HYPERION STUD - Key Persons

Andy Williams has been working the land and livestock for just over a decade and loves to learn new things. He appreciates the beauty and strength seen in horses and moved his family from the heart of GA to VA to oversee the grounds at Hyperion Stud in Virginia. Formerly a baker, an organic vegetable CSA farmer and then a Charolais Cattle Ranch manager, Andy came to Hyperion Stud with a wealth of experience for land and animal stewardship. During his free time, you can find him hiking the hills or swimming in the rivers of the beautiful mountains with his beautiful wife and children or tending his gardens and bee hives.

Anna-Clara Pettersson hails from Visby, Sweden and moved to the mainland to invest in her riding, the horses and riding instructor training. Today, Anna-Clara is a certified riding instructor level III, B-trainer in jumping, hippologie candidate in horsemanship and competition rider. In 2016, she left the Strömsholm Riding School, where she worked as, among other things, a riding instructor focusing on jumping and responsible for the horse training department since 2005, to focus on her own business. Anna-Clara runs Equiclaris AB, which focuses primarily on riding, basic training, training and education of horses for competition and show jumping. The farm is located in Västmanland at Hässelby gård, one mile from Strömsholm just outside Västerås. On a daily basis, Anna-Clara helps equipage at home but also at various facilities outside the country and coordinates the Swedish Equestrian Association's rider development for riders at level 3 (Folksam rider development level 3) and level 4 (ATG hope and talent).

Aubrie Shaner has been with Hyperion since before inception. Her tenure dates back to 2008 when Hyperion was a glimmer of the near future. She has been a constitutive part in Hyperion's foundation.

Jason McArdle runs his training and sales business, McArdle Equestrian, along side his wife Susan in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Susan and Jason teach together often to maintain goals and familiarity with instructors. Susan also assists with the riding and preparation of horses at home. Jason is a familiar face on the west coast Grand Prix circuit as well as the Hunter circuit, and has had great success in both disciplines. Jason is also the Chair of the USHJA Young Jumper Committee, as he continues his commitment to the development and success of horses from the start to the very top of the sport. Jason joined the Hyperion Stud Team in 2021. He is currently developing and selling top young horses from our breeding program.

Kelsey Hile is originally from south central Pennsylvania and is a 2013 graduate of Penn State where she earned her Animal Sciences degree with an Equine minor. She started riding at the age of eight and acquired her first horse at thirteen. From there she competed in low level dressage. At seventeen she was privileged to own and show a Dutch Warmblood gelding whom she competed up through third level dressage, while venturing into low level eventing with her first horse. Throughout college Kelsey found that her passion was in the breeding aspect. In the summer of 2014 she came to work at Hyperion. Kelsey now heads up the Hyperion Stud stallion barn in Virginia as the handler, caregiver and friend to our very special group of stallions.

Lars Bak Andersen joined Team Hyperion in 2021. Lars hails from Denmark and currently runs his own stables in Elmshorn, Germany where he lives with his wife and children. Lars has been a professional rider since he was 20 years old and has previously worked for Stutteri Ask as well as the German Holsteiner Verband. His father is Bo Bak Andersen who has been an equestrian coach and international course designer. His mother Vibeke Degn Andersen was a professional rider and trainer. Lars himself has also worked as the National coach for Malaysia whose Team scored a bronze medal in the 2011 South East Asian Games in Indonesia. In 2013, Lars earned the title of Danish Champion on the Casall-son Charly, and in 2022 he competed at the World Championships with 10-year-old Carl-Heinz B (v. Chacco-Blue). Lars is currently riding Ethene (v. Corrado) for Hyperion Stud and most recently placed 3rd in the World Cup Qualifier in Gothenburg , Sweden. Lars and Ethene boasted one of only three double clear rounds in the competition. The duo is setting their sights on the 2023 European Championships where the Danish Team has a chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Laura Crickenberger graduated from Virginia Tech with Bachelors in Animal & Poultry Science in 2009. She has been riding & working with horses since they age of 8. It was at Va Tech that she began her focus in Equine breeding. "I especially enjoy mare & foal management and watching our youngsters grow up and develop into competition horses." She came to Hyperion Stud in June 2010 and has grown in knowledge and experience to head up the breeding department for the last several years. Laura is one of our top Team Members!

Maucca Kärki hails from Finland where she was born and raised. She has a deep history with the Equestrian sport which includes being a Team rider for Finland in both eventing and dressage and is an active breeder and rider. Maucca owns and operates Grand Prix Marketing, and equestrian consulting agency, and lives in the Netherlands with her husband and two children. Maucca has an extensive global network and has worked with some of the biggest equestrian events, sponsors, media and riders in the world for over two decades. With a background in law and an extensive career as and International TV and film producer, Maucca now focuses all her time in the equestrian world. As a bonus, Maucca speaks 6 languages! Hyperion Stud began its cooperation with Grand Prix Marketing in 2018 which has been very successful so far. The focus is on the expanding Hyperion's global operation in Europe and Scandinavia.

Shannon Arencibia has been working for Hyperion Stud as an office assistant since 2014. She assists with making the paper side of the business move smoothly. She also has a background in Nursing and currently works part time at UVA. In her free time she enjoys hiking, running, and shopping. Making time for her family is most important; she is a mother to three little boys . She has lived in Virginia all her life and currently resides in Lake Monticello. Shannon is an important part of all things running smoothly.

Taizo Sugitani is a Japanese Olympic show jumping rider and is also the son of the Olympic rider and riding club owner Masayu Sugitani. Representing Japan, he competed at six consecutive Summer Olympics in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and with Hyperion Stud's Imothep in 2016 in Brazil. Taizo has also competed in six World Equestrian Games and two World Cup Finals as well as winning the Bronze medal in the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea.

Tanner Poplawski hails from western New York where he received his certificate in Agriculture & Production from Charles G. May Technical school in 2018. Following that he continued his collegiate education at Centenary University, where he found a new interest in Equine Reproduction. He received his bachelors in Equine Business in May of 2021. Tanner is one of the newest members of the Hyperion Stud Team. In his spare time he enjoys trying new foods, exploring the area and watching collegiate sports.

Will Coleman's life with horses began when he was six years old after his family moved to a farm in Charlottesville, VA. Not long after the move, a Shetland pony, TJ, arrived in the back of a pick-up truck, and the seeds of a future career in horses were planted. TJ deserves credit for fostering Will's competitive spirit and a certain comfort with hitting the deck. However, Will really learned to ride in the hunt fields of the Virginia Piedmont and in the show jumping ring, all under the watchful eyes of his father, an avid fox hunter, and horseman. An interest in eventing developed naturally, but an education in horses crossed into many disciplines. Over the last 25 years, Will has worked and trained with some of the most respected horsemen and women in equestrian sport. Key influencers and trainers throughout his career include Tad Coffin, Alison Brock, Joe Fargis, Karen & David O'Connor, Gerd Reuter, Anne Kursinkski, and Wiljan Laraakers. In recent years, Ian Woodhead, Brian Murphy, and Ian Stark have been tremendous coaches for Will and are an integral part of the WCE team. After finishing fourth with Twizzel at the Rolex CCI5* in the spring of 2012, Will earned the honor of representing his country at the London Olympics. In 2018, he was again part of the U.S. Eventing Team at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon with Tight Lines. A highlight of Will's career thus far came in 2021 in the form of a historic win at Aachen with Off The Record aka Timmy. Continued success in 2022 led to Timmy's selection for the FEI Eventing World Championships in Pratoni, Italy. In Pratoni, Will and his teammates secured a silver medal for the USA and finished as the highest-placed American combination in 7th place. With his eye on major world championships and 5* events, Will looks forwards to developing a string of horses aiming at these milestone competitions.