Ellen Ahearn currently serves as a member of the USEF Eventing Sports Committee and is a member of the USEF Eventing High Performance Owners Task Force. In addition, she serves on the USET Foundation’s Board of Trustees and previously served on the USET Foundation’s National Advisory Committee.

Her involvement in elite equestrian sport began in 2009 through the eventing career of her daughter, Alexandra. When Alexandra went to college in 2015, U.S. high performance eventing athlete Tamie Smith assumed the ride on her horse, Mai Baum.

Ellen supported Smith and Mai Baum’s partnership and together, the duo has excelled. In 2019, they helped the U.S. team top the podium at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. They were the reserve combination for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, and were members of the silver medal-winning team at the 2022 FEI Eventing World Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy. In 2023, Smith and Mai Baum earned a historic win in the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L.

She is also passionate about addressing food insecurity for the less fortunate and the humane treatment of animals. Ellen has been instrumental in fundraising and organizing volunteer activities for the FIND Foodbank of the Coachella Valley and supporting various animal welfare organizations, including the Coachella Valley Horse Rescue in southern California.

For more than 35 years, Ellen held senior leadership roles in organizations operating in regulated and competitive markets. Most recently, she was Chief Operating Officer of HPG, LLC, the Seattle-based parent company of specialty firms focusing on patient integration strategies for healthcare companies. Ellen holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The State University of New York at New Paltz and a Master of Business Administration from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York. She resides in La Quinta, Calif., with her husband, Eric Markell.