October 26, 2006 (Lexington, KY) - United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce Diane L. Erhart of Park City, Montana, Lisa Todara of Lee, New Hampshire, and Monica Willet of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as the recipients of the 2006 Ruth Arvanette Memorial Fund Grants.  These grants include a free Annual Convention Package for the 2006 Adequan/USDF National Convention and Symposium, along with partial reimbursements of airfare and lodging expenses.
       Each of these individuals was chosen based on their participation in GMO activities, their plan to share information gained by attending with their GMO and Region, and on financial need.  In addition, it was taken into consideration whether or not the applicants' GMOs have had previous representation at the USDF Annual Convention.  Sherry Guess, GMO Council Chair, stated that "This year's applicants were all very deserving, which made the job of the judges very difficult.  However, we feel that the three individuals chosen displayed a strong yearning to gain as much information as possible to share with their GMOs and regions in order to promote both the sport of dressage and the USDF."
      Ruth Arvanette was a long-time employee and supporter of USDF and it dedication to education.  Until the time she passed away, she played an instrumental role in many programs still in place today.  Ruth especially enjoyed the USDF Annual Convention and one of her main goals was to make attending the convention a reality for everyone, specifically USDF Group Members.  To this effect, the USDF developed the Ruth Arvanette Memorial Fund in memory of Ruth after her death in March of 2000.  Since its inception, the Ruth Arvanette Memorial Fund has provided three annual grants to combat attendee costs at the USDF convention.  It is USDF's pleasure to continue on with Ruth's vision and continue her crusade to promote the sport of dressage throughout the United States.

Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email [email protected], or call (859) 971-2277.