AUTHOR: PSDressage

Verdades with Laura Graves, Debbie McDonald, and Judy Sloan (CA Bose/PSDressage.com)

Wellington, Fla. – Deloitte, one of the “Big Four” professional services firms, has announced its sponsorship of Laura Graves as she pursues her goals of riding for the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

News of the sponsorship, which is unprecedented in the sport of dressage, was shared with media members at a cocktail event on Saturday afternoon at Betsy Juliano’s Havensafe Farm in Wellington….read more at www.psdressage.com.

Lausanne (SUI), 8 April 2015

Lisa Lazarus, FEI Chief of Business Development & Strategy, has announced that she will be leaving the organisation at the end of May 2015. Lazarus is moving to Singapore with her family.

Lazarus was FEI General Counsel from May 2009 to August 2013, before taking up her current post overseeing the FEI’s commercial activities, including broadcast media distribution and sales, partnerships, branding, licensing and merchandising.

“While I am of course very sad to say goodbye to my talented colleagues at the FEI, and to the FEI Family as a whole, I am proud of the recent accomplishments that have been made in growing the value of the FEI’s media rights and partnerships”, Lazarus said. “Equestrian sport offers so much to its partners with the unique bond between two athletes, human and horse, a demographically compelling fan base, and men and women competing as equals.”

Prior to joining the FEI, Lazarus was Senior Director of Partner Development for NFL International in London.

“Lisa Lazarus has made a huge contribution to the FEI over her six years with us. She has shared a wealth of expertise and knowledge, and built partnerships that have greatly enhanced the income streams of the FEI and helped to fund the ongoing development of the sport,” explained Sabrina Zeender, FEI Secretary General.

“We are now looking to build on this success, as equestrian sport experiences huge global growth and moves to the next level commercially.”

The FEI has exclusively appointed the global executive search firm Korn Ferry to recruit Lazarus’ replacement.

Lexington, KY (April 2, 2015) – The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) held its first FEI B Level Instructor Certification exam. The exam was held March 24-25, 2015 at Sporthorse America in Santa Rosa, CA, with examiners Lilo Fore, Kathy Connelly, and Hilda Gurney.  USDF is pleased to congratulate Volker Brommann, CA, Jennifer Baumert, NC, Stacey Hastings, NC, and Rachel Saavedra, CA, as the first instructors to be certified at this new level.  Instructors who are certified at this level are tested in their riding and teaching skills, along with training theory at the Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I levels.

“With the successful completion of the first FEI B Level testing, the USDF Instructor Certification program has reached another milestone. This is an exciting, major step forward in our efforts to certify dressage instructors at the FEI levels. I want to congratulate the four individuals who took and passed the exam, and thank all of those who have worked so hard to bring this program to fruition,” stated George Williams, USDF President.

For more information on the USDF FEI Level Workshop and Certification Program, the USDF Instructor/Trainer Program, to view a calendar of workshop or testing dates, or to obtain details on hosting a workshop or testing session, please visit the USDF website at www.usdf.org or contact the USDF education programs department at instructorcertification@usdf.org.

Lexington, KY (March 31, 2015) – The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce its partnership with the Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) to create a new type of competition for the IDA Nationals, the 2015 USDF/IDA National Quiz Challenge.  This competition is open to all IDA members and consists of two rounds of competition; the first round takes place online through USDF’s eTRAK, focusing on classical dressage theory related to the rider’s seat, position, and aids.

The top six scoring individuals from the first round, in each of the four categories (Introductory, Lower Training, Upper Training and First Level), will compete as finalists at the 2015 IDA Nationals at Otterbein University’s Austin E. Knowlton Center for Equine Science in Westerville, OH on April 24-26, 2015.  A winner will be declared at each level, with one grand prize winner receiving a four week internship at Hilltop Farm, Inc. in Colora, MD.

“IDA is very excited to have Hilltop Farm as a sponsor for this new program.  Having the support of Hilltop Farm shows all of our collegiate members how seriously the dressage community views knowledge of the classical system.  We are thrilled with this new partnership and excited to see how it develops in the coming years,” stated Ginger Henderson, Chair of the Equestrian Department at Averett University and IDA board member.

Natalie DiBerardinis, General Manager & Breeding Manager at Hilltop Farm, Inc. added, “Hilltop Farm has always valued our relationships with colleges offering Equestrian Studies Programs and we’ve been fortunate to have many wonderful interns from these programs over the years.  This new connection with the USDF/IDA National Quiz Challenge is a wonderful chance for us to continue to offer hands-on experience for college students preparing for a career in the sport horse industry.”

For more information on the USDF/IDA National Quiz Challenge, please visit the IDA website at www.teamdressage.com, the USDF website atwww.usdf.org, or contact the USDF Youth Programs Liaison at youth@usdf.org .