Board Members
Kerry Shanahan Owner/Founder/President
Kerry began riding at the age of 5 and followed her passion growing up working off lessons on the weekend and showing her very naughty ottb. When she outgrew him, she moved on to a skinny, malnourished 3-year-old that caught her eye and the obsession with these guys started. Kerry has worked as a feed rep, ridden professionally on jumpers, hunters, and foxhunters, an equine vet tech, managed show and breeding barns, stood her own stallion, and has rehomed thousands of thoroughbreds. She particularly enjoys the tougher ones, whether injuries or behavior issues, she loves figuring out and fixing. Kerry has always had a soft spot for thoroughbreds needing a soft landing and started taking them in as a hobby many years ago. Ballyclare was started in 2007 with a 4 stall barn on 7 acres. Since 2016 over 3,000 thoroughbreds have come through and found great homes. It began as primarily a small lesson program that traveled to local shows with occasional ottb projects and has grown to a nationally known and respected 501c3 thoroughbred aftercare facility.
Allie Renzulli Co-founder/Treasurer
Allie has been riding since she was five years old. She always took a special interest in thoroughbreds and retraining them off the track. Allie takes on a few of her own to retrain and show herself long term, as well as, helping to network horses straight from the track into new homes/careers. Most of her time has been spent in the hunter/jumpers, but she has dabbled in a little bit of dressage and eventing when she can. She loves bringing these horses along and watching them grow into new careers. Allie graduated from Lynchburg College with a bachelor's in accounting where she also rode on their IHSA team. She started working at Ballyclare in 2015. Allie has been with Ballyclare since their move to Virginia and is considered family. She has been and continues to be an important part of daily operations in the barn and behind the scenes to keep business operating smooth. Allie leases one of the barns on the property where she operates her own business restarting and rehoming thoroughbreds Renzulliracehorserestarts.com
Dennis Shanahan Secretary
While Dennis is not a hands-on member at the farm, he plays a key role in the founding of Ballyclare. Dennis has a vast history in the finance world and is the founder of a very large non profit that helps inner city kids. Dennis is Kerry's father and played a huge role in supporting her childhood obsession and continues to help behind the scenes.