The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announced that Valerie Kanavy of Fort Valley, VA, will serve as the chef d'equipe for its 2006 World Equestrian Games Endurance Team in Aachen, Germany, this summer. Considered one of the finest endurance riders in the world, she is a two-time endurance world champion (1994 and 1998); Individual Silver medalist and Team Gold medalist at the 1996 Endurance World Championships; 2003 FEI Masters World Champion; 1999 American Horse Shows Association (AHSA) Horsewoman of the Year; and was the 1999 United States Equestrian Team (USET) Whitney Stone Award recipient. Additionally, Kanavy is a member of the USEF Board of Directors and a member of several USEF committees including the Endurance High-Performance Committee, the Endurance Technical Committee and the Athletes Advisory Committee.

Kanavy takes over for Tom Johnson who has been serving in this capacity since March 2005.

“The USEF thanks Tom Johnson for bringing the endurance program this far,” said Jim Wolf, USEF Executive Director of High-Performance. “We are very fortunate to have Valerie on board for the 2006 World Equestrian Games since she is highly respected worldwide for both her accomplishments and vast knowledge of the endurance discipline. She will truly be an asset for our endurance athletes and for the entire U.S. Team effort.”
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