Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the winners of two prestigious awards in the discipline of endurance. Cheryl Van Deusen has been awarded the Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award and Eilish Connor has been awarded the Brunjes Junior/Young Rider Trophy.
The Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award is presented to the top Senior rider. This award is sponsored by Gold Medal Farm and Larry and Valerie Kanavy, in memory of Maggy Price. Price was the 1992 FEI World Endurance Championship Silver medalist and was instrumental in the development of international endurance in the U.S. The Brunjes Junior/Young Rider Trophy is presented to the top Young Rider and is awarded in memory of Kathy Brunjes. Brunjes was a successful endurance athlete and an active supporter of the Junior/Young Rider program.
Currently ranked second in the FEI’s Open Riders World Endurance Ranking, Cheryl Van Deusen (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) has demonstrated consistency and success in competition throughout her career, and 2017 was no exception. In March, Van Deusen won the CEI2* 120km with Hoover the Mover, her 13-year-old Arabian gelding, at the Fun in the Sun Endurance Ride. Hoover the Mover currently tops the list of over 6,000 horses on the FEI Open Horse World Endurance Ranking. She then secured a win in the CEI3* 160km at Spruce Woods Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada, aboard Spotless Summer Magic, her 13-year-old half-Arabian mare and third ranking horse on the 2017 FEI Open Horse World Endurance Ranking list. Another significant success came at the Lone Star Express Ride in Decatur, Texas, where Van Deusen and Precious Beaunita, her 16-year-old Arabian mare, claimed second place in the CEI3* 160km. Precious Beaunita is ranked fifth on the 2017 FEI Open Horse World Endurance Ranking list. Van Deusen ranked sixth in 2013 and second in 2015 in the FEI’s Open Riders World Endurance Ranking.
Eilish Connor (Spring, Texas) has proven to be a strong competitor throughout her time in the Young Rider division, handling the ups and downs of endurance competition with poise. In her last year as a Young Rider, Connor made the Distance Depot/U.S. Endurance Team for the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors in Italy. In her 2017 season, Connor won four CEIYJ2* 120km events aboard Darolyn Butler’s DJB Jolly Roger, a 15-year-old Arabian gelding, Butler’s Mattingley Wizard, an 11-year-old Arabian gelding, and Lisa Green’s LR Amana Tabi, a 17-year-old Arabian mare. Connor ended the season ranked in the top 50 on the FEI Young Riders World Endurance Ranking.
The 2017 Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award and the Brunjes Junior/Young Rider Trophy will be presented at the 2018 AERC Convention on Saturday, March 10, in Reno, Nev.