Lexington, KY (August 6, 2007) - United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced today that the 2007 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention, to be held November 28 - December 2, 2007 in Orlando, Florida, will focus entirely on horse health education.  USDF has partnered with the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) to provide fourteen in-depth sessions with some of the world's top equestrian veterinarians on issues such as digestive health, joint health, footing and contagious disease.  This is the first time that USDF has offered such an extensive educational curriculum in three days with such a vast panel of experts at the annual convention. 
          Held annually at different locations across the U.S., the Adequan/USDF Annual Convention includes educational sessions and the yearly business of the federation.  This event offers the rare opportunity for everyone to see the inner-workings of the USDF, have a say in the decision making process and to be completely immersed in education. 
         "This is an unbelievable line-up of speakers. I honestly don't think you could find a group of vets of this caliber all speaking in the same place - but we have them. The topics are all timely and appropriate for many different styles of riding besides dressage so we are inviting everyone in the equine industry to join us for this incredible educational event," stated USDF Director of Marketing Linda Schultz. 
          Confirmed topics and speakers include: Impact of Arena Footing on Soundness with Nick Attwood of Attwood Equestrian Surfaces, Mark Martinelli, DVM, MS, PhD, the on-call surgeon during the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup Finals, and Hilary Clayton, BRCVS, PhD, MRCVS; New Concepts in Equine Lameness: Thinking Outside the Box with Richard Markell, DVM, treating vet for the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup Finals, leading a panel of Olympic-level veterinarians including Dr. Tim Ober, Dr. Caroline Weinberg, and Dr. Philippe Benoit; New Technologies in Diagnosis and Treatment of Lameness in the Dressage Horse, with Mark Martinelli, DVM, MS, PhD, who served as on-call surgeon for the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup Finals; Conformation and Its Influence on Lameness in the Dressage Horse with Erin Denney-Jones, DVM, FEI recognized veterinarian, and 1996 Olympic Games veterinarian; Alternative Therapies with Heather Hiederich, DVM, who is a highly sought speaker in the field of alternative therapies; Complete Rehabilitation and Preventative Care for the Equine Athlete with Kirsten Johnson, owner of the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center; Through the Looking Glass: New Diagnostic Tools to Evaluate Digestive Tract Health and Disease with Scott Carter, PhD in nutrition and biotechnology and Frank Pellegrini, DVM; Functional Feeding: Maximizing Health and Performance with Lindsey White, MS; Preserving the Foundation: An In-Depth Look at Hoof Care with Stephen O'Grady, DVM, MRCVS, and professional farrier for ten years prior to obtaining his degree in veterinary medicine; Management of Contagious Diseases: Vaccination and Biosecurity Protocols with Rob Holland, DVM and senior veterinarian at Pfizer Animal Health; Conditioning the Dressage Horse with Dr. Hilary Clayton, whose studies on the biomechanics of the equine gait have focused on sport horses; Understanding the USEF/FEI Medication Rules; How not to get your horse to test positive! with Kent Allen, DVM, who served as the United States Equestrian Team vet for several international teams and as vice chairman of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Veterinary Committee; What Your Performance Horse Wants You to Know with Duncan Peters, DVM, MS, FEI licensed equine veterinarian, and head of The Sport Horse Program of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute; and the feature presentation Performance Partners through Pilates: Develop Your Horse through Better Riding which will serve as a panel discussion featuring Dr. Hilary Clayton and Betsy Steiner, American World Championship team member.
          For more information or to register for the Adequan/USDF Annual Convention please visit the USDF Web site, www.usdf.org/convention or contact the USDF office at (859) 971-2277.

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.