| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July
6, 2005 
USEF Realigns
Sports Program Administration
(Lexington, KY) -- The United States
Equestrian Federation announced today that it is implementing an organizational
realignment that divides the Federations activities into two primary areas - sport
programs and business administration/governance The organizational realignment
of sports programs will better integrate staff assignments for both national and
high performance programs. The management of the International Department in the
Lexington, Kentucky office will be eliminated, streamlining the staff and administration
formerly required by dual functions in both Lexington and Gladstone. Jim Wolf
is now the Executive Director – Sports Programs reporting directly to Chief
Executive Officer John Long. In his new position Jim will have responsibility
for all sports programs within the USEF. Karen Homer Brown, AED of National
Sports Programs in the Lexington headquarters will now report to Jim Wolf. Show
Jumping, Eventing and Dressage will each have a discipline director who will oversee
all aspects of the sport Each will have a national sports manager and a high performance
manager as direct reports. The Paralympics Liaison will also report directly to
Jim Wolf. The remaining four FEI disciplines will be coordinated within
a new department headed by Don Whittle who joins the USEF from the United
States Olympic Committee. As Director of FEI Disciplines and Games Preparation,
Don will also have responsibility for FEI servicing and will underpin Jim
Wolf in games preparation. Don has an extensive background in
sports management which includes positions with the USOC, U.S Canoe and Kayak,
and USA Track and Field. For the USOC he served in multiple capacities as Manager
of International and Collegiate Affairs; Sports Partnerships where he was a facilitator
to six Olympic sports including funding support on and off the field of play;
and he managed athlete housing, logistics, and travel at four Olympic Games. Don
is a graduate of the University of Arizona and has a certificate in Sports Management
from St. John’s University in New York. This realignment puts all
sports programs within one part of the organization while still maintaining the
unique requirements of the national and high performance programs. Both the national
and high performance programs will be better served. An additional benefit is
the creation of a pipeline for USEF staff career advancement opportunities and
a pipeline for emerging new athletic talent for the elite teams. On the
business and governance side, Lori Rawls will continue to direct Administration,
Finance, Member Services, Competition, Regulation, and Drugs and Medication programs
as Executive Director at the Lexington headquarters, also reporting directly to
John Long. These changes allow Lori to concentrate on administration
and member services, which are particularly important as we move forward with
the new competition license initiative which requires significant changes in existing
administration procedures and processes. Maria Partlow, Senior Vice
President of Marketing and Communication and Julie Goodman, Senior Vice
President and General Counsel, will continue reporting to John Long. As
stated by John Long at the annual meeting in January, the goals of this
re-organization are to reduce overlap, provide more focus on disciplines from
top to bottom, and to build a pipeline of talent. ENDS For
more information, please contact Maria Partlow, Senior Vice President of
Marketing and Communications on (859) 225-6941 or via email at mpartlow@usef.org.
USEF press releases are available on our web site – www.usef.org. | 