Equestrian Services, LLC Appoints Amika Ryan Hebert As Junior Operations Manager

(Charlottesville, VA - November 1, 2007) Equestrian Services, LLC, the company setting the standards for planning, designing and managing equestrian amenities for resorts and communities worldwide, announces that Amika Ryan Hebert has joined the organization as Junior Operations Manager. Hebert oversees the organization’s business management and communicates with clients and accounts management.

“My true passion lies in the equine industry,” said Hebert.  “With more than a dozen years of equine industry experience, a career in the horse industry is a ‘must’ for me. I look forward to combining my experience in the hospitality industry with my life-long love of horses, while being a part of the Equestrian Services team.”

Hebert recently earned her Master's Degree in Hospitality Management & Marketing from the Les Roches School of Hotel Management in Switzerland. In 2006, she graduated cum laude from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona, with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration & Marketing Research. She also completed extensive equine science programs.

Amika’s work experience includes client development and marketing for Les Meridien Hotels in Dubai, U.A.E., and as a horse wrangler for The Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort in Solvang, CA.

Hebert’s equestrian experience includes being a horse owner, trainer, and competitor in a multiple of equestrian disciplines, including Western Pleasure, Hunter Pleasure, Hunter Over Fences, lower-level Evening (encompassing Dressage, Jumping and Cross Country), English Pleasure, Country English Pleasure, Show Hack, Equitation, Halter and Leisure Trail Riding. She currently owns 11 Arabian and Half-Arabian horses in Arizona and is looking forward to some of them joining her in Virginia.

Hebert is a member of the Arabian Horse Association and the United States Equestrian Federation, and she was a Pony Club member and a 4-H Horse project member, club president and treasurer. She is a skilled horse trainer and enjoys starting young horses. Hebert also has instructed numerous children in the safety and joys of horsemanship.

Nearly two million people own the 9.2 million horses in the United States, with another two million people involved as equestrian volunteers or engaged in the equestrian lifestyle through family affiliation, according to the American Horse Council Foundation (AHCF). Horseback riding is among the five fastest-growing sports in the U.S.

Equestrian Services offers a developer the opportunity to create an equestrian community under a Signature Equestrian Facility brand that is associated with world-renowned equestrian experts. Modeled on successful golf-industry branding and management concepts, such as Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus golf course communities, Equestrian Services’ partners, John Lyons (“America’s Most Trusted Horseman”™) and equestrian Olympians Karen and David O’Connor, offer exclusively the world’s first branded equestrian facilities and amenities to builders and developers seeking to tap into the growing equestrian market.

Equestrian Services’ Lyons and O’Connor Signature Equestrian Facilities are currently being considered in Virginia, California and Florida. The first O’Connor Signature facility in the world will be featured at The Oaks, a 1,220-acre site in Lake City, Florida, and will showcase a cross-country course designed by David O'Connor. The Oaks’ facility will open for use in spring of 2008.