President – Mae Thomas
Hello, my name is Mae Thomas. I am a senior majoring in Animal Sciences Pre
-Veterinary Medicine. I am one of the English Horse Show coordinators for this year and am excited to meet everyone who joins our club! I am from Champaign and have been riding horses since I was four years old. I only started showing when I was a sophomore in high school as I didn’t have any interest in showing until my trainer asked me to be on her IEA team. I now teach lessons to others and compete on the Illini Equestrians English Show Team. I love being on the team and hope to meet a bunch of mew members this year!
Vice President – Ally Schmidt
Hi, I’m Summer Goodwin. I am a junior studying Food Science with minors in Chemistry and Leadership Studies from Crystal Lake, Illinois. I started riding horses when I was nine and have continued ever since! Most of my horse experience comes from volunteering at Hooves to Heal, a therapeutic equestrian center where I enjoy working with riders and horses alike. Additionally, I have worked with horses at a summer camp, volunteered at a horse rescue, judged Equine Trail Sport events and showed with the English IHSA team! This is my third year in the club and my second year on the exec board. I can’t wait to meet all of you!
Treasurer – Kelly Kurka
Hi everyone, my name is Grace and I’m a junior studying Computer Science. I’ve been riding since I was nine years old and competed on the Arabian circuit during high school, where I rode in dressage, equitation, and sport horse classes. Joining this club has allowed me to meet many people with the same passion for horses, and I’m excited to see what this year has in store!
Secretary – Bella Polizzotto
Hi, I’m Bella Polizzotto and I’m a senior majoring in Animal Sciences. I’m from Batavia, Illinois and I have been riding since I was five years old. I ave don many disciplines of riding, but currently focus on dressage and jumping. During the summers I also work at a camp where I teach riding every day and help lead trail rides or other activities around the barn. This is my second year with the team, and I am excited for the upcoming season!
Fundraising Chair – Julia Gong
Julia is a sophomore in Animal Sciences. She is from Shanghai China, and has been riding for 13 years. She has a beloved horse, Anicky a gray jumper mare who is 6 months older than her. They have won many speed jumper rounds in high school. Its Julia’s second year on the Illini Equestrians English team.
Fundraising Chair- Augie Staudacher
Social Chair – Beth Kunkle
Social Media Coordinator and Co- English Show team coordinator – Katie Rich
Katie is a junior studying Chemistry with a minor in Anthropology on the Pre-Med track. She hopes to go into sports medicine and work with other equestrian athletes. She has been riding for 14 years and has an extensive background in the Saddleseat discipline, but also shows her own hunter (and Saddlebreds) in her home state of Texas. This is her third semester on the Illini Equestrians as a member of the English IHSA team.
Western Horse Show Coordinator – Reana Steirwalt
Raena is a sophomore in Crop Science. She is from Tolono, IL and has been riding her whole life. She competes in eventing on her own horse as well as teaching some riding lessons; she enjoys being able to share her love of horses with her students! She has mostly ridden English in the past but has found a love of Western riding through this Western show team and is excited to be this year’s Western show team coordinator!