The Dressage Foundation is pleased to announce two grant recipients from its Elysium Farm Fund for U.S. Breeder Excellence; Lisa Dickman (VA) and Gina Leslie (NY).
The Elysium Farm Fund for U.S. Breeder Excellence, established at The Dressage Foundation in 2011 by Abbey Henderson, owner of Elysium Farm (MA), provides financial assistance to breeders to pursue educational opportunities related to breeding that will advance their careers, promote sound breeding practices and further enhance the quality of U.S.-bred dressage horses.
Lisa Dickman was awarded $1,500 to attend the KWPN-NA Annual Meeting alongside the KWPN Stallion Show in Holland early in 2016. Lisa says, “I am thrilled at the opportunity the Elysium Farm Fund has afforded me. I hope to use this experience to gain more insight into current breeding trends in Europe, which I can apply to my own breeding program and share with other North American breeders, as well. It is so important to have these kinds of programs available to American breeders, like myself, in order to enhance the quality and competitiveness of U.S.-bred dressage horses.”
Gina Leslie was awarded $1,500 to attend the Breeders Orientation Course in Germany, held by the Hannoverian Verband in October. “Our goal at Sandpiper Farm is to produce sport horses with good minds and correct conformation for longevity in the show ring – horses with strong hind ends, clean throat latches, strong top lines, and freedom of the shoulder. Attending the Breeders Orientation Course will enable me to see hundreds of stallions during the tour. I feel that the more horses a person sees and judges, the more he or she develops a better eye for movement and conformation.”
Applications will again be received in 2016, with a due date of May 1st. Further information about the Elysium Farm Fund for U.S. Breeder Excellence is available at The Dressage Foundation website, www.dressagefoundation.org or call (402) 434-8585.
Above Photos:
Top - Lisa Dickman, standing at left of horse. Photo by Siegi Belz-Fry.
Bottom - Gina Leslie of Sandpiper Farm. Photo by Carole MacDonald.
