Thanks to the incredible generosity of Mary Anne and Walter McPhail, The Dressage Foundation (TDF) is pleased to announce the creation of its Mary Anne and Walter McPhail Judge Education Fund.
The purpose of this new Grant Fund is to provide funding support for the United States Dressage Federation’s (USDF) newly announced judge education initiative. This program, to begin in 2024, is in partnership with Black Horse One and will offer interactive educational opportunities to supplement current U.S. judge training programs. Additionally, grants from the McPhail Fund will enable USDF to broaden the scope of the program to provide more online and virtual education to USDF members and the U.S. dressage community.
Mary Anne McPhail said, “Looking at results from dressage shows all over the world, I began thinking several things. One, our sport could be helped by more consistent judging on all levels. Two, more consistent judging could be achieved by more education. I’m hoping that USDF’s new judge education initiative will make our U.S. judges the best in the world! I also think it is very important that the general membership of USDF has access to most of the same training as our judges, so we can all begin to understand how the judges make their decisions. I am grateful to the excellent committee that has determined the best way for this to happen and has set it up and made it a reality! I am excited that we are on our way to becoming the BEST!”
Beth Baumert, TDF’s President and CEO, said, “Mary Anne McPhail’s vision and generosity will make a positive difference in every dressage arena in our country—including the ones that will determine our international teams. The Dressage Foundation is honored to play a role in bringing her vision to life.”
Watch a special message from FEI 5* judges Janet Foy and Mike Osinski here:
For more information about The Dressage Foundation, visit www.dressagefoundation.org, call (402) 434-8585, or email info@dressagefoundation.org.
To learn more about USDF’s judge education program, visit www.usdf.org.
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 https://www.dressagefoundation.org.
