Ali Perkins of Rougemont, NC, has been selected to receive the 2020 George Williams Young Professional Grant from The Dressage Foundation (TDF). The purpose of the grant is to provide financial support to instructors and trainers age 25-35 who have a strong desire to participate in continuing education opportunities, in order to provide higher-quality instruction to their students.
Ali has been a full-time dressage instructor for 4 years and is a USDF Certified Instructor through First Level. She rode the late Santé through the U25 Grand Prix and competed in the 2019 Region 1 Regional Championships in Open Grand Prix and Freestyle. Ali has 20 students in her program, ranging from beginners to students riding Prix St. Georges. She will use the $5,000 grant to travel to Wellington, FL, in 2021. During her month there, she will train with Liz Austin and will also work with the Dresssage4Kids Winter Intensive Training Program to improve her teaching and coaching skills.
Ali shared, “Being awarded the George Williams Young Professional Grant is such an honor and gives me so much confidence to push my career to the next level. What a gift it will be to have time to focus on continuing my own education when I’m in Florida. I can’t wait to bring tools home to share with my students in the spring!”
When the Fund was established in 2018, George Williams shared, “I want to thank those who have given so generously to this Fund. It is designed to reflect how important it is that our young professionals have a solid foundation – one that is based on a good education and that includes a dedication to become first-rate teachers with an unwavering commitment to helping their students learn and become the best they can be, all while passing on a love and respect for all horses.”
TDF welcomes donations to further support young professionals through the George Williams Fund. Gifts can be made online at www.dressagefoundation.org or by calling TDF’s office at (402) 434-8585. Donations by check can be mailed to TDF’s office at 1314 ‘O’ Street, Suite 305, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68508.
For more information about this Fund or The Dressage Foundation, click here or contact Jenny Johnson at (402)434-8585 or jenny@dressagefoundation.org.
Photo credit: Susan J. Stickle
