On December 8, Larry Langer and Joe Fargis will be honored with the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Evening of Equestrians Dinner during the USHJA Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, FL. This award was created to recognize members whose involvement in the sport, as well as in the USHJA, has benefited the industry.

USHJA President Bill Moroney shared his excitement about the 2009 honorees. “Deciding the recipients of this award is never easy. Our industry is incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of people that have dedicated their lives to this sport, which makes a decision like this even harder. However, people like Joe Fargis and Larry Langer, who, in their own way, have been synonymous with dedication and achievement in our sport, are why we created this award.”

Larry Langer is a respected FEI official and competition manager. He serves the USHJA as a member of the Board of Directors, Jumper Council, Zone 10 Jumper Committee, Show Managers Committee, Planning Committee and Western Region Jumper Committee. Langer has been a strong supporter of the USHJA and its mission since its inception and has made incredible contributions to the advancement of our sport and our organization.

Langer is the President and CEO of Langer Equestrian Group, one of the top horse show management companies in the country. He also developed the Colorado Summer Circuit at the Colorado Horse Park. He and his management team have served as the competition management for the North American Junior Young Rider Championships three different times, most recently in 2008, at the Colorado venue.

Highlights of Langer’s career include managing the 1992 Show Jumping World Cup Finals in Del Mar, CA, and serving as the Show Jumping Competition Manager for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA.

Our second recipient, Olympian Joe Fargis, has represented the United States for over 40 years and continues to compete today. Fargis first represented the U.S. in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he rode Bonte II on the U.S.’s winning Nations’ Cup team. Over the years, he was part of winning teams at many of the word’s most significant horse shows, including Aachen, Washington, New York, Calgary, Rome, and Cannes. Fargis is perhaps most famous for his double-GoldmMedal wins at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games aboard Touch of Class. In 1988 at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, he rode Mill Pearl and helped the U.S. win the Team Silver medal.

Fargis continues to successfully compete in grand prix’s around the country, winning at events including the American Gold Cup in Devon, PA; the USET Wellington Cup; the Ox Ridge Grand Prix; the Grand Prix of Tampa; the Hampton Classic Grand Prix; and the I Love New York Grand Prix in Lake Placid. In addition to his contributions to the sport in the ring, Fargis gives back by serving on the USHJA Horse Welfare Committee and teaching clinics around the country.

Both award recipients will be presented with the Eugene R. Mische Perpetual Trophy. “Gene,” the trophy’s namesake, was a 2001 Inductee of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and continues to be instrumental in the growth of the industry.

For more information on the USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award, please email Kristyn Kay at [email protected].