About Us
Our Team
Karen Hersh and Michele Hovet are the founding members and co-chairs of the Community Equestrian Board of Directors which is ready to expand to a total of five members in 2024. We are actively recruiting Board Members, Group Leaders, and Liaisons to round out our team. There are assignments big and small, if you are interested in joining the team there is a role right for you. This is an all-volunteer organization, there are no paid positions at this time.
Time Commitment
Board of Director: High; 6+ hours/week, strong communication skills, flexible schedule required.
Group Leader: Moderate; 2+ hours/week. Coordinate and prioritize flow of information to/from Liaisons and update BOD.
Liaison: Low; 2+ hours/month. Liaisons are the messengers, sharing updates from their assigned group to their leaders, and bringing issues/requests/updates to their Group Leaders.
Monthly Review (via Zoom) open to everyone, status report, action planning, open discussion.
COMMUNITY EQUESTRIAN ORGANIZATION
Government Engagement Group (city, county, state)
Group Leader (filled)
Liaison City of Arvada (filled)
Liaison Jefferson County Master Planning/Together Jeffco (filled)
Liaison Jefferson County Planning & Zoning (open)
Liaison Jefferson County Park Advisory Committee (open)
Liaison State Government (filled)
Activities/Events Organizations Group
(Group Leader and all Liaison positions are presently open, please volunteer!)
Group Leader (open)
Liaison Westernaires (open)
Liaison 4H Jefferson County Clubs (open)
Liaison Trail Riders (open)
Liaison Dressage (open)
Liaison Hunter/Jumpers (open)
Liaison Eventing (open)
Liaison Driving (open)
Liaison Gymkhana/Open Show (open)
Liaison Rodeo (open)
Liaison Breed Organizations (AQHA, Arabian, Saddlebred, etc) (open)
Community Relations Group: Facilities, Industry Services, Neighborhood Groups
Team Leader (filled)
Liaison Jefferson County Horse Council (filled)
Liaison Arvada Area Horseman's Association (filled)
Liaison Horse Rescue Groups (open)
Liaison Ralston Valley Coalition (filled)
Liaison Equine Veterinary Services (open)
Liaison Private Boarding Barns Owners/Managers (open)
Liaison Real Estate Services (filled)
Administrative and Public Communications Group
Team Leader (filled)
Webmaster (filled)
Press Manager (filled)
Accounting (open)
Legal Consult (open)
Karen Hersh
Hi, I’m Karen Hersh! I’m a California transplant who left the Bay Area at age 29 looking for a work/life balance in Colorado and I found it here in the Golden/Arvada area. I would have given my eye teeth growing up to have a horse, but the closest I got were my collection of Breyers and every horse book and magazine I could get my hands on. When I moved here, I dove right in after my goal; volunteering at the Colorado Horse Rescue, taking lessons at A Rising Star Equestrian Center, and finally bought my first horse, Rascal, an ex-reiner who lived up to his name. After marrying my husband Mitch, we had two girls and I started them on horses before they started kindergarten. Fast forward 22 years, and several 4H, open show, trail, and eventually dressage horses later between us, we’re down to two; my daughters handsome 12yo Friesian gelding, Nico, and my 5-yo Rheinlander gelding, Billy. I love horses, and I love the horse community; it’s sure been like family to us. So here I am, putting my 36 years of collective experience as a commercial real estate professional,
mom, community volunteer, board of director, and obsessive problem solver to work for this community I love.
Michele Hovet
Hi I'm Michele Hovet - I was born and raised in Jefferson County and had horses since I was 6 years old, so I have been fortunate enough to ride all over green mountain, Morrison and table mesas before much development. My daughter and I each had horses in our backyard in Wheat Ridge and we did 4-H with Equilite. Now I ride at TMR or in Arvada open spaces and have my horse Romeo the paint, but also still my daughter's horse Polo and I have rescues and foster horses. My granddaughter Paige now rides too - nice to have generations of Jeffco horsewomen! I look forward to hearing from you. And helping preserve and expand our equestrian heritage. By day I'm in technology, former City of Arvada CIO and Dep City Manager and now VP of Industry Advisory for SAP.
About Community Equestrian
Our Mission is to Serve the Community by:
- Connecting Equestrians to the groups and information they need to stay informed and support their cause.
- Promoting our horse clubs and groups to broaden their visibility and participation.
- Supporting our equine professionals and educational programs.
- Engagement with governmental agencies to shape policy in support of the equine community.
- Networking and building key partnerships outside the horse community to expand our support.
Our Geography
To begin, we are focusing primarily on Jefferson County. It is here where the horse community is losing ground most rapidly to development. Even so, there remains enough open space, horse neighborhoods and equestrian facilities to preserve and integrate into this area’s growth and development in a way that can serve as a model for other communities in the future.
Our Team
Our team consists of experienced horse professionals who are passionate about what they do. Our board has varied backgrounds, but all have strong roots with horses in Jefferson County.