RELEASE: June 13, 201
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: Dark Horse Media
Sacramento, CA  – Dressage athletes from around the country and close to home have arrived at Murieta Equestrian Center in Rancho Murieta for four days of competition from June 13 to 16, including the Golden State CDI3* Y-J-U-25 – CPEDI3* and the Golden State Dressage Classic.
National and international organizations recognizing this week’s competition are the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), United States Dressage Federation (USDF), California Dressage Society (CDS), and the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) for the CDI3* Y-J-U25 and CPEDI3*.
Talented young horses will be competing to qualify for the 2013 Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Dressage Championships presented by HorseShow.com, and young riders will be contesting the qualifiers for USEF National Junior and Young Rider Championships, as well as USEF National Pony Rider Championships.
Equestrian achievement knows no age boundary, however, as Colfax, California, resident Barbara Fleming proves today during her Century Ride, a treasured tradition among dressage riders that celebrates the combined ages of 100 for horse and rider. Barbara and Wing, her Morgan gelding, have competed through Fourth Level dressage, in hunter pleasure at Morgan shows, participated in quadrille, and enjoyed riding the Pacific Crest Trail.
Local young talent is equally on show this week, with under-25 age riders such as Elk Grove resident and University of California, Davis, student Genay Vaughn, competing to qualify for the USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup, a program developed to assist and encourage US young riders between ages 16 and 25 in making the transition to senior Grand Prix competition, the pinnacle of competitive dressage sport.
New this year at Golden State Dressage is FEI Para-Equestrian Dressage competition, the only equestrian discipline that is included in the Paralympic Games, held immediately after and at the same venue as each Olympic Games. Para-Equestrian riders are classified according to the level of their disability/impairment so as to provide meaningful competition, and compete in FEI PA Grade Ia (equivalent to USDF Intro Level) through FEI PA Grade IV (equivalent to USDF Third Level).
Due to the limited number of competitions in North America in which Para-Equestrian athletes can qualify for international competition, these dedicated equestrians travel long distances to qualify. This weekend’s competition provides Para-Equestrians from as far away as Connecticut and as close to home as Folsom, California, with a world-class venue in which to pursue their dreams.
Judges this week reflect the international nature of dressage sport, with Alison King (Hong Kong), Lorraine Stubbs and Elizabeth McMullen (Canada), and Marian Cunningham (Peru) joining Axel Steiner and David Schmutz (USA).
In further support of Para-Equestrian competition, Golden State is hosting a Para-Equestrian Dressage FEI Course, with exams, for current Para-Equestrian judges seeking promotion to FEI 3* and 4* status, as well as a Para-Equestrian Dressage FEI Refresher Seminar, without exams, for FEI judges.
Riders of all ages and levels of accomplishment will be hotly contesting the qualifying classes for the 2013 Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Dressage Championships presented by HorseShow.com, 2013 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championships, 2013 AGCO/USEF National Junior and Young Rider Championships, 2013 USEF National Pony Riders Championships, 2013 USEF Brentina Cup Championships, 2013 USEF National Intermediaire I Championships, and 2013 USEF National Grand Prix Championship.
Golden State Dressage Shows continue to grow, thanks to the generous support of sponsors such as California Dressage Society, Murieta Equestrian Center, Kathleen’s Cook Shack, JRD Saddlery, David Schmutz, Seana Adamson, Sonoma Chapter CDS, Lara Oles, and the many volunteers essential to horse show management.
The public is welcome, free of charge, to come out and enjoy the variety of Golden State Dressage competition on show at Murieta Equestrian Center this week.

Wednesday 12 June 2013 | From: hg | Archive » NEWS FROM THE HORSE
12/06/201350 young dressage horses at the first sighting in Warendorf
Warendorf (fn-press). The best five-and six-year-old young dressage horses in Germany have come to the first sighting for the World Championships for young dressage horses in Warendorf. 24 five year olds and 26 six year olds were presented at the site of the German Olympic Equestrian Committee (DOKR).The World Championships of five-and six-year old dressage horses are traditionally part of the international jumping and dressage festival of 7 to 11 August in Verden on the Aller 2013. New is in the selection of horses in Warendorf, that there are now two sightings. On the first day of the training was the discretion of the program. On the second day, the riders had to introduce 2009 (entry test) for five year olds and for six year old horses, the horses in the FEI international dressage. Then due to the shown Impressions of practice and task riding was admitted to the second sighting on 2 July.The Sichtungsgremium consisting of the judges Rich Reinhard Hagen (Pulheim), Klaus Ridder (dates) and national coach Monica Theodorescu (sassenberg), the following horses nominated (in alphabetical order) for the second sighting:Five year old dressage horsesBelarus , Westphalian stallion by Beltoni – Riccione (Breeder: Arno Schielke, rider Claudia Rüscher)Damon’s Satelite , Westphalian gelding by Damon Hill – Rubin Royal (Breeder: Christian Beck, horsewoman Helen Langehanenberg)De Nino , Hanoverian gelding by Don Schufro by Sandro Hit (breeder: Heinz Tiedje jun, horsewoman. Isabel Bache)Diabolo Nymphenburg , Hanoverian gelding by Don Crusador – Weltmeyer (breeder: Fritz Little, rider: Joan of Fricks)Foundation , Hanoverian stallion by Fidertanz – De Vito (breeder: Gerd Pigge, rider Anja Engelbart)Frida Gold , Oldenburg mare Fidertanz – De Niro (breeder: Hans-Jürgen Heitmann, rider Eva Möller)Autumn King , Trakehner stallion by Intercontinental – Timber (Breeder: Gisela Gunia, rider Theresa Whaler)Hotshot , Hanoverian stallion by hotline M – Donnerhall (Günther healing horn breeders, riders: Hermannsburg)Scara Boa , Hanoverian mare by Scolari – Wolkenstein II (breeder: Rixta Stolter, rider Lena Stegemann)Scuderia , Oldenburg mare by Sir Donnerhall – Esudo I (Breeder: Active Equestrian, rider Lena Stegemann)Sir Henry OLD , Oldenburg stallion by Sir Donnerhall – Prince Henry (Breeder: Paul coils, rider Anja Wilimzig)Six year old dressage horsesDamon’s Delorange , Westfalen mare by Damon Hill – Rubin Royal (Breeder: Christian Beck, horsewoman Helen Langehanenberg)Dante Delux MJ , Hanoverian stallion by Danone I – Rouletto (breeder: Christian Boekhoff, rider Matthias Bouten)Diamigo , Oldenburg gelding by Dimaggio M – Joy Prince (breeder: Gabriele Mehrtens-Gahlendorf, horsewoman Helen Langehanenberg)Discovery OLD , Oldenburg gelding by Dimaggio M – classics (Breeder: Joseph Boeckmann, riders Heiner Schiergen)Dominic , Hanoverian gelding by Don Marco – Rosentau (Breeder: Werner Rückgauer, rider Holga Finken)Doubleyou W , Hanoverian gelding by Don Romantic – Diamond in the Rough (breeder: Wilhelm Schwierking, rider Laura Stigler)Filaro , Oldenburg gelding by Fidertanz – Landsieger I (Breeder: Alfred Heuft, horsewoman Helen Langehanenberg)Haya , Westphalian mare by Hotline M v. D’accord (breeder Claudia victory, rider Jan-Dirk Gießelmann)Lord Carnaby , Rhinelander stallion by Lord Loxley I – Rocket Star (Breeder: Peter Schweimanns, rider: Beatrice Buchenwald)Mon Coeur , Oldenburg gelding by Sir Donnerhall I – Don Davidoff (Breeder: Stud Lewitz rider Eva Möller)Sandiego , Mecklenburg gelding Sancisco OLD – Davignon (breeder: Silvia Dronia, rider Carola Koppelmann)Sean Connery , Hanoverian stallion by Sir Donnerhall I – Rotspon (breeder: ZG T. and H. Schulze, rider: Therese Nils Hagen)Silver Moon , Westphalian stallion by Sir Donnerhall – Ramiro Son (breeder: Doris Hagemann, rider Ingrid Klimke)In the second sighting of the international dressage test (final task) the FEI must be ridden for five year olds and six year olds for 2009. Following that then takes the nomination for the World Championships in Verden.

Written by: Sue WeakleyClient: Colorado Horse Park http://www.coloradohorsepark.com/Release Date: 2013-06-09
Parker, CO-June 9, 2013-High Prairie Dressage I, II and III, held at the picturesque Colorado Horse Park May 31-June 2, featured a variety of classes for all levels from Grand Prix to Training Level to Young Horse.
It was Nicole Glusenkamp and Eeltsje F, a Friesian stallion owned by Paula Marsh of Wyning Edge Friesians in Boerne, Texas, who claimed the win in the Grand Prix Open on Friday, May 31, with a 65.904% in the first day of competition.
Glusenkamp, a hometown trainer based in Parker, has had the ride on the Friesian for eight years. She said Eelstsje F was a bit tired from breeding, but the horse was steady, even in the blustery wind at the Horse Park. “It’s not a problem for me, because my horse doesn’t care,” she explained. “Nothing bothers him. I haven’t met anything that bothers him yet.”
She added that she enjoys coming to the Colorado Horse Park where the facilities are top-notch. “You know they always do a great job,” she said. She was particularly impressed with the new GGT-Footing the Horse Park installed. “It’s really nice,” she said. “The horses like it!”
Glusenkamp and Eeltsje F performed a solid test with smooth tempi changes and transitions. Taking second place in the Grand Prix Open behind Glusenkamp was Shannon Dahmer on Rock On with a 65.479%.
Dressage newcomer Andrea Caudill from Amarillo, Texas, had reason to celebrate on her own Haidaseeker Playboy, who scored a 57.632% to take third in the Prix St. Georges – Amateur/Junior/Young Rider class.  “It was our first try at Prix St. Georges,” she said.  “He is an American Quarter Horse and this is my first dressage horse!”
The horse is a money-earner and winner in reined cow horse. They show in the Panhandle Reined Cow Horse Association in the Texas Panhandle and they entered the Reined Cow Horse World Show in January.  Although she and Haidaseeker Playboy, whom she calls “Matt,” currently compete in boxing, a cutting discipline within reined cow horse, as well as reining and endurance racing, she decided she wanted to tackle a new challenge – dressage.
“Some friends of mine were doing it and we decided to try it and we’ve been climbing the levels,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun! I’d never even ridden a dressage horse before. And we just keep moving up.  He just started doing piaffe and passage last fall.”
Although she trains Matt herself, her dressage instructor, Michelle Just-Williams of Ocala, FL, gives her pointers via Skype.  Caudill live-streams her lessons over the computer and Just-Williams coaches her student on a screen.  Caudill started at first level when Just-Williams began instructing her and they are now at Prix St. Georges.  “She has taught us how to do this over the phone,” Caudill said. “So, where there’s a will there’s a way.”
“That’s why I got a Quarter Horse!” she added. “If you want to do it all. . .” She is a walking advertisement for the breed and said the Quarter Horse is the perfect partner for any discipline – including dressage.
The dressage action continued at the Colorado Horse Park with High Prairie II on Saturday, June 1, when Shannon Dahmer rocked it with Rock On in the FEI Freestyle Test of Choice to score a 68.000%.  The pair could have had a turn on “Dancing With the Stars” with their Grand Prix Freestyle featuring double pirouettes and spot-on one-tempis to “Eye of the Tiger” and other music from the iconic movie, “Rocky.”
Dahmer said the freestyle score was chosen because Rock On’s barn name is Rocky, but more germane to the Rocky theme woven throughout the day’s winning freestyle was the 16-year-old Oldenburg’s history as a fighter who beat the odds to triumph in the dressage arena.
In 2009, Rocky nearly died from founder. Dahmer and Rocky’s owner, Mary Allyn, were the ones who brought the gelding back to health to help him claim his heavyweight crown. “Isn’t that amazing that he’s doing the Grand Prix?” Allyn asked. “It was a labor of love and he’s such a special horse. It’s amazing to get a horse to Grand Prix anyway and especially one who foundered. He’s special.”
Dahmer agreed. “This is his second year doing Grand Prix and this is kind of a big deal.” The pair placed fifth with a 65.875% in the Grand Prix Freestyle in the CDI3* in San Juan Capistrano, CA, in March and, just last week, they competed in the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special in Del Mar, CA.
“Shannon has obviously done an amazing job,” Allyn said of Rocky’s rider. “She’s the one who brought him to Grand Prix.”
Dahmer is one proud trainer whose fondness for the knock-out horse is obvious. “He’s rideable now,” she beamed.
Another horse and rider pair who rocked the freestyle were Jane Ann Lake and Tecolate who scored a 63.333% in the USDF Freestyle Test of Choice at Second Level.
“I was happy with him but he was a little tense,” Lake said. “This was his first class of the show season and it’s kind of cold and it’s kind of windy, so he just got a little amped-up.”
She continued, “You do your best and that’s all you can ask for. So, hopefully, by this afternoon for his second class, he’ll be much calmer.” The pair earned a 63.05% in the Second Level Test 3 – Masters’ class later in the day.
Another exciting series of classes at High Prairie Dressage included the $750-plus add back Rising Star Challenge offered for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old horses. Frederick Magazzeni rode two horses in the Rising Star Training Level Test 2 class, Rheiny Day Woman and Razz Ma Tazz.  Shannon Dahmer and The King of Rock N’Roll took the blue with a 69.643% while Magazzeni scored a 68.036% with Rheiney Day Woman to secure second place and a 65.179% with Razz Ma Tazz to take the third slot in the class.
Magazzeni said Rheiney Day Woman, a 4-year-old mare, competed in only the second test of her career in the class.  “She’s been wonderful and very quiet,” he said. “She seems to have just been born with an understanding that she’s here to be a show horse.”
Young show horses showed their stuff on the final day of dressage in High Prairie III on Sunday,  June 2, in a series of Markel/USEF Young Horse Qualifying classes, part of a program using special dressage tests for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old horses to help scout out potential outstanding talent for future careers at the FEI level or participation in U.S. High Performance Teams.
A key component of the classes is personalized feedback from the judges. Immediately after the test, the judges discuss the test with the rider to help with training goals.
Ann Buchanan rode Sky Hit to win the Markel/USEF 4-Year-Old Qualifier. “He was really good,” she said. “There’s a lot going on in there and he really kept it together.” She said the judges liked his walk and thought he was very submissive, especially with all the activity at the show. She added that she specifically purchased the horse in order to participate in the Young Horse Qualifier and appreciated the feedback from the judges to help her continue her horse’s training. “I’m learning a lot,” she said.
Petra Warlimont rode Laurenzo for a first place finish and Diva MCF for the second place spot in the Markel/USEF Young Horse 5-Year-Old Qualifier.  She said Laurenzo was tired after two days of showing. “In the walk we wandered all over the place, but he’s super and this was his first horse show.”
Warlimont said the judges scored the horse favorably. “The general impression was an 8.2, so he’s in the Top 15,” she said. “With this stuff going on, I could feel him getting pretty tense in there, but he kept it together.”
Laurenzo’s breeder, Cindy Feirn, said she breeds Holsteiners on Colorado’s Western Slope and added she has another 4-year-old that will soon be trying to qualify in the Markel/USEF program.
Warlimont laughed, “I told her to make 10 more of those. He’s super!”
Warlimont also enjoyed her ride on Diva MCF and said the mare just keeps surprising her by getting better and better but is not quite ready for the big time. “She can’t really hold the collection in the trot but otherwise I’m really happy with where she is,” Warlimont explained.
She added that, although the judges really liked the mare’s canter, they thought her rhythm in the collected trot was inconsistent. “I’m happy with the score,” she said. “I didn’t even think she would be able to handle the test and she did really well.”
Allen Swafford and Fiderstep HW also participated in the Young Horse 5-Year-Old Qualifier and came away with third place. He said he received good feedback from the judges on the horse. “He’s super,” he said. “It’s his first test and his first horse show and we weren’t as expressive as we can be. We were trying to be conservative and just do a nice test and then next time we can go for expression.”
Swafford agreed with the other competitors that the feedback from the judges helps him plan a roadmap for his horse’s future training. “I love all the encouraging words,” he said. “They tell you all the things you need to work on and go forward with that. It’s very good.”
For more information about High Prairie Dressage I, II and III as well as information about other exciting shows at Colorado Horse Park this summer, log onto www.coloradohorsepark.com.
To see the complete listing of results for High Prairie I, II and III, go to www.cornerstonedressage.com/results/2013_08.pdf.

RELEASE: June 10, 2013AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: USEF Communications DepartmentLexington, KY – The best young dressage horses on the East Coast delivered top performances at the 2013 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Eastern Selection Trial in Leesburg, Virginia. Held in conjunction with the VADA/NOVA Summer June Dressage Show, these five- and six-year-old horses aimed for a spot to represent the U.S. at the FEI World Breeding Championships for Dressage Young Horses in Verden, Germany in August, as well as a spot on the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Short List.
Combinations needed to score 8.2 or higher to be eligible to represent the U.S. in Verden, while a score of 7.8 or higher would earn a place on the Markel/USEF Short List. Selection Trial competition had both five- and six-year-olds perform their respective FEI Preliminary Tests which accounted for 40% of the overall score. The remaining 60% of scores was earned in their respective FEI Final Tests.
Silva Martin (Unionville, PA) had an impressive weekend, claiming the top three places with her mounts in the five-year-old division. Fortissimo B (ES Fabuleux x EM Romai/Rubinstein I) took home the win after earning a 7.700 in the FEI Preliminary Test and an 8.120 in the FEI Final Test for a total score of 7.952 with Martin. With that score, Camilla Van Liew’s Hanoverian Stallion earned a place on the Markel/USEF Short List.
“Fortissimo B was great on both days,” said Martin. “He really tried for me and I think he is going to have an amazing future!”
Melinda Walton’s Hanoverian gelding Benefactor RRS (Bonheur x Heidekleid/Rubinstein I) earned a total score of 7.80 with Martin after receiving a 7.56 in the FEI Preliminary Test and a 7.96 in the FEI Final Test, also qualifying him for the Markel/USEF Short List. Martin also rode Anne Laver and Windurra USA, LLC’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Di Solitaire (unknown breeding) to receive a 7.52 and a 7.72 for a total score of 7.64.
In the six-year-old division, Kim Gentry (Germantown, TN) and Leonardo (Solos Landtinus x Rambala/Rambo) came out on top with a 7.32 in the FEI Preliminary Test and a 7.92 in the FEI Final Test for a total score of 7.68. The Danish Warmblood gelding performed well for rider/owner Gentry and showed much potential for the future.
“I am really excited about the outcome. The feedback from judges on Saturday’s test was that I needed more collection and more engagement, so I really worked on that and showing clearer transitions within the gaits on Sunday,” said Gentry. “I thought about where I could show him off, which is in his changes, so I asked him for a more uphill balance with his changes and he really delivered.  Being so young, I can feel that there is more to come out of him which is really exciting.”
Alice Tarjan (Oldwick, NJ) rode her own Oldenburg mare Elfenfeuer (Florencio x Unknown/Sion) to a second place finish, earning a total score of 7.24 after receiving a 7.30 in the FEI Preliminary Test and a 7.20 in the FEI Final Test.

RELEASE: June 10, 2013AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: USEF Communications Department
Lexington, KY-Tina Konyot (Palm City, FL) cruised to two runner-up spots over the weekend in Austria at the Schloss Achleiten CDI3*. Riding her own Calecto V, Konyot scored 72.021% in the FEI Grand Prix Test on Saturday. The pair returned Sunday to earn a 73.042% in the Grand Prix Special. The 2012 Olympic Games veterans were topped in both tests by Victoria Max-Theurer and Augustin OLD of Austria.
Konyot is competing in Europe this summer on grant awarded by the USEF with funding made possible by the USET Foundation.

Wellington, FL – June 7, 2013 – It was a busy five months for JustWorld Ambassadors, but the numbers are finally in for the 2013 JustWorld Team Challenge. It was Team Guatemala who won the challenge this year, raising more than $31,000 through hard work, fundraisers and generous donations. Three teams representing JustWorld projects in Guatemala, Honduras and Cambodia raised over $87,000 in total–an unprecedented amount raised by young rider fundraising initiatives. JustWorld International is a not-for-profit humanitarian organization that funds life-changing nutrition, health and hygiene, education, and leaderships and cultural development programs for impoverished children in the three represented countries.

The Team Challenge began January 1st and ran through May. Two co-captains, one based on the West Coast and one on the East Coast of the United-States, led each team. The teams were comprised of JustWorld Ambassadors consisting of Juniors, Amateurs, Professionals and Technical Officials. The Team Challenge opened a new outlet for JustWorld Ambassadors; teaching them about raising awareness of the JustWorld projects and raising funds for these projects by utilizing e-mail, phones and social media to capture the technology of today, and in doing so, raise awareness of those in need. The teams created their own innovative ideas to raise funds for their country’s project. They created their own Facebook Groups and websites, and provided up-to-date information about their mission to spread the word about JustWorld.

In total, the Team Challenge was nothing short of a phenomenal success. With over $87,000 raised for the ongoing projects in the three countries, Ambassadors from 15 different countries across the globe united. In North America over 27 of the United States and five provinces in Canada were represented.

Team Guatemala raised $31,221 through their efforts. With West Coast co-captain Morgan Dickerson and East Coast co-captain Kira Kerkorian, Team Guatemala worked to raise funds to continue providing scholarships to attend school, educational reinforcement lessons, and access to a healthy community kitchen and free medical clinic. Guatemala is an impoverished Latin American country, where three quarters of the country lives below the poverty line. For Guatemalan children, this means many of them do not have access to health care, proper nutrition or education. JustWorld partners with Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Los Patojos to establish a safe learning environment for more than 180 children in the dangerous community of Jocotenango. Team Guatemala would like to specifically thank the Ziegler Family for their generous donation to their team.

“The Team Challenge was probably one of the best things I have done with JustWorld. I have only been an Ambassador for three years, and the support and energy I witnessed from the Team Challenge was great. I was so thankful to be a part of such a dedicated team,” Dickerson described. “It really brought all of the Ambassadors closer together, and we worked a lot to try and coordinate different things. I was so amazed by the amount of supporters and the dedication; it really gave Team Guatemala a fighting spirit.”
Morgan Dickerson (Team Guatemala West Coast Co-Captain), Sophie Simpson, Will Simpson, Hannah Heidegger, Sydney Callaway, and Francie Steinwedell-Carvin
Kira Kerkorian (Team Guatemala East Coast Co-Captain), Calla Kerkorian and friend

Madison Bradshaw on the West Coast worked in tandem with East Coast co-captain Max Beaumont to raise awareness and funds for Team Cambodia.  Cambodia is still recovering from the national trauma of Pol Pot’s brutal regime and genocide from roughly 35 years ago. The country now struggles with a lack of free education and extreme poverty-particularly in rural areas where 92 percent of the impoverished population lives. JustWorld partnered with the People Improvement Organization in Phnom Penh to address this problem and has built two schools and funds the education of 800 children. Team Cambodia was able to raise $28,608 and had a generous donation from the Rizvi Family. They also saw great success from International Donors and saw repeated donations from several donors.

“As a Co-Captain I realized that we needed a lot more organization on the West Coast, where we don’t have the same level of support, adult guidance and leadership,” Bradshaw explained. “I was trying to get the other Ambassadors to create their own initiatives, try new thing and get more kids involved. A lot of them want to gain more involvement, but they don’t necessarily know how. The Team Challenge gave them a concrete way to do that-it gave them ideas and tangible goals. We had ambassadors that really rose to the occasion.”

Riley Newsome, Max Beaumont (Team Cambodia East Coast Co-Captain), and Kate Morrison

Madison Bradshaw (Team Cambodia West Coast Co-Captain), Alex Afzal, and friends at Alex and Ani San Francisco Team Challenge Kick Off

“We had really creative ideas involving golf carts at the horse shows, cup cake sales, belt sales, and even made our own swag bags that were really popular. One of the best things we did was the Million Dollar Grand Prix project where we had all of the riders sign a JustWorld saddle pad, and then raffled it off. You can also see many of our supporters wearing bracelets that the kids from Cambodia made themselves, it was such a group effort,” Bradshaw said. “I would like to see more involvement next year from Ambassadors in other Zones and countries; I think that the Team Challenge has even more potential to make an impact.”

West Coast Captain Sarah Abdi and East Coast Captain Ali Lieberman represented Team Honduras. These co-captains raised awareness for the second poorest country in Central America. Honduras suffers from extraordinarily unequal distribution of wealth and high unemployment. JustWorld has worked throughout Honduras to address the education, health and nutrition of children in impoverished communities. JustWorld currently works with local NGO Compartir to bring education and social development to children through the mobile library, which reaches 2,500 children in slums around Tegucigalpa. This team raised $27,196 to help JustWorld continue their mission in Honduras. Katie Quirk generously donated to their cause, and Team Honduras had the most International Donors.
Sarah Abdi (Team Honduras West Coast Co-Captain), Lily Blavin, Francie Steinwedell-Carvin, Emily Mullins, Sarah Mullins, Katie Crampton, and Grady Lyman
Paige Wilson, Piper Benjamin, Friend, Ali Lieberman (Team Honduras East Coast Co-Captain), and Maria Aponte

“The Team Challenge was a really awesome experience, definitely hard work, but so rewarding,” Lieberman said. “I think the greatest thing I will take away is the feeling of making a difference for them. You are doing philanthropy for them, but the work you are doing also helps you to become an even better person. It is such satisfaction to know that you have helped them. This is something I never would have had if I hadn’t been involved with JustWorld, this challenge has opened my eyes to so many possibilities.”

Lieberman concluded, “Such a fabulous experience, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the team and work with the JustWorld staff. I am so glad I was able to help the kids in Honduras, even if it was only in a small way.”

If you are interested in becoming involved in the 2014 Team Challenge, please contact JustWorld Ambassador Coordinator Amber Warren at awarren@justworldinternational.org. Although the program does not begin until January, you can start fundraising initiatives in your own community, work to spread the word through friends and family, and begin raising donations to help JustWorld continue to make an impact in impoverished countries. Know that you are able to help make a change in the world with the JustWorld Team Challenge.

Founded in 2003 by Jessica Newman, JustWorld International is a not-for-profit, humanitarian organization, which funds life-changing nutrition, health and hygiene, education, as well as leadership and cultural development programs for impoverished children in Cambodia, Honduras and Guatemala.  There are currently more than 500 Rider and Technical Official Ambassadors representing 40 different countries, whose efforts to support JustWorld’s projects have raised in excess of $6 million to date.  For more information on JustWorld, please visit www.justworldinternational.org.

Wellington, FL – June 7, 2013 – On Tuesday, June 11, beginning at 7:00 p.m., the Wellington Village Council will review and discuss proposed plans to build the Palm Beach Horse Park on the K-Park property, a 67-acre parcel of land located on the corner of Stribling Road and State Road 7. To demonstrate their support for the project, many enthusiastic equestrian spectators, replete with cowboy hats and boots, are expected to fill the council room on Tuesday night.

Jack Van Dell, a longtime resident and business owner in Wellington, has spearheaded the effort to create this unique, completely new horse park in the Village of Wellington. The Horse Park will feature facilities for the American Quarter Horse, as well as many other breeds, in its design.

“Wellington already offers plenty of competitions, facilities and instructors to equestrians from around the world in the disciplines of dressage, hunter/jumper and polo,” explained Van Dell. “But many other large equestrian groups are not represented – for instance, the Quarter Horse industry – and we are building this facility with their needs in mind.”

The Palm Beach Horse Park development team’s vision is to create a destination facility that will attract visitors from around Palm Beach County, the state of Florida, the United States and the world to come enjoy a wide spectrum of equestrian activities. The plans for the Horse Park include a 4,000-seat enclosed and climate-controlled stadium, a number of covered indoor and outdoor show rings, a supporting commercial district, a hotel, a unique veterinary instructional facility and an international riding school. The Palm Beach Horse Park has unveiled a new website, http://www.palmbeachhorsepark.com, that outlines the project’s vision and plans.

The creation of the Palm Beach Horse Park  will not only complement the equestrian activities already represented in town, but by including the American Quarter Horse and many other breeds, it will complete the equestrian circle in Wellington and make it the most varied and comprehensive equestrian village in the world.

“We’ll have a facility that will provide opportunities for all breeds and disciplines to showcase their unique qualities to the world in one central location, Wellington, FL, all with a Palm Beach Flair,” Van Dell said.

For more information about the Palm Beach Horse Park, visit http://www.palmbeachhorsepark.com. Contact Jack Van Dell at (561) 333-3100 or email palmbeachhorsepark@gmail.com.