The program for the USET Foundation Holiday Gala Fundraiser is shaping up to be big as many of the country’s top riders have now signed on to participate. A pioneer among women in the equine industry, Lynn Palm Pittion-Rossillon, has announced that she will perform her famous Bridleless Musical Exhibition during the weekend’s events. German vaulter Kai Vorberg has also been added to the list of participants and will perform an exciting vaulting demonstration. SUCCEED® and Wellington Classic Dressage will be hosting the Holiday Gala Fundraiser on December 11-12, 2009, to benefit the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation. The venue for the fundraiser will be the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL.
American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) champion and trainer Lynn Palm has built an immensely successful career with a wide spectrum of abilities and experiences. While perhaps best known for her work with the two-time Superhorse champion, Rugged Lark, Palm has created a legacy of training and showing an unmatchable cadre of outstanding performance horses. Breaking the mold of the age-old adage, “those who can’t do, teach,” Palm is an all-around western and English horsewoman and a legend in her own time.
Palm has an outstanding list of achievements to her name, the most notable of which include: 34 Reserve and World Championships; Four Superhorse Championships; AQHA Female Equestrian of the Year; over 50 special bridleless exhibitions with the legendary Rugged Lark at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, National Horse Show, the Washington International Horse Show and the International World Cup; 2003 Equine Affaire Exceptional Equestrian Educator Award Winner; 2006 AQHA Professional Horsewoman of the Year; and Named 2000 AQHA Female Equestrian of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Palm and Rugged Painted Lark, by the world-famous Rugged Lark, have been chosen to perform their Bridleless Musical Exhibition at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games on October 2-9, 2010, in Lexington, KY, and will be previewing that performance at the USET Foundation Holiday Gala Fundraiser. Within a 12-minute performance, Palm includes elements of dressage, reining and jumping to showcase the beauty, amazing athleticism and outstanding ability of this young horse.
“We do one song in the Western saddle with reining and dressage movements, then switch to the hunt seat saddle and do dressage and jumping movements without the bridle,” she explained. “It is very unique, and we are very proud to showcase the unique abilities of Western, dressage, and jumping as well as demonstrate dressage principles that apply to all disciplines. Most of all we are very proud to show a happy horse while performing!”
“I am proud to be a part of a very special event to support our finest horse and rider teams in their Gold medal quest at the World Equestrian Games,” Palm added.
Along with her unique performance, Palm will also be donating an autographed 2007 Breyerfest Celebration Horse Limited Edition Rugged Painted Lark model to the auction.
The two newest additions to the Holiday Gala roster are Kai Vorberg and Templeton Thompson. Vorberg is a German vaulter who also has many great accomplishments to his name. Vorberg is a two-time World Champion (2004 and 2006), two-time European Champion (2005 and 2007), seven-time German champion (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009), four-time Vice Champion, Vice World Champion in 2008, has a total of 11 medals at World and European championships, and has led the world rankings for three years. Singer/songwriter Templeton Thompson is one of Nashville's most sought-after session vocalists and she has performed on stage for audiences across the U.S., in Europe and in Japan. Her love for horses along with her passion for music has made Templeton a favorite at major horse expos as well as National and International horse events. Templeton will be performing songs from her “Girls & Horses” CD as well as her new and soon to be released “Life on Planet Cowgirl” CD.
Other events on the fundraiser program include: Pony Club Mounted Games featuring Gina Miles, Cathy Wieschhoff, Hawley Bennett, Karen O’Connor and Jeanne Lambrecht and more; a Dressage Pas de Deux featuring Monty Roberts (the man who listens to horses) and Courtney King Dye (2008 Dressage Olympian); a Freestyle Dressage to Music presentation by Pierre St. Jacques riding Lucky Tiger; a showcase of reining and Join-up from the saddle featuring Monty Roberts; dressage Commentary by Rolex World Cup Dressage winner and 2008 Olympian Steffen Peters, featuring demonstration riders Kim Gentry and Stephan Kiesewetter, a showjumping Pas de Deux featuring Kate Levy and 2008 Olympian Samantha St. Jacques; a book signing by renowned bestselling suspense author Tami Hoag; a Small World Showcase featuring Miniature horses and Shetland ponies; “Finding the Courage Within" presented by Jeanne Lambrecht; a Grand Finale featuring four-in-hand champion Chester Weber, driving the surprise celebrity equestrian Santa into the arena. Who could Santa be?
Along with the exciting equestrian performances, the Holiday Gala will feature a catered VIP dinner and bar along with a fundraising auction featuring many one-of-a-kind high-dollar items. Monty Roberts will be the guest auctioneer. The Jim Brandon Equestrian Center will also host a special shopping village, which will be perfect for last-minute holiday shopping.
Tickets for the USET Holiday Gala Fundraiser are on sale now. Ticket pricing will be $30 for preferred seating (per night) and $175 for VIP seating per night (if VIP seating is purchased for both nights the price will be $275 for the ticket). There will be no discount for purchasing preferred seating for two nights.
For further information on the fundraiser or if you are interested in being a vendor at this event, please visit the fundraiser website at www.succeedevent.com for details. To purchase tickets, please see the ticket page on the event website or contact (561) 227-1525 or email [email protected]. Inquiries to this email address should include "USET Fundraiser" in the subject line. Please note that participants and events are subject to change.
SUCCEED®, is a daily nutrient program that supports total equine digestive health for optimal appearance, temperament and performance. Thousands of horse owners and trainers feed their horses SUCCEED® every day, including top equestrians in nearly every breed and every performance discipline. SUCCEED® is the official digestive conditioning product of USEF, USEA and USDF. For more information, call (330) 562-0888 or visit www.succeed-equine.com. Freedom Health, the manufacturers of SUCCEED®, are dedicated to finding, perfecting and delivering superior, innovative products that address real and significant health-related issues for animals and the people who care for them.
The United States Equestrian Team Foundation (www.uset.org) is the non-profit organization that supports the competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America’s elite and developing international, high-performance horses and athletes in partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation.
For more information on Wellington Classic Dressage, please visit www.wellingtonclassicdressage.com.