Lexington, KY -The qualification period for the 2008 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program and for the 2008 USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championship (sponsored by the Dutta Corporation and Performance Sales International) begins on January 1, 2008. In a new qualification format for these programs, only designated “qualifying competitions” held during the qualification period runs from January 1-August 15, 2008, may be used to obtain scores towards selection trials and national championships.
USEF/USDF-Licensed Dressage Competitions previously designated as 2008 USEF/NAJYRC qualifiers have now also been invited to be official qualifying competitions for the Young Horse and Developing Horse Programs.
“Offering the complete spectrum of USEF National Championship qualifying opportunities at these designated competitions should provide a very attractive incentive package for both exhibitors and officials,” said Jennifer Keeler, USEF National Director of Dressage.
Also new for 2008, these programs will implement score tracking and ongoing ranking lists for each division. “Mirroring our High Performance divisions, USEF will now automatically track horses' qualifying scores and maintain national ranking lists for the Young and Developing Horse divisions,” said Keeler. “This eliminates the need for manual score submissions and streamlines the entire qualification process for competitors.”
The Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program (for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old horses) promotes the importance of selective breeding and correct training of horses in the United States, and encourages participation of breeders, riders, and trainers of young horses in dressage competition. The purposes of this program are to encourage the properly structured development of young dressage prospects through the training scale; to identify and recognize outstanding talent and the training of international-caliber horses; and to prepare these horses for future careers at the FEI level and participation on U.S. High Performance teams.
“With the continued support of Markel Insurance and now the presenting sponsorship of Collecting Gaits Farms for our National Championships, 2007 was another outstanding year for this program with a record number of participants,” explains Keeler.
The USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championship (sponsored by the Dutta Corporation and Performance Sales International) will return to Lexington, Kentucky in September 2008, in conjunction with the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championships. This program for 7- to 9-year-old horses at the FEI Prix St. Georges level continues USEF's initiative to recognize up-and-coming dressage talent - not only for riders, but also for horses.
“This Championship is the next step in encouraging the development our future High Performance and Team horses,” said Gil Merrick, USEF Managing Director of Dressage and High Performance Dressage. “With the support of competitors and our generous sponsors (the Dutta Corporation and PSI), we had a tremendously successful first year and look forward to continued growth for this division.”
Complete selection procedures and qualifying competition lists for both the Young Horse and Developing Horse Dressage Programs are now available on the National Dressage page of the USEF website www.usef.org. For more information, please contact Jennifer Keeler, USEF National Director of Dressage, [email protected] or (859) 225-2024.