Lexington, KY - The prestigious Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program kicks off this Friday at Dressage at Lamplight in Wayne, IL, with the first of three regional Selection Trials aimed at selecting the U.S. representatives for the 2011 FEI World Breeding Championships held in Verden, Germany, August 3-7, 2011.
 
The three selection trials include Dressage at Lamplight in Wayne, IL, May 20-22; Dressage at Flintridge in La Canada-Flintridge, CA, May 26-29; and VADA/NOVA Summer Dressage in Leesburg, VA, June 3-5.
 
In order to qualify for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Short List, horses must have earned an overall score of 8.2 or better at one of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials or via international competitions.
 
The 2010 winners included: Central Champion Six-Year-Old GP Super Crusador, owned by Grand Prix Equestrian and ridden by Kassandra Barteau; Central Champion Five-Year-Old WakeUp, owned and ridden by Emily Wagner; Western Champion Six-Year-Old Selten HW, owned and ridden by Elizabeth Ball; Western Champion Five-Year-Old Bellino, owned and ridden by Mark Carter; Eastern Champion Six-Year-Old De Facto, owned by Martha Singh and ridden by Christopher Schruefer; Eastern Champion Five-Year-Old Suntreader, owned by Pamela Erdman and ridden by Inga Janke.
 
For more information about the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program, please visit http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/alldressage/NatlYHProgram.aspx or contact Jeannie Blancq, USEF National Director of Dressage at  [email protected].
 
 
ENDS

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.