair of the Safety Committee from 2015-2019. She has competed through the two-star level of Eventing and is a USDF Bronze Medalist.

Rae Birr, of Manistique, Mich., who has served in many volunteer roles, will now serve as USPC Vice President of Regional Administration. Birr got her own horse at age 12 and has never been horseless since. She joined Jericho Forest Pony Club in the Central New England Region and earned her B with her first horse. In college, she earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree and became a veterinarian, married, and then three children followed. Her older children were active youth Pony Club members, and her daughter also serves in various roles with USPC. Birr has been in the Lake Shore Region since 2000 and served as the District Commissioner of Big Bay Pony Club before serving as Vice Regional Supervisor. She served as Regional Supervisor of her region from 2006-2023. In addition to her regional roles, Birr has served on the USPC Board of Governors since 2016. She has served as the chair of various committees and as a committee member. All her experience led to her being honored with the Founders Award at the 2024 USPC Convention.

Shelley Nevins, of Waukesha, Wisc., will serve as USPC Secretary. Nevins earned her BS in biology and her MS in applied biotechnology. She works as a project manager in the commercialization team for Genus IntelliGen Technologies, a cattle genetics company specializing in AI technologies. She has volunteered for many organizations (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, hockey, school, and her church). As a youth, she competed on the local hunter jumper circuit and at local open shows, as well as in 4-H shows, county and state fairs, and in 4-H hippology competitions, where she even competed at the national competition. She got started with Pony Club when she and her daughter joined, and she has earned her C-2 in Eventing and Dressage. Nevins has served as the Treasurer and District Commissioner for Run O’ the Mill Pony Club and been the show manager for their fundraiser horse shows. In addition, she served as Vice Regional Supervisor for the Lake Shore Region for eight years, and she is now the current Regional Supervisor. Her focus has been on organizing rallies, coordinating Championships attendance for the region, and monitoring concussion and training compliance. She and her husband have two grown children, and she and her daughter still participate in Pony Club together.

SueAnn McClelland will serve as Treasurer. McClelland has been involved with USPC for the past 29 years as club Treasurer, District Commissioner, Regional Treasurer, Vice Regional Supervisor, Regional Supervisor, and as USPC’s Treasurer. She has served on the Board of Governors since 2015, participating on several national committees, including the Advisory, Safety, National Youth Congress/Academy of Achievement, Volunteer Development, D1-C2 Instruction, Policy, Governance, Finance, and the Audit committees. She has watched several generations of youth, as well as adults, go through Pony Club. She shares the love for horses and is continually impressed with the positive influence this organization has on and through its members. She is the proud parent of Lena, a USPC H-A member, who serves as the current Regional Supervisor of the Rocky Mountain Region. Professionally, McClelland works in the commercial real estate division of HomeStreet Bank as a senior loan closer. She currently lives in Kingston, Wash., with her husband Jeff, two horses, a Corgi, two cats and four chickens.

Current United States Pony Clubs Board of Governors

In addition to the Executive Committee, the following are also current United States Pony Clubs Board of Governors members:

Terry Anderson, Brookeville, Md.
Sue Beth Bunn, Midland, Ga.
Lorelle Carpenter, Mentor, Ohio
Lorelei Coplen, Carlisle, Pa.
Lydia Eilinger, Alpharetta, Ga.
Terri Foreman, Saint Joseph, Ill.
Sali Gear, Virginia Beach, Va.
Jocelyn Hunt, Easton, Md.
Ray Ingandela, Lutz, Fla.
Sedate Kohler, Madison, Wisc.
Donald “Hoot” McLean, Wagener, S.C.
Lori Pickett, Chesapeake, Va.
Heather Rosenker, Basye, Va.
Eric Seto, Simpsonville, Ky.
Sue Smith, Eastham, Mass.
Asia Thayer, Wauna, Wash.
Allison Thomas, Altoona, Fla.
Bo Varnado, Ramona, Calif.

About The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. — The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. (USPC or Pony Club) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization that builds the foundation of teamwork and sportsmanship through riding, mounted sports, and care of horses and ponies, while developing and enhancing leadership, confidence, responsibility, and a sense of community in its youth and adult members. USPC is proud to offer instruction and competitive opportunities in 11 competitive disciplines through hundreds of clubs and centers across the United States. USPC’s educational standards continue to be instrumental in curriculum development for schools, universities, equestrian professionals, and organizations across the United States. Many of the nation’s top equestrians, including Olympic team members, as well as successful business professionals and leaders in a variety of fields, have roots in Pony Club. For more information, please visit www.ponyclub.org.