The Dressage Foundation's Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund has awarded a $500 grant to dressage trainer Clara Etzel (Ypsilanti, MI) and a $500 grant to adult amateur Alys Culhane (Palmer, AK).

Photo: Clara Etzel
Credit to Third Shutter from the Sun Photography

Clara will be using her $500 grant to complete the USDF ‘L’ Program in hopes of building her credentials as a rider, trainer, and judge, as well as continuing her education. "Receiving a grant from the Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund will make it more feasible for me to attend the USDF L Program in 2016. I am looking forward to developing my comprehension of judging Training through Second levels through the L Program. I appreciate all the support of my family, friends, the Northern Ohio Dressage Association, and especially the Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund for awarding me this grant."

Photo: Alys Culhane and Raudhetta

Alys will be using her Isler Grant to attend the 2015 Centered Riding Symposium in Lunteren, Netherlands, to further her dressage education with a goal of becoming a Level 2 Centered Riding Instructor. In addition to the Symposium, she will attend an update clinic featuring Gerd Heuschmann and Tom Nagel, focusing on biomechanics in relation to riding. “Alaska is a long ways from the Lower 48, making equine-related training travel costs prohibitive,” says Alys. “The Renee Isler grant will now enable me to advance my centered-riding related knowledge and assist others in doing the same.”