Photos: Lehua Custer (Credit Cheri Quinto), Lisa Hall, Julie Laity, Patty Mayer (Credit Terri Miller), Leah Nelson (Credit Sarah Chiodi)

The Dressage Foundation’s Continuing Education for Dressage Instructors Fund, established by Maryal and Charles Barnett, has awarded grants to five individuals to attend the United States Dressage Federation’s Instructor Certification Program.

Lehua Custer (Burbank, CA) , Lisa Hall (Export, PA), Julie Laity (Camarillo, CA), Patty Mayer (Santa Rosa Valley, CA), and Leah Nelson (Duluth, MN) each received a $1,000 grant to further their education as instructors.

“We are so thankful to the Barnett’s, whose generosity has made these instructor grants possible” said Jenny Johnson, TDF’s Executive Director. “It is important for instructors to continue their education for the betterment of our sport as a whole. The USDF Instructor Certification Program has been beneficial for so many instructors, so we encourage others to apply for these grants in the future.”

Instructors attending any portion of the Instructor Certification Program, including the workshops, pre-certification, and testing, can use individual grants through this Fund. Individual grants are awarded twice per year and the next deadline for applications is July 1, 2015.

Additionally, five $1,000 grants are available to GMOs that are organizing an instructor education event. The funds can be used to offset some of the expenses involved in conducting a USDF Instructor Certification Program, or to organize a general educational event for area instructors. These applications must be received at least 90 days prior to the event.