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Board Information

The Board of Directors is elected annually, please contact any current board member if you are interested.

President

Lori LaFave

Lori has served on the VN Board for the past two years. She is passionate about growing our membership, and growing the participation in our schooling show program. She has been a member of VN for the past 5 years. After riding hunters and low level eventers in her young adulthood, Lori now rides dressage after many years as a trail rider while raising her children. She shares her equine life with her Irish Sport Horse – Duckie, and her daughter’s retired pony Ernie. In addition to the horses, Lori shares her home with two Dobermans, two cats, her husband and her two children in college. Lori is the founder and president of LaFave & Associates, and national political consulting firm, and she sits on the boards of two charities – VETSAID, and CCRS Education Foundation.

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Vice President

Diann Carpenter

Diann has been on the Board of VADA/Nova for going on 11 years. She has served as President for several years and previously served as Vice President. Diann regularly serves as Schooling Show Secretary and volunteers for both VADA and VADA/Nova as a scribe and/or scorer. Diann has loved dressage since her daughter picked up the sport at the age of 10 while living in England. Diann also served on the British Dressage Rules and Fixtures Committee for two years.

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Secretary

Michelle "Sheli" King

has been on the VADA/Nova Board for about 20 years, including a three-year stint as President. She is a member of the Clinics and Education, Ribbons and Prizes, and Licensed Show committees. Sheli is one of VADA/Nova’s representatives to the VADA Board, and is currently VADA President. She is also a member of the USDF’s Dressage Technical Delegates Committee and both the USDF’s and USEF’s Rules Advisory Groups (serving as chair for the USDF Group), as well a USDF Region 1 Participating Member (PM) Delegate. After retiring from the federal government with more than 32 years of service, Sheli received her license as a USEF Dressage Technical Delegate (TD) and was promoted to a large R TD in 2022. She has officiated at competitions from Massachusetts to Florida, throughout Illinois and Iowa, at several Regional Championships, and at the US Dressage Finals in 2022. She enjoys spending as much time as she can with her PRE gelding “Tamus II” (aka “Mouse”) and spends her winters in Florida.

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Treasurer

Lisa Rice

has been serving on the VADA/Nova Board since 2018; she has served on the Executive Committee as Treasurer since 2021. In 2023, Lisa assisted in spearheading, designing and launching the new Volunteer Bucks program and Storefront on the VADA/Nova website. She also serves on the Schooling Show and Licensed Show Committees, does her best to keep track of the schooling show supplies and ribbons each year, and volunteers when possible at various other VADA/Nova shows and activities. Lisa started her 40+ year riding life in the Eventing discipline and made the switch to dressage in 2012. Lisa currently has two horses; “Falastur” (aka “Bert”), a 15 year old Hanoverian gelding, who is currently turned out for an injury rehab; and “Konigin der Nacht” ( aka “Sofie”), a 16 year old Oldenburg mare. The plan is to be back in the show ring with “Sofie” in 2024. Lisa retired in 2017 after a 36 year career in the labor movement, and when not riding, enjoys travel, movies, yard work, helping with chores at her barn, and time at home with her husband Bob and their two dogs, “Brutus” and “Juno”.

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Jessie Ginsburg

Jessie has been on the Board of VADA/Nova for more than 20 years. She currently serves as a VADA/Nova representative to the VADA (state) Board and is the VADA Treasurer. During her years on the VADA/Nova Board, Jessie has served on various committees including the Schooling Shows and Education/Clinics committees. She has also served as Volunteer Coordinator and Awards chair. Jessie currently handles submissions for the VADA/Nova year-end awards program. Jessie has received the Diamond Achievement Award for earning all of the USDF medals and bars and is a R dressage judge. During 2024, Jessie swapped horses with her sister, exchanging her semi-retired Grand Prix unicorn, Vodermus, for her sister’s spicy Lusitano gelding, Imperador. To support her dressage habit, Jessie works for the federal government.

Judith Grass

Judy has been riding since 1968. She started in hunt seat, evented, and eventually ended up riding dressage. Judy also drives and sometimes competes in Pleasure Driving and Combined Driving. She has been a member of VADA/Nova and a regular volunteer since 1992. Judy owns and operates Compass Rose Farm in Haymarket, VA. Compass Rose Farm regularly hosts dressage shows and combined tests. Judy joined the VADA/Nova Board in 2006. For many years she maintained the VADA/ Nova website and did other Internet administration for VADA/Nova. Now that web management has been outsourced, she is finding other tasks to do.

Anne Harrington

Anne always knew that horses would be part of her life, but she didn't have the opportunity to ride regularly until she was in college and competed on the St. Lawrence University IHSA team in hunter equitation. Over her career, she took her riding passion to a number of overseas assignments (Belgium, Hungary, and Russia) where she had her first formal training in dressage. She settled in Northern Virginia nearly 40 years ago and has owned four horses during that time, competing in dressage, eventing, and jumping. Dressage has been her passion for the last 15 years and she has been an active member of VADA/Nova, competing and volunteering, especially as a scribe, as often as she can. After retiring from a long career in the government, she put her name forward as a Board candidate in 2017. She has served on the Board since then, fulfilling in a number of positions including Vice President, Secretary, and Membership Chair. She has also served on the Board of Thoroughbred Placement Resources, an organization dedicated to highlighting the potential of Thoroughbreds to compete as upper level sport horses. She is particularly interested in developing educational activities for the VADA/Nova membership, communications, and representing members in the southern part of the VADA/Nova region.

Sonya Hunt

Sonya has been a VADA/Nova member since 2006. VADA/Nova has been an important part of her life for many years and she wants to help it thrive for years to come. Her degree is in engineering, but she most often finds herself applying her education to simplify problems and help find solutions. She enjoys helping others discover dressage as an essential tool as well as a sport and wants to assist VADA/Nova in serving this important function. Her 3rd horse, “Tap”, is an Irish Draught Sport Horse and she is the also USDF liaison for the Irish Draught Horse Society promoting Dressage among their members. 2024 show season was shortened due to her meniscus surgery, but she was thrilled to ride a Musical Freestyle again and looks forward to 2025 season.

Rebecca Quinn

Rebecca has had a lifetime love of horses. Since the purchase of a horse in 2017 for her daughter, she has become incredibly involved in the dressage community. Over the past few years, Rebecca has volunteered as Show Secretary for a CDCTA local dressage series, helped to organize the VADA/Nova Partner Schooling Show at Homestead Horse Farm, and traveled to the Region 1 Regional Dressage Finals to volunteer where needed. Rebecca enjoys spending time with her daughter and their Belgian Warmblood “Dayla 6” in Catlett VA. With her volunteering experience, Rebecca would like to be more involved with VADA/Nova and help to nurture strong relationships with both sponsors and partner show venues.

Rachel Rice

Rachel has been riding for over 30 years in Northern Virginia. she rode hunt seat through high school and then was able to start with a neighbor's OTTB dressage horse. In college she competed on IDA and IHSA teams. At the end of college, she "retired" one of the school horses back to Northern Virginia. She now runs a lesson barn in Alexandria for Burgundy Country Day School. Rachel also serves on the board of Fairfax 4 Horses and is on the board of her local riding club. She organizes various events for all ages and interest levels. She also serves as the Volunteer Manager at Licensed shows for VADA/Nova and VADA shows, including Dressage at Lexington and Region 1 GAIG Championships.