Running Fair Hill International is one of the biggest jobs in the biz, and we are excited to welcome two of our sport’s hardest-working ladies into important positions at the event. This week the FHI Board of Directors, chaired by Patricia Gilbert, announced Mary Coldren as FHI Competition Manager and Maria Barrett as the new FHI Business Director.
From FHI:
Mary hardly needs a lengthy introduction. Most of you are familiar with Mary as an event secretary extraordinaire. Mary can be seen at countless events around Area II in the role of the event secretary. Additionally, she is also a USEF licensed technical delegate. Mary has been part of Fair Hill International horse trials since the very beginning, weed-whacking jumps and putting up jump flags before she became the FHI event secretary.
It was very obvious from the beginning that she had a special knack for scheduling ride times, organizing stabling orders, and meeting last-minute rider requests among other duties. The demand for her services grew from there, and today she is one of the most sought after event secretaries on the East Coast. The event organizers and riders appreciate her organizational skill, personal attention and also her contribution to the safety of the sport. With the upcoming changes and transition of The Fair Hill International Fall Festival to a CCI5*-L, we are incredibly excited to have Mary on staff as our Competition Manager.
In addition to Mary, we welcome Maria Barrett. Maria steps into the newly created position of the FHI Business Director with the goal of promoting FHI’s mission via a robust social media campaign, strategic planning in the area of corporate and individual sponsorships, and fundraising. Maria is a Pennsylvania licensed attorney and the owner and managing attorney of an immigration law practice. Her business model relies on a comprehensive website and social media presence, and an extensive advertising campaign with international outreach.
It is these business development and marketing skills that she brings with her to FHI as we are moving through a period of significant transformation and growth. Maria, who was born in Slovakia, grew up riding and competing in the long format eventing and jumpers on the European circuit and is still an avid adult amateur event rider. She can be seen around Area II events either riding or volunteering.
Here at FHI, we are already busy planning and implementing changes and updates to our competition calendar and individual events that will positively affect our riders, officials, sponsors, and volunteers. Please give a warm welcome to Mary and Maria.
Want to join the Fair Hill team? The event is currently seeking two volunteers, an advertising coordinator and a chair, to head up the printed program for the October event. View the job descriptions here.
The Maryland venue will play host to three USEA recognized and three unrecognized horse trials this year, with its marquee Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International CCI4*-L, CCI3*-L and USEA Young Event Horse Championships taking place Oct. 17-20, 2019. For more information and a calendar of upcoming events, visit the website here.
[Fair Hill International Announces New Competition Manager, Business Director]