Meet the 2027-2029 Board Candidate

Current members watch your email for your ballot!

Treasurer: JanEllen Peterkin

I hope to bring years of hands-on financial management to my run for Treasurer of the Utah Dressage Society. I am an engineer by education. However, in 2011, my husband and I started Sidewinders and SWA in our basement and grew them into companies with more than 40 total employees. For most of that time, I managed the finances myself or with the help of a staff accountant. I had to learn the tools of the trade quickly. I handled the bookkeeping and cash management and worked with CPAs to prepare and file tax returns. Two years ago, as the companies kept growing, I hired a CFO.

What sets me apart is that I know both accounting and what it takes to run an organization. I know how to keep accurate books, and how financial decisions affect an organization's ability to plan and grow. As Treasurer, I will manage UDS funds for its members with the same care, openness and practical judgment.

My Dressage Background

At 40, I had a midlife crisis. Instead of buying a yellow sports car, I bought a fiery Andalusian gelding. He and I have been in full-time dressage training for the past three years. Along the way I also found a loving Friesian cross mare with the most amazing brain. She now carries both me and my 11-year-old daughter, Caroline, through dressage shows in Utah and Idaho.

I've always loved horses. I liken owning and riding my own horses to seeing in color, where life was black and white before. It has changed my whole life.

My Involvement with UDS

I'm already involved with the Utah Dressage Society. I volunteer at UDS shows, and last year I helped with the year-end banquet. Working behind the scenes has shown me how much effort it takes to run this community, and I'd like to contribute more.

What I Bring to the Board

I offer the perspective of someone who came to the sport as an adult and is now raising a daughter in it. I know what it's like to walk into your first show unsure of the rules, the etiquette or where you fit. I also know what it takes to keep a young rider excited and growing. People who find this sport, fall in love with it and start showing are a large part of the future of dressage. I want to help UDS welcome more of them and keep them in the sport.