Julie Broadway, President - American Horse Council & American Horse Council Foundation. With over 30 years of leadership experience in both for-profit and non-profit sectors, Julie holds a BS, MBA, Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership and is Certified Association Executive ® . She’s a life-long horse enthusiast ranging from recreational rider, breeder, and show competitor. A native of NC, she and her husband now reside in DC along with their Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Morgan horses. In her down time she enjoys volunteering (she’s president of the board of PATH International), horseback riding, gardening and cooking. “I’m passionate about the equine industry because horses have enhanced my life and well-being so profoundly,” said Julie. “Working at the AHC is a way to give back to the equine community and ensure the long term health of the industry.”

The principles of “Protector Leadership”, and how that approach to leadership (focusing on horses’ feelings and not just actions) encourages horses to be calmer and more reliable. Lynn Acton has a diverse equestrian and academic background that helps her understand horses, and our relationships with them, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Her degrees in sociology and systems science contribute to understanding research studies, social dynamics of horses, and how they interact with us. A certified Riding Instructor since 1994, her practical horsemanship experience includes hunt seat, dressage, western, trail, clicker, liberty, and agility. She has re-trained horses with behavior problems, and started a therapeutic riding program for at-risk youth. Her previously “dangerous” pony competes in advanced agility at liberty, and her Arabian Bronzz was The International Horse Agility Club’s 2018 Equagility (ridden agility) World Champion.

Dr. Julie Vargasis a member of the Spy Coast Farm Team. She heads up the Sport Horse Medicine and Rehabilitation divisions in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Julie Vargas is a graduate of the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a hospital and an ambulatory internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, KY before joining a sport horse practice in Wellington, FL. She completed her veterinary acupuncture certification at Chi Institute and her chiropractic/spinal manipulation certification at the Integrative Veterinary Medical Institute, both in Reddick, FL. Dr. Vargas has a passion for equine sport horse medicine and strives to find the best outcome for her patients combining years of conventional veterinary medical practice with alternative and regenerative therapies.