Source:  Phelps Media Group/Rebecca Walton

Emerging Athletes Program Winner Kate Haley Earns Internship with Callan Solem Show Stables

Chester Springs, PA – June 20, 2011 – Callan Solem Show Stables is pleased to welcome Kate Haley, winner of the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program (EAP) National Training Session, for 30 days of advanced training. Upon placing first in the 2010 National Training Session, Haley chose to train with grand prix rider Callan Solem. Solem, based in Chester Springs, PA, is a member of the EAP Committee and a USHJA Certified Trainer. The 18-year-old Haley is studying Equine Studies and Business at Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ. She started riding 10 years ago with Christine Hannon of Orchard Park, NY, and was referred to the EAP Program by trainer Susie Schoellkopf of SBS Farms. Haley progressed successfully through each level and proved to be at the top of the EAP. As the leading competitor, Kate received 30-days of professional instruction from an approved trainer. Haley enthused, “So far the training has been great! I took my horse, Jay, to Upperville with Callan, where he did some of the jumper classes. He’s only five years old, but I can already see improvement. Each class he got better and better, so it has been really helpful working with Callan and doing new training exercises.”

Solem is thrilled to have a new addition to her team and to be part of the EAP, as it continues to grow. “Kate is a really talented rider and it’s nice to be in touch with the future of our industry,” she said. “She is an excellent horseman and she is never in a rush to go home. The horses really like her and she has a great feeling for them.”

“In a perfect teaching scenario, the student is supposed to surpass the teacher, if the teacher has done a good job,” continued Solem. “If I can give her some short cuts and make it so that she doesn’t have to learn everything by trial and error, it just makes her road to success a little quicker. She is so eager to learn and she has already done a wonderful job proving herself through the program.”

The EAP mission is to develop complete horsemen. The goal is to implement a system of identifying and nurturing talented young riders and providing them with support and assistance in achieving their full potential. The program creates opportunities for young riders to advance their education in their chosen discipline to become professionals within the industry.

USHJA Educational Programs Manager Jennifer Kisner noted that, “Many of the riders who participate in the EAP are from the ‘grassroots’ level. Having the chance to ride, train, and intern with the country’s top clinicians is an opportunity they may not have had outside the EAP Program. Through the horsemanship, stable management, and riding sessions, EAP participants gain knowledge to aid them in becoming well-rounded horsemen. Having such dedicated, knowledgeable, and successful professionals leading the Emerging Athletes Training Sessions and Internship programs is an invaluable experience for any EAP rider.”

Callan Solem Show Stables is currently gearing up to travel to New York for the Lake Placid Horse Show and the I Love New York Horse Show.

Callan Solem Show Stables is a hunter/jumper/equitation operation based in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, headed by international grand prix rider Callan Solem For more information about Callan Solem and Callan Solem Show Stables, please call 610-827-9003 or visit www.callansolem.com/