About StartBox Online Scoring, LLC
Background
How did this software come to be? The StartBox team has provided website services as well as secretarial and scoring support to Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials since 2001. We know first-hand the frustrations and challenges of running such a complex sport. Since 2002 we have been developing this software to make our jobs easier, adding more features and smoothing out the edges each year.
We decided it was time to share our creation with other horse trials around the country, beginning with Live Online Scoring at the American Eventing Championships in 2007. Public response to the online scoring system has been overwhelming and we are thrilled to be able to provide this software to the entire eventing and dressage community.
The StartBox Team
Scott Weber
Scott’s love of all things hands-on and technical can be traced back to the age of 3, when he unscrewed all the tail lights on his parents’ car. From there it was on to building and flying model rockets and airplanes and actually repairing the family car instead of just dismantling it. He dreamed of designing real airplanes and achieved a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois. Recruited by Xerox as a research engineer, he found himself doing high-energy physics instead. At this time the web was just emerging and Scott recognized a new opportunity and a new channel for his love of the technical in web programming. He became the webmaster for Xerox research and eventually a software engineer. His current day job is Director of Cloud Solutions at Eagle Dream Technologies.
When not in a portable device-induced trance, he enjoys chasing after his daughter, tinkering with his old truck, and fixing up his log cabin in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Ron Smith
Punch cards? Computers the size of a room? Huh? Yep, Ron has seen it all. He had to get a BS in Math at Knox College because Computer Science wasn’t even a twinkle in Steve Job’s eyes yet. He could open his own wing at the personal computer museum, with such relics as the original Apple ][, the original Macintosh, and anyone remember the Lisa? The BeBox? Anyone?
Ron was an entrepreneur before being an entrepreneur was cool. He started RDS Computer Service in 1979, developing custom software applications and database tools for industry giants such as Bell Labs, McDonald's, Abbot Laboratories, AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and TrippLite, to name a few. He has his daughter’s love of horses to thank for pulling him off the corporate path and into the StartBox wilderness where he reigns as the database and scheduling guru and tech support king.
When not picking tomatoes or cutting and splitting firewood to heat his 200 year-old farmhouse, Ron enjoys writing software.
Jennifer Weber
Jen studied creative writing and art at the University of Illinois, and also worked as an Apple Computer representative at the campus computer store. There she learned the ins and out of graphic design as well as the emergence of the web as a communication tool. A few years later, her unique blend of talents and not-so-unique dislike of taking direction led her down the entrepreneurial path. In 1998, she founded Solius Web Solutions, providing high-quality custom web sites for small businesses.
Jen began riding at age 10 in Wayne, IL and her love of horses and eventing led her to donate her web site services at Stuart Horse Trials beginning in 2001. A prototype of the system that would become StartBox was created the following year, with Jen providing then as well as now the graphic design, content organization, and user experience. Her current responsibilities also include bookkeeping, invoicing, and show setup.
Jen's "day" job involves lots of laughter while teaching her daughter the important things like how to ride, ski, and paint, as well as reading and math. In her abundant free time, she enjoys painting, thinking deep thoughts and communing with nature.