Sara Fennessy Archives - Horse Farms Forever

Horse Farms Forever Welcomes Sara Fennessy Back As Director of Community Affairs

by Horse Farms Forever | Apr 10, 2023 | News

In the gallery: Sara Fennessy with American Saddlebred, “Night, Night Nicky.” photo by Vougeot Media. Sara with her parents, Karen and Lonny Powell. Sara with the rest of the HFF staff from the 2020 Conservation Summit.

The Board of Directors of Horse Farms Forever is excited to announce that Sara Powell Fennessy has returned as Director of Community Affairs.

Please join us in welcoming Sara Fennessy back to Horse Farms Forever in the role she defined and filled so well – Director of Community Affairs. Sara joined HFF in 2019, when we were just getting started, and served with distinction. After a year’s hiatus, where she served at the College of Central Florida, she’s back to once again head up membership and community outreach.

“Sara is keenly focused on advancing our mission to preserve the character and culture that horses and horse farms make unique to Ocala and Marion County. Throughout her previous tenure at HFF she brought a generational understanding of the equine industry and a true love for the community. We’re thrilled to have her back,” says Bernie Little, HFF President.

Sara grew up in an equine centric household. A lifelong horse show and racing enthusiast, she devoted much of time as a hunter-jumper competitor while she attended school in Lexington, Kentucky. During her almost 10 years in Marion County, Florida, she has devoted herself to a career of outreach, communication, management, and promotion in the local community and equine industry. Today she owns pleasure horses and is an avid trail rider.

Sara competing her former show horse “Ooh La La” at the Kentucky Horse Park. Photo credit: Shawn McMillen.

A Horseman’s Legacy

A fifth-generation horsewoman, Sara has a lifelong family history focused primarily within the Thoroughbred and show horse sectors. Her parents and grandparents owned and trained racehorses and show horses. Sara’s grandfather was a Quarter Horse jockey and manager of the Jockey’s Guild until his passing, and her father is a lifelong member of the Thoroughbred world and industry executive. Her mother was a Saddlebred competitor and now spends much of her current time dedicated to her pleasure horses.

An honor’s graduate from the College of Central Florida, Sara’s educational background is in Paralegal studies.

Passion has led me to my purpose. My work with Horse Farms Forever has been deeply fulfilling on so many levels. Like so many others here in Marion County, the horse industry is my family’s livelihood and legacy. It is a gift and a privilege to advocate for the very thing that makes our community so unique and special.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to serve alongside the accomplished staff and dedicated Board of Directors as we work to preserve our global brand as Horse Capital of the World®. I am beyond excited for what the future holds and look forward to all that we will accomplish.

Sara Powell-Fennessy

Director of Community Affairs, Horse Farms Forever

Contact the County about the EAR:

For any additional questions regarding the EAR process, please email Planning@MarionFL.org with your subject line including 'EAR' or call us at 352-438-2675 & ask for a planner.

https://www.marionfl.org/agencies-departments/departments-facilities-offices/growth-services/planning-zoning/ear

The workshops will be livestreamed. Check the County’s agenda webpage for the link: https://marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

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New Rider Up in the Executive Director Post

by Horse Farms Forever | Mar 31, 2022 | News

Photo of Emily Holmes by Victoria DeMore Photography

Horse Farms Forever Welcomes New Executive Director Emily Holmes

Horse Farms Forever® is pleased to announce Emily Holmes as the incoming Executive Director effective May 1. Many of you may know Emily from her tenure at the Florida Horse Park as Events Coordinator and Director of Events where she assisted in developing the facility to its current infrastructure and brought multiple competitions in-house. In addition, Emily was influential in obtaining an FEI 4*S competition to add to the Ocala International Festival of Eventing. Emily is also a freelance organizer of USEA/USEF Horse Trials and FEI Eventing competitions across the country and has her USEF “r” Eventing Technical Delegate’s license.

Emily holds a B.S. in Equine Studies/Industry Management from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Arts in Mass Communication: Public Relations from the University of Florida.

Emily lives in Williston where she operates Five Hound Farm, a sport horse breeding and boarding operation on fifty acres. Emily has competed in the disciplines of Eventing and Dressage and continues to do so when time allows, though she enjoys the mares and foals more than anything. Her first-hand experience as an equestrian and farm owner lends additional depth to her qualifications.

Horse Farms Forever Thanks Outgoing Executive Director Sara Fennessy

Please join us in wishing outgoing Executive Director Sara Fennessy all the best as she enters the next stage of her career with the College of Central Florida.

Sara joined HFF in 2019 as Director of Community Affairs and quickly grew into the position of Executive Director as her leadership skills blossomed. We are in her debt for the hard work and passion that she has contributed to Horse Farms Forever. Sara’s efforts propelled the organization into the public eye as she tirelessly shared our mission and message. Under her tenure, we have grown in public stature and influence, and gone from a membership herd of hundreds to a herd of thousands.

Please join us in offering a warm welcome to Emily Holmes and wishing Sara Fennessy a fond farewell.

At 12 years old on a vacation from Maine with my aunt, I fell in love with Marion County -the incredible horse farms, the miles of fencing, the wide-open pastures, and the majestic live oak trees. In Marion County, horse farms are an important part of the history and culture of this community, and I welcome the opportunity to work with the talented staff, the dedicated Board of Directors, and everyone involved to preserve the character of the Horse Capital of the World®.

Emily Holmes

Incoming Executive Director, Horse Farms Forever

HFF has blossomed into an incredible and well-respected organization. I am so incredibly proud to have played a role in growing it into all that it has become. It is hard to believe how far we’ve come in such a short period of time and the mountains we have climbed along the way. My love, dedication, and passion for Horse Farms Forever will live on. I whole-heartedly believe in all that Horse Farms Forever is and will always be its biggest fan and advocate.

Sara Powell-Fennessy

Outgoing Executive Director, Horse Farms Forever

Horse Farms Forever

Horse Farms Forever, Inc., is a not-for-profit corporation registered with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as well as a 501(c)3 with the IRS.

Our mission is to inspire the conservation of horse farms by preserving the natural pasture land for horses and their habitats, and to protect the soil and water on which they depend, while minimizing land use conflicts in Ocala/Marion County, Florida.

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We work hard to keep you informed, and to represent our members' interests in preserving our horse farms, farmland and the unique character and culture of Marion County's 193,000 acre Farmland Preservation Area.

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