Millbrook, N.Y.  – The second annual $5,000 Charles Owen Award was presented by former Olympian and U.S. Chef d’Equipe David O’Connor at the benefit luncheon at the Millbrook Horse Trials on Sunday, August 2.

O’Connor presented this year’s award to United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) high-performance eventing riders. Several of these top riders are regular competitors at the Millbrook Horse Trials including Olympians Boyd Martin, Philip Dutton, and Buck Davidson.

David O’Connor is a two-time Olympian who earned a Gold medal at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia. He has held top coaching roles for the U.S. and Canadian eventing teams. O’Connor is a member of the U.S. Eventing Hall of Fame and was named Chef d’Equipe of the U.S. eventing team in 2013.

“I’m delighted to present this award to these top riders who are role models, not only as gifted equestrians, but for setting important safety standards in the sport,” O’Connor said.

Charles Owen, the leading British helmet maker for more than 100 years, last year donated $15,000 to create a three-year award to recognize a person or team who has made a significant contribution to highlighting safety in the sport. While helmets have long been required for jumping competitions, riders competing in dressage have followed the tradition of wearing top hats at leading events.

At last year’s World Equestrian Games, held in September in Normandy, France, every member of the U.S. eventing team wore safety helmets during the dressage phase of the competition, opting for protective headgear over the traditional top hats.

The importance of appropriate head protection came to the forefront in 2010 when Olympic dressage rider Courtney King Dye sustained a serious head injury from a fall while schooling a young horse without a helmet. King Dye and Riders4Helmets, the organization she leads to highlight safety, were last year’s recipient of the Charles Owen award.

Since King Dye’s accident, the United States has been a leader in the drive for the adoption of safety helmets in dressage. On April 1, a new rule went into effect requiring that helmets be worn for all U.S. Equestrian Federation events, including Grand Prix dressage, the highest level of the sport.

“The U.S. eventing team showed great leadership in promoting safety on a world stage,” said Roy Burek, Managing Director of Charles Owen. “We are proud to support them in their efforts to encourage all riders to wear helmets every time they ride.”

O’Connor frequently attends the Millbrook Horse Trials to watch potential team candidates compete. “Millbrook is an excellent venue to observe the preparedness of elite horse-rider combinations,” he said.

The Millbrook Horse Trials took place July 30-August 2 at Coole Park Farm on Bangall-Amenia Road in Millbrook, N.Y.

For more information, visit www.millbrookhorsetrials.com.