Dear Readers: Although there is a change in leadership, the heart and soul of The Equiery will remain the same. The women you’ve come to know and love, who are the core of the publication, are here to serve you, and each is featured over a span of 4 weeks. I am so privileged to have had these women on my team, and I know and trust that they will continue to serve our readers, advertisers and community well. Before I go, I would like you to know a little bit more about who they really are, their roles within the team, and why I admire each so very much. – Crystal Brumme Pickett, Publisher/Editor 1991-2017
Katherine Rizzo – 15 Years with The Equiery
Katherine Rizzo, with her gun dog Beckham, celebrates 15 years with The Equiery; IJK Photo
Art Director/Managing Editor/Production Manager
While she did not officially join our staff until 2005, we got to know Katherine Rizzo starting in 2003. She had just returned from the University of California Santa Cruz Scientific Communication Graduate Program, where she refined her gifts as a classical visual artist into scientific graphic illustration. She began submitting photos as a freelance photographer, while holding jobs as an illustrator, private school art teacher and riding instructor. Katherine’s attention to detail was immediately apparent. We ask all of our freelance photographers to provide captions for their photos. Katherine was one of the few who provided cleanly written, detail-oriented and factual captions. This soon-to-be former publisher and our then editor, Laurel Scott, were impressed. Katherine’s propensity for technical accuracy made her a natural reporter, as her instincts were (and still are) to dig for facts and not be distracted by feelings or impressions, and to lay out, in a linear logical manner, a story line – and so we started to ask her to write articles. Although she never saw herself as a writer, to her credit, she gave it a go! And she was good! Over time, with her organizational skills and her deadline discipline, managing editor was a natural evolution.
Publishing had changed; no longer could visual artists just be visual artists; no longer could writers just be writers. To be in publishing in this era, one has to be able to write, self-edit, take photos, and then lay it all out in a professionally accepted design software. Katherine was at the right age, at the right time and the right place, and with the right skill set, and thus she could seamlessly blend what had once upon a time been entirely different publishing departments into one.
This combination of skills meant she also migrated naturally into the position of production manager, working valiantly to keep the rest of the Equiery staff on task and on deadline! Her design background made her a shoe-in for art director.
Although currently focused on eventing, Katherine is also active foxchasing and continues to give lessons and train horses. She is currently certified through the — USEA/– USEF as a cross-country and show jump course designer up through the Training level of eventing.
Without a doubt, Katherine is one of the most disciplined, focused, and organized yet artistically expressive women I have ever had the privilege to know. I am grateful for the roads that led Katherine to The Equiery, and I am grateful to former Equiery editor and photographer Laurel Scott for recognizing a burgeoning talent. It has been a professional pleasure to journey with Katherine as she grew from freelance contributor to managing editor, art director and production manager. Every successful publisher must have that one driving personality that ensures the team crosses the finish line, on time and on budget! And to do so in a way that preserves the distinct, divergent personalities necessary for a well-rounded, multi-media publication.
