The Dressage Foundation (TDF) is pleased to announce Teresa Ball and Evie Oliver as the recipients of the Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund grant. This Fund provides two annual grants of up to $1,500 to young professionals to pay for creating a professionally prepared musical freestyle for competition. In previous years, this grant had only been available to young professionals in USDF Regions 2 and 4. In 2025, applications were opened up nationwide.
Teresa Ball (MT) has been a dressage professional for the past eight years and started her own training business in 2020. Teresa hopes to earn her USDF gold medal soon and start the L Program with the hope of becoming a judge. She plans to use her grant funding to create an Intermediate 1 freestyle with Maureen Sterling and Sally O'Dwyer.
Teresa said, “Receiving an Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund grant is an honor for which I am deeply grateful. This year marked my first experience riding a freestyle, and at Intermediate 1, no less! The experience opened my eyes to the incredible feeling of performing with my horses to music—and I am now hooked. The opportunity to work with a professional freestyle designer will be invaluable to my technical and artistic development. I am sincerely appreciative of this recognition and can’t wait to implement my plan! Thank you so much to The Dressage Foundation and all the people that make these grants possible. I am endlessly grateful!”
Evie Oliver (PA) is a USDF bronze and silver medalist with distinction. In July, Evie was part of TDF’s Dream Program in Aachen, Germany. Her goals include becoming a professional with a specialization in training young horses. She plans to use the grant to work with either Collier Wimmer or Anne Miller to create a Grand Prix freestyle program.
Photo by Bethany P Photography
Evie said, “I am incredibly honored to have been selected for a grant from The Dressage Foundation’s Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund. I couldn’t be more excited to ride in my first Grand Prix freestyle on a horse I’ve brought up through the levels myself. It’s truly inspiring to have a professionally crafted freestyle designed to showcase the best in both Shading and me. We can’t wait to dance together!”
This Fund was established by Amanda’s family and friends in memory of her dedication to the sport of dressage. Amanda passed away in 2018 at the age of 37 after a three-year struggle with triple negative breast cancer. Her family and friends remember her as kind, generous, humble, talented, and brave. She was a well-respected member of the dressage community as a trainer, coach, competitor, and clinician. Amanda was a lifelong student of dressage and especially enjoyed showing in the musical freestyle classes.
Applications for the Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund are due October 15 of each year. Visit www.dressagefoundation.org for more information and to find the online application form. Contact Sara Weiss, Director of Grants and Programs at (402) 434-8585 or sara@dressagefoundation.org with any questions.
To donate to the Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund, contact Jenny Johnson, TDF’s Executive Director, at (402) 434-8585 or jenny@dressagefoundation.org. Secure online donations can be made at www.dressagefoundation.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 and scholarships to dressage riders, judges, instructors, breeders, high-performance teams, and nonprofit equestrian organizations. For more information, please visit www.dressagefoundation.org.
