By Brooke Goodman
Burlington, VT — March 31st, 2026 — On Tuesday, March 31st, Piper Klemm and the Plaidcast go on the road to the University of Vermont for Plaidcast in Person. This live and in person event is free to attend at Stafford Hall 101 – everyone is welcome to join us and take part in a discussion to improve our sport!
Tickets are FREE and available now on Eventbrite.
Plaidcast in Person, a live recording event of the Plaidcast, gives attendees the opportunity to engage directly with these standout voices, hear personal insights from the panelists in real time, and take part in an interactive conversation that blends sport, career, horsemanship, and lifestyle in the modern equestrian world. Tickets are free and everyone is welcome to attend and participate in the conversation.
Plaidcast in Person is hosted by Piper Klemm, Ph.D, the owner and publisher of The Plaid Horse. Her mission is to educate young equestrians in every facet of our industry and to empower young women in particular to find their voices and stories—and to share them. She has spent her entire career focusing on education through various channels, including The Plaidcast, North America’s most listened-to horse show podcast; and by providing educational articles, grants, and experiential learning opportunities for riders of all ages and levels.
Reserve your free tickets here
Special guest features will include…
Chrissy Rohan: Chrissy is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Vermont. She is completing her 10th year in this role. In addition to teaching equine management and training classes, she is the Faculty Advisor to the student-run cooperative horse barn which is home to 22 horses. The UVM Horse Barn is located half a mile from the main campus.
Chrissy has been involved with horses her entire life. She grew up riding in Charlotte, VT at her parents’ 60-acre farm. As a junior rider, she participated in Pony Club and later competed in the Big Equitation. Chrissy attended the University of Vermont and competed on their IHSA team (1984-88). Starting in high school, she began teaching riding lessons at her family farm. She has continued to teach hunter / jumper riders throughout her life. Chrissy’s daughter competed in the Big Equitation as well and worked hard to claim a spot on the prestigious University of Georgia’s NCAA Equestrian Team.
Chrissy also volunteers for the Vermont Hunter Jumper Association having served on their board of directors for about 15 years both as a director and as Vice President. She also volunteers for the Vermont Equine Industry Advocacy Group which is working to create a more inclusive position in Vermont’s legislation. This group also works to advocate for and connect equine farmers and business owners in Vermont.
Alyx West: Alyx is an Animal Science major/Equine Studies minor, with an anticipated graduation of May 2027. She has been riding horses most of her life, and having horses be a part of college has been the best thing about being at UVM. Her role in the UVM Barn is as a teaching assistant for the Equus program, taught by Professor Chrissy Rohan. In this role, alongside 5-6 other teaching assistants, she teaches riding lessons, basic horsemanship, horse care, and aid in the oversight of UVM’s leased Animal Science horses. After graduation, Alyx hopes to enter the veterinary field as an assistant or technician and continue to work with horses in any way she can.
Hadley Rogerson-Leach: Hadley is a senior at the University of Vermont and a member of the UVM Horse Barn Cooperative. She began her passion for horses when she was 7 years old, reading every horse book in the school library before being gifted a riding lesson for
her 8th birthday. She joined the UVM Horse Barn in 2024 as a teaching assistant for the university’s Equus program. It’s here that she met her heart horse Cutie, whom she now boards at the UVM Horse Barn. Hadley hopes to pursue a career in the equine industry after graduating in the spring with a bachelors in biological sciences.
Dr. Jenny Wilkinson: Dr. Wilkinson grew up riding and working with horses in Virginia. She attended the University of Virginia for her undergraduate education, competing on UVA’s Equestrian Team. She spent three summers working as a wrangler at the A-Bar-A Ranch in Encampment, Wyoming. She continues to visit the ranch, now with students as a non-credit learning experience. Dr. Wilkinson completed her veterinary graduate work at Cornell University before moving to Vermont to work as an intern and then an associate veterinarian at Vermont Large Animal Clinic. She transitioned to teaching in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Vermont in 2008. She currently teaches equine focused courses including Intro to the Horse, Horse Health and Disease, Clinical Topics in Equine Medicine and Surgery, and Lameness in Horses. She created a travel study course called The European Pony Tour. So far, she has traveled to Ireland (2025) and France (2026) with 12 undergraduate students. Next year she hopes to take students to Scotland!
Reserve your free tickets here
Event Details:
When: Tuesday, March 31st at 5PM
Where: The University of Vermont’s Stafford Hall room 101
95 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405
See you there!
