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Two Grants Awarded from TDF's George Williams Young Professional Fund

The Dressage Foundation is pleased to announce that grants have been awarded from its George Williams Young Professional Fund to Jaclyn Pepper-Millard (CA) and Kevin Hadfield (MA). The purpose of the Fund is to provide up to $5,000 to instructors and trainers aged 25-35 who have a strong desire to participate in continuing education opportunities in order to provide higher-quality instruction to their students. 

Jaclyn Pepper-Millard has been a dressage instructor since 2012. She currently has ten students who range from 14-70 years old and from First Level to Intermediate 1. Jaclyn also has 14 horses in training ranging from just started three-year-olds to Grand Prix. Jaclyn trains regularly with Volker Brommann and plans to use this grant funding to train with Sabine Schut-Kery and attend the USDF Instructor/Trainer Program.


Photo by Emilie Jame

Jaclyn said, “This grant will be able to provide me with a life changing opportunity that I cannot afford on my own. As we all know, this sport is difficult and very expensive, so having the opportunity to invest in my own education is just amazing. Thank you so very much to the donors and everyone involved in TDF for providing life changing opportunities to up-and-coming professionals like me.”

Kevin Hadfield became a professional in 2019. He currently has 13 students at his farm and travels for clinics on a regular basis. His students range from 16 to 60+ years old and from Training Level to Prix St. Georges. Kevin rides regularly with Vincent Flores, Olivia LaGoy-Weltz, and Kathy Connelly. Kevin plans to use his grant to attend the USDF Instructor/Trainer Program and for intensive training with Olivia LaGoy-Weltz.


Photo by Pictorial Tales Photography-Bethani Chadbourne

Kevin said, “I am so honored and grateful to have received a grant from the George Williams Fund. Dressage is my life, and I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to grow in this sport. To me, continuing my education not only allows me to bring myself and my horses up the levels, but it allows me to understand each horse and their physical and mental needs more deeply, and it also allows me to bring back knowledge and teaching skills to my students. This grant will allow me to spend uninterrupted time with my horses and receive invaluable feedback from a top trainer. Not only will I gain priceless tools for my own ‘tool belt,’ but also for each horse and rider I will help in the future.”

Since the Fund began in 2019, one grant has been awarded per year. However, thanks to a generous donation from the estate of TDF’s Past President & CEO, John Boomer and his wife, Lynn, TDF was able to offer a second grant for 2022.  

“We are grateful to John and Lynn Boomer, and all the donors through the past few years, who want to help young dressage professionals receive education that might otherwise be financially out of reach,” said Jenny Johnson, TDF’s Executive Director. “These donations are providing incredible opportunities for the recipients, who in turn, share their knowledge with their students.” 

For more information about this Fund, contact Sara Weiss, Director of Grants and Programs, at (402) 434-8585 or sara@dressagefoundation.org. Applications are due June 1 of each year. 

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 Jenny Johnson, Executive Director, at (402) 434-8585 or jenny@dressagefoundation.org.  Donations by check can be mailed to TDF’s office at 1314 ‘O’ Street, Suite 305, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68508. 

The Dressage Foundation

The Dressage Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, tax-exempt, donor-driven organization that is dedicated to educating, supporting, and advancing the sport of dressage. The organization solicits contributions, appropriately allocates the donations, and awards grants to dressage riders, judges, instructors, breeders, high-performance teams, nonprofit equestrian organizations, and more. For more information, please visit www.dressagefoundation.org.