Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce Lawrence “Larry” Langer as the winner of the 2016 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award. Langer, of Burbank, Calif., has been part of the horse industry for 66 years, from starting lessons as a child to his induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. For his years of service, Langer will be awarded the 2016 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pegasus Awards Dinner.

As described by his wife, Marnye, “Larry discovered horses as a knobby-kneed, near-sighted little boy when he walked into Hackley Stables as an eight-year-old boarding student at the McFadden School in New York. Horses, horsemen, and the horse world have provided a lifetime of experiences and joys for Larry, and has been his ‘home’ ever since.”

A respected FEI official and competition manager, Langer has served the USEF as a member of the Board of Directors and is currently a member of the Competition Management, Jumper, and Legislative Committees. In addition, Langer has been a strong supporter of the USHJA and its mission since its inception, and has made many contributions to the advancement of the organization. He currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the USHJA, as well as on the Competition Management, Competition Standards, and Zone 10 Jumper committees, and the Jumper Working Group.

Langer is the president and CEO of Langer Equestrian Group, a horse-show management organization based in California that produces 32 hunter/jumper and dressage shows throughout California and Colorado. He developed the Colorado Summer Circuit at the Colorado Horse Park, and his management team has served as the competition management for the North American Junior & Young Rider Championships three different times, most recently in 2008, at the Colorado venue.

Langer produced the first multi-ring hunter/jumper shows in California, expanding the horse-show circuit beyond the shows held at fairgrounds and financed by the state. He has owned and/or developed four schools, including the Hansen Dam Riding School, which he opened in 2015 as a way to give back to the sport and be able to encourage new people to realize the joy of riding and learning about the horse. The school currently hosts over 40 regular students and 25 to 30 lessons per week.

Highlights of Langer’s career include managing the 1992 World Cup Jumping Finals in Del Mar, Calif., and serving as the show jumping competition manager for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. He received the California Professional Horsemen’s Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and the USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. He also received the President’s Award from the Los Angeles Hunter Jumper Association, of which he was president from 1971 to 1972, and has been honored with the USHJA Distinguished Service Award five times.

Langer will receive his award at the Pegasus Awards Dinner held Friday, January 13, at the Hyatt Regency Lexington in Lexington, Ky., during the 2017 USEF Annual Meeting.

For more information on the 2017 USEF Annual Meeting, visit usef.org.