I first became a member of ERAHC in 1996 after the purchase of my Alter Real Lusitano/Hanoverian cross mare Karma DF. I later bred her to Linda Denniston’s stallion, Jalifa GS, and have a lovely mare out of the pairing. I had been an exhibitor at the Virginia show for many years and was asked to be on the Board. I eventually became vice president for two terms before taking a sabbatical to focus on my young children. While taking a break from showing I still wanted to meet up with my friends and volunteered to serve as the Ring Steward at both the Virginia and New England shows and have done so for many years now. In that role I got to meet more wonderful owners, trainers, and officials.

I have a degree in Computer Science/Meteorolgy and was a software engineer for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NOAA, and IBM. Horses and riding were my escape from the cerebral world of computers. I started in the hunter/jumper world with my off the track thoroughbred and was introduced to the Andalusian world through a friend who owned one. I became enamored with the breed and left the world of jumping for French Classical Dressage.

Not only do I love this breed but I’ve also enjoyed the people I’ve met through them. It didn’t matter what our political views were, our backgrounds, or beliefs. What connected all of us was this very special horse. Our love of this breed united us to seek knowledge, preserve their history, and enjoy the richness they have brought into our lives.

Donna is located in Old Saybrook, CT.  Donna has spent most of her youth riding various disciplines. As an adult she purchased a Lusitano, Astyages Interagro. Here she developed a passion not only for the Iberian breed but for dressage, classical training, and the Baroque Equestrian Games. She is committed to the breed is a board member for the ERAHC and involved in the New England ERAHC committee. 

Holly Linz is an accomplished Dressage rider, trainer, clinician and manages Keep Stables in Maryland.  She has been a long time member of ERAHC and has been a Board member for the past year lending her expertise and knowledge with Working Equitation as the chair of that committee.  Holly has competed successfully at L5.   She has been a key team member of our WE competitions and has been instrumental in its success.  She has been showing Zamigo, a Lusitano Stallion, at our ERAHC shows and is very passionate about the breed as well as the club. 

In 1983 Carol started taking riding lessons at Tamarack Stables in Lorton, Virginia under Lee and Lois Majewski. Their stallion was a purebred Andalusian which was one of the first in the US at the time.  They used purebred's and partbred's as school horses. They also had a 2 month old purebred filly - Afortunada who Carol fell in love with.  At the time she knew nothing about horses or riding but she quickly got involved in the horse world with the Majewski's, hosting horse shows.  She showed Afortunada in hand for them at a show in Ohio.  She later co-owned her with the Majewski's for a couple of years and eventually fully owned her.  

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Carol became a breeder and exhibitor and was involved with the AAHA and the ODAA and was on the board of both organizations.  After AAHA and International merged and became the IAHLA, she became involved with that organization.  When the ERAHC club started she became an active member except for a period of time when she had cancer and was recovering from it.  Carol has served in a couple of positions at ERAHC including President and has been a long term Board member. 

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 Carol looks forward to continuing being on the board and helping the club just get better and better.

Dressage trainer and instructor, Patricia Norcia, owns and operates Idlenot Farm in Connecticut. Trained in Spain and the United States, Patricia is certified by the British Horse Society and the American Riding Instructors’ Association. She trains and instructs in the French classical style; and, while she works with horses of any breed, her passion is for the Iberian horse, the Andalusian and the Lusitano.

Patricia is also an accomplished actress and stage director. An acting graduate of the Yale School of Drama, she was introduced to tai chi as part of the required curriculum. She has performed on and off Broadway, in television, and in films. She has also taught breathing and spinal alignment classes at Yale, Columbia, and Rutgers Universities.

Originally from Rome, Italy, Patricia’s love for the horse, dance, and theater has created a diverse career that has allowed her to travel extensively. Closer to her Connecticut home, Patricia has performed with the company Dancing with Horses, an exhibition group that combines modern dancers on the ground with horses, either ridden or at liberty. She also recently created and choreographed her own Idlenot Quadrille that has performed at various events throughout New England.  She recently produced the opera "Carmen" featuring the Iberian horse and is on the Board overseeing the educational component of the Connecticut Dressage Association. 

I and my husband Joe own a small horse farm near Catoctin mountains (home of Presidents’ retreat Camp David) in Maryland. We bred Lusitanos for ten or more years and owned two great stallions. Jalifa GS a gray and Tonico Do Top a chestnut. Jalifa was a great breeding horse and son of the famous Portuguese bull fight stallion, Zimbro II. Tonico was a famous Grand Prix horse, who was trained and shown by Felicitas von Neuman-Cosel.

My contributions for ERAHC are the following:

ERAHC’s secretary for one year

ERAHC’s president for two years

Show Manager for ERAHC’s dressage shows both in New England and Virginia for several years

Show Manager for ERAHC’s breed shows both in New England and Virginia for several years

From 1995, my wife Alice and I owned and operated a beautiful 30 acre farm in Frederick, MD. We enjoyed our Andalusian and Azteca horses. We showed at ERAHC shows and rode for pure pleasure.  After retiring from my day job, I decided to pursue photography and have been travelling around doing  horse shows and farm shoots for the past 15 yrs.   I became ERAHC's photographer in 2013 and have been involved with ERAHC ever since. In 2023 Ive taken on the role of the club's Treasurer. I keep busy in the off season riding my iron horse Harley Davidson as much as I can.

​Rosalie is passionate about the breed and has been a Director for many years as well as serving on the Show Committee and handling other key aspects for the club.   She has been competing at the shows with her horse Hombre, an Andalusian grey gelding, for the past ten years.  She's been an inspiration to many riders and her spirit and enthusiasm is felt among all of those who watch her perform.  She is insightful and wishes to continue seeing the club thrive.

Tina Cristiani Veder is the co-creator of The Baroque Equestrian Games & Institute with Bruno Gonzalez. From 1986-2000, her farm Caballos de Cristiani was an acclaimed breeding and training facility, selling champion Iberian horses for competitive dressage to many top riders in North America, Europe, and Australia, including several US Dressage Team members and 3 Olympians for their clients. She retired her breeding operation in 2000 to form New Dawn Equestrian, LLC. and concentrate on training and teaching.

Tina studied under three generations of the famous Konyot family, as well as other noted European Classical trainers of the last century. Steeped in the principles of Classical riding and training, she shares her passion through articles and teaching, along with exhibitions showcasing the upper levels of balance and collection. Her special focus is in helping riders attain the elegance and effectiveness of the Classical seat.