Tom O'Mara, Joe Dotoli & Dr. Barry Miller by Taylor, Harris Insurance Services

Send us Fan MailPiper and Traci Brooks speak with US Equestrian President Tom O'Mara, USHJA Board Member and Safety Committee Chair Joe Dotoli and Dr. Barry Miller of Virginia Tech about helmet safety and the recently released helmet ratings. Brought to you by Taylor, Harris Insurance Services.Host: Piper Klemm, publisher of The Plaid Horse and Traci BrooksGuest: Tom O’Mara is the President of US Equestrian. Prior to his role as President, Tom was a member of the Board of Directors for four years, and served as Secretary/Treasurer for two years. Tom has been an active part of the hunter/jumper community for many years, where his wife, Liz, daughters Meg, Casey, and Abby, and son T.J., are active competitors. With a professional background as a financial services manager and consultant, Tom brought his business acumen to his role on the US Equestrian Board of Directors. Tom took on the task of heading the Drugs and Medications/Lab Review Task Force, which ultimately led to the transfer of the USEF testing lab to the University of Kentucky. Tom has also been active in elevating varsity equestrian as an intercollegiate sport. Guest: Joe Dotoli has been part of the horse industry for nearly 50 years as a professional rider, trainer, judge, horse show manager and was the recipient of the 2017 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award. Joe’s record in the show ring as a rider and trainer is remarkable with championship wins at nearly every major hunter/jumper show. An even greater legacy is Joe's work with younger equestrians who also have gone on to achieve much success- among them, Olympic gold medalist Peter Wylde. Joe dedicated nearly three years of his life to the passage of the “Safety Helmet Rule.” This made it mandatory for hunter/jumper competitors to wear American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) helmets. Joe won the 2001 USEF Distinguished Service Award for contributions to equestrian sport and is currently a USHJA Board Member and Safety Committee Chair. Guest: Dr. Barry Miller holds a PhD in Sport Biomechanics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and also an MBA from the University of Delaware. Dr. Miller has over 25 years in higher education in various administrative and academic roles. Dr. Miller joined the Virginia Helmet Lab about 5 years ago and serves as the Director of Outreach and Business Development.Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Foam- https://insulationcorp.com/eps/ Title Sponsor: Taylor, Harris Insurance ServicesSubscribe To: The Plaid Horse MagazineSponsors: Purina Animal Nutrition, Pacific Coast Horse Shows Association, America Cryo, LAURACEA, American Stalls, BoneKare, Show Strides Book Series, Online Equestrian College Courses, With Purpose: The Balmoral Standard, and American Equestrian Schooltheplaidhorse.comThank you so much for joining us today on the Plaidcast. This podcast is a labor of love, and every single episode exists because of this incredible community of riders, trainers, barn managers, parents, and horse lovers who show up in the barn, in the ring, and right here with us.At The Plaid Horse, our commitment goes far beyond the show ring. We believe deeply in the power of literacy and education and that every rider, at every level, deserves access to knowledge, stories, and ideas that make them a better horseperson and a better human being. Reading matters. Learning matters. And the stories we tell each other in this sport matter more than we sometimes realize.Whether you are a junior rider picking up your first copy of The Plaid Horse  Magazine, a professional trainer looking for inspiration, or someone who simply loves horses and everything this world stands for then this community is for you. You belong here.We build this together. Every article, every episode, every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new, to feel less alone in the challenges of this sport, and to be reminded of why we fell in love with horses in the first place.Until next time, keep reading, keep learning, keep riding, and remember that the horse world is better when we build it together. I will see you at the ring!