Meet Our MSEC/MERA Team
These are the folks who make it all work
Kimberly Anderson
Executive Director
Kim is the heart and brains of the operation. Her passion is for the care of horses and sharing her love of the sport with riding students and the community. Kim’s commitment to providing a dignified retirement for horses that have devoted their working lives to serving the pleasure of humans is the driving force behind our mission.
In addition to her role as Executive Director of MSEC/MERA, Kim is Past-President of the Central Virginia Show Jumping Association.
Bruce Anderson
Facility Manager
A true jack-of-all-trades, Bruce can be found mowing fields, cleaning and maintaining stalls, arranging for hay deliveries, grading lanes, fixing fences, maintaining equipment and building jumps. This is of course in addition to handling all the back-office business, accounting and compliance requirements.
Bruce is also a beekeeper and makes organic compost from our farm waste when he’s not engaged in his day-job as President of PolycreteUSA.
Mary Beth Guttman
Barn Assistant
Mary Beth grew up in the middle of horse country — suburban New Jersey, of course. She began riding at the age of 9 and continued until she moved to Richmond in 2020. After taking a few years off, she knew she wanted to find a place to take riding lessons and learn the ins and outs of horse care. Mary Beth volunteers with MERA/MSEC, assisting with the care of boarded horses and retirees. She has a special place in her heart for OTTBs (and sassy donkeys). When she’s not at the barn, Mary Beth works in marketing and can be found playing street hockey with a local rec league. Don’t ask her about her cat, or she will never stop talking.
Jesse Hall
Assistant Barn Manager
An Assistant Barn Manager, Jesse’s been riding since she was five years old and competing since age seven! Her horse, a big red, off the track thoroughbred carries the show name “Raise the Roof,” but we all know him as Paulie. They’ve been a team for nearly a dozen years. Jesse is super reliable, and we can always count on her to lend a hand.
Rachel Sidari
Barn Assistant
Rachel has been riding and working with horses for about five years. She loves being outside and spending time with all of her animals. When she’s not at the barn, she’s into fishing, crocheting, and showing chickens.
Rilynn
Barn Assistant
Biography coming soon
Dave Blankley
Board Member
Dave has a broad range of experience. Former Wall Street banker, he’s lived and worked abroad, collaborated in startup ventures, and collected several degrees from Carnegie Mellon and Baruch. For fun he runs a small sawmill and is plotting a world class tree house project on his Manakin Sabot farm when he isn’t building pizza ovens.
Libby Hall
Board Member
A life-long horse enthusiast, boarder and barn mom, Libby has spent more than 10 years watching Kim treat the horses under her care with dignity and grace. Offering vulnerable horses a second chance and a place to retire is just an extension of the work Kim has been doing for years. When she's not at the barn, Libby works as a Communications Manager and writes a humor blog.