Sidelines May 2026

This Issue! Michelle Mercier—Leading the Ride at University of Florida; Toasting Women in Business—2026 Women Entrepreneurs; And Much More!

MICHELLE

MERCIER

Leading the Ride at

University of Florida

Toasting Women

in Business

2026 Women Entrepreneurs

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | May 2026

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

JO-ANN WILSON

Keeping Horses at Their Best

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

WHITNEY PERSEK

Baking and Breaking Barriers

DRESSAGE COLUMN

GEORGE WILLIAMS

Thoughts From a Bench at the Olympic Museum

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

SUSAN DIFELICE

Merging Equestrians and Aesthetics

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

JAIME MCKINLEY

The Next Generation at W.F. Young

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

LANA KANDYBOVICH

Creating Her Own Narrative in the Saddle

and Behind the Lens

HUNTER-JUMPER

ARIANA CYR &

KASSANDRA COUSSEILLANT

Partnership and Success Built on Happy Horses

On the cover:

Michelle Mercier is the coach of the

University of Florida eventing and

dressage teams and also events and

runs her own farm and training business.

May 2026

About this photo:

Michelle and her 11-year-old eventer

Shirsheen Fun For All, aka Gordie.

Photos by Kacy Brown

Volume 38 Issue 5 SIDELINES (ISSN 1071-3859) is owned by TRAUB CAPITAL PARTNERS and is published ten times a year.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | May 2026

Candice Wagner

Photo by Melissa Fuller

IN EVERY ISSUE

12 Letter From the Editor | 77 Sidelines Business

77 Sidelines Directory | 7 Advertisers Index | 80 Sidelines Spotlight

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EDITOR

Britney Grover | editor@sidelinesmagazine.com

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Ashley Baker

EDITOR EMERITA

Jan Westmark Bauer

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SIDELINES (ISSN 1071-3859) is published monthly by Sidelines.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS

CANDICE WAGNER

A Heart Horse Inspires a Life’s Journey

PONY/JUNIOR

GABI CAICEDO

Writing Her Own Story

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

ROSEANNE SPALLONE-NAGLE

Two Careers, One Path

COVER STORY

MICHELLE MERCIER

Leading the Ride at University of Florida

SHOW JUMPING

EMILY CHAMBERLIN

Doing it All

HORSE SHOW

FAMILIAR PLACES, FAMILIAR FACES:

Old Salem Farm With Scott Hakim

RoseAnne Spallone-Nagle

Photo by Sophia Donohue

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | May 2026

DRESSAGE

BRITNEY GROVER

Editor

Stay in touch by emailing editor@sidelinesmagazine.com

and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @sidelines_magazine

Michelle Mercier

Photo by Kacy Brown

Lana Kandybovich

Photo by Melissa Fuller

Whitney Persek

Photo by Dustin Persek

Celebrating Women Who

Work for the Love of Horses

he May issue has always had a special place in my heart—and this year it’s even more

meaningful. For years, May has been our Women Entrepreneurs Issue, featuring women

who have started their own businesses, often in the equestrian sphere, in order to

support their love of horses. I’m always inspired by their stories, and this issue is no exception.

This year, the issue hits even closer to home as I have taken on the role of editor here at Sidelines,

where our team includes women from many different backgrounds: We represent student athletes

and amateur riders to me, a single mom who gets her horse fix through the pages of the magazine

for now, and our Editor Emerita Jan Westmark Bauer, who ran a show barn in Wellington. With

our own varied experiences and as a woman-led business, Sidelines is proud to shine the spotlight

on not just entrepreneurs but women across various industries and a wide diversity of positions—

women in business, all united by our love of horses.

A common characteristic among the women we feature is their ability to juggle seemingly

impossible roles all at once. In this issue alone, we have women with roles including coach,

trainer, influencer, author, founder, entrepreneur, board member, volunteer, president, CEO and

(my personal favorite) mother—and most balance more than one of these. Our cover features

Michelle Mercier, who not only runs her own farm and boutique training business but actively

competes in eventing—all while coaching the University of Florida eventing and dressage teams

to multiple accolades.

Michelle brings not just equestrian experience but sound life advice to the students she

coaches, helping to create a true barn family. “The world is bigger than the horse world,” she

said. “If you hit a rough patch, take a trip, see something new—you’ll come back with a fresh

perspective.”

That kind of perspective is exactly what many of our businesswomen bring: There’s more than

one way to live a successful life with horses in it. Lana Kandybovich was raised in Russia, nowhere

near horses—but a passion for video production began alongside her passion for horses from afar.

She established a career in media that included her videos playing on Times Square jumbotrons

in New York—before finding a way, as many of these women have, to combine her passions.

Whitney Persek’s business venture began with horses—and fellow equestrians battling celiac

disease. She decided to make truly gluten-free horse treats, and from there Dapper Darling

expanded into lifestyle pieces and now has an impressive following—all while Whitney shares her

love of horses and the dream life she’s living with her husband and three children.

I hope you are inspired by the stories in this issue—and keep watching both our print and

exclusive digital content for more. As Whitney said, “If there’s something on your heart, something

you feel called to create, pursue it. You might surprise yourself with what’s possible.”

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | May 2026

Tell us a bit about equine massage and

your journey developing this method.

Between Jack’s work and my work, we have

70 years of doing this. I was the principal

investigator of a research grant, conducted with

the staff from the leading motion laboratory

at Harvard University’s Department of

Comparative Zoology, so we have science

supporting the massage. When Jack passed

away in 2005, I was there at his bedside. He said

to me, “Jo-Ann, can you do me a favor?” I said,

“Yeah, sure, Jack. What is it?” He said, “Will you

spread my method throughout the world for

me?” It was so profound. So that’s where I am

today. I produced a DVD and training videos,

and ultimately developed a certification school

program. I recently wrote a book, “Keeping

Horses At Their Best: A Hands-On Guide to

Equine Sportsmassage” that combines Jack’s

foundational work with my work to offer readers

the opportunity to learn how to work on their

own horses to eliminate muscle tightness. I lived

up to his request and I honored what he did,

because he basically brought sports massage

into the equine world.

Walk us through what

a typical session looks like.

A typical session includes three ways to take in

information for an assessment. One is a visual

observation. I do gait analysis immediately. I

watch a horse walk about 75 feet in a straight line

away from me and then back toward me.

You get the best view of muscle function at

the walk. The slower a horse moves, the more

muscle he has to use. I’m looking at resistance

in motion: Does he look shorter in the left hind?

Does his body drift, say, to the right? Does he

hold his head and neck in one direction? Is he

not free? Is it harder for him to move one limb

over another? Is he more labored?

Then the second assessment is to listen.

What does the rider tell you? What does the

owner or the trainer tell you about the horse?

For example, a rider may say the horse is harder

bending left, or the horse switches behind, or

the horse won’t pick up the correct lead.

Then the third assessment is kinesthetic—

feeling with my hands. I palpate the muscles

to determine tightness in the specific areas.

Basically, what I’m doing is assessing restrictions

in motion that are caused by muscle tightness.

Can you give an example?

Just the other day, a rider said the horse’s back was

really tight, and the horse was traveling with his

head up, sort of hollowing his back, and not coming

Jo-Ann Wilson never could have guessed that a chance encounter with Jack Meagher, U.S. Olympic eventing equine

sports massage therapist who also worked with the highest-level athletes in the NFL and Olympics and even

Muhammad Ali, would lead to a career in equine body work. At the time, Jo-Ann was at the top of her field, working 70

hours a week as the director of children and adolescent programs at a major Harvard teaching hospital.

Following the recommendation of a friend, Jo-Ann called Jack to work on her horse. “When I came back out to ride, I

was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this horse feels brilliant.’ I called him, and he talked with me, and then I met him. Right after the

first session, he completely restored my horse’s ease and freedom of motion.” She was so impressed by the outcome

that she wanted to explore equine massage further.

Jo-Ann resigned from her job—“Everyone thought I was insane!” she remembered. She became a licensed human

massage therapist, learned the ins and outs of muscle structure and anatomy, and then began studying under Jack.

Jo-Ann eventually became his associate and partner, forming Wilson Meagher Sports Therapy together. Building off

the foundation of her late business partner, Jo-Ann used her expertise as a rider and medical professional to develop a

research-backed, industry-shifting method for treating horses across all disciplines and breeds.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

JO-ANN WILSON

Keeping Horses at Their Best

By Annelise Klepper

Jo-Ann Wilson is the director of

Wilson Maeger Sports Therapy.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | May 2026

through. The rider was going to have further

diagnostics done on his back. I applied the sports

massage. Within one minute, the horse’s back was

soft and pliable. The rider couldn’t believe it.

How do you make decisions

in your bodywork sessions?

It’s the results that help you evaluate what you’re

doing. If I get immediate results and then the

rider rides the horse and the horse feels great, then

it was just simple muscle tightness. What was the

cause? It could be anything. It could be imbalanced

hooves. It could be overtraining. It could be

exercise-induced; they did too much one day.

If the tightness doesn’t come out, then it

tells you it’s not exercise-induced. It’s a more

complicated issue. You just keep it simple. If

the horse feels better and the muscle becomes

pliable and soft, then you know that’s the right

treatment. I always say the correct treatment

should relieve the horse in two sessions, and if

it’s not better, it’s not the right treatment. Maybe

shift gears to a veterinary evaluation, or a farrier

or dentist. You’d be surprised. It could be TMJ

or a hock issue. Basically, the tightness could

be secondary and reflecting a deeper structural

issue. It’s a problem-solving process.

What is the most common

issue you see across disciplines?

I work with all disciplines of horses, from

pleasure to barrel racing to five-star eventing to

Olympic dressage, whatever it is. The common

issue I see across the board is tightness in the

neck, because all disciplines require the horse to

use his neck in specific movements.

What is a standout moment in your career?

I was the USA Olympic Eventing Team

Sports Therapist/Physio for all the horses and

riders at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney,

Australia. David O’Connor won the individual

gold medal riding Custom Made, and the U.S.

team won the bronze medal. I was so honored,

ecstatic and privileged to be a strong part of the

support staff for the entire team. I was mostly so

proud of the riders and horses for their world-

stage accomplishments!

What are some challenges you have

faced as a woman in this space?

It was tough. A man went around to barns

and literally told people that women are not

strong enough to do this job. Another man

undercut me by charging less. Neither man was

successful in undermining me! My response

was: If women needed strength, they wouldn’t

be able to ride these 1,000- to 1,500-pound

animals. You have to be somewhat strong, but

you wouldn’t be able to ride these animals if

strength were the whole story.

What advice would you give to a young

woman wanting to follow a similar path?

The way I grew up, and what I was told by

my parents, is that you can do anything in life,

within reason. Don’t let fear stand in your way.

I’ve always felt that. You have to believe. If you

want something, you apply yourself. You find a

good mentor. You have to have discipline and

motivation, but you have to believe in yourself,

and you have to have a good teacher, one who’s

going to support you and not put you down.

Follow Jo-Ann on Instagram

@joannwilson_equinetherapy or visit sportsmassageinc.com

Photos courtesy of Jo-Ann Wilson

Jo-Ann teaches her science-backed

method of treating horses.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | May 2026