Lexington, Ky. – Four eventing athletes have been awarded partial grants to provide financial support for their travel to CCI4*-L competitions in the fall of 2020.

The recipients of the Land Rover/USEF National Competition Grants are:

• Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Penn.) and Luke 140, a nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate; and Long Island T, a 14-year-old Oldenburg/Thoroughbred owned by the Long Island T Syndicate
• Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Penn.) and Fernhill Singapore, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Thomas A. Tierney, Ann Jones, and David Vos
• Tamie Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) and Fleeceworks Royal, an 11-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Judith McSwain; Danito, an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Ruth Bley; and En Vogue, a 15-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Ruth Bley

The recipient of the USET Jacqueline B. Mars National Competition & Training Grant is:

• Liz Halliday-Sharp (Lexington, Ky.) and Cooley Quicksilver, a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse Gelding owned by The Monster Partnership

Each recipient will receive the same total amount of funding from their grants. Martin, Dutton, and Halliday-Sharp will use their grants to support travel to the Galway Downs International CCI4*-L in Temecula, Calif., Oct. 28-31. Smith will use her grant to travel to the Tryon International Three-Day Event in Mill Spring, N.C., Nov. 12-15.

“I believe it is truly fantastic that we have access to travel grants within the High Performance program thanks to the generosity of our team sponsor, Land Rover, and the USET Foundation,” said U.S. Eventing Director of High Performance Erik Duvander. “The impact of using these grants nationally this year has enabled us to put top combinations against each other at Tryon and Galway Downs. Our aim is giving the horses the experience of traveling to new venues to enhance the quality of the competition at the two events.

“Tryon is a world class venue that has hosted the FEI World Equestrian Games, and Galway Downs has invested millions of dollars in improvements over the past two years to produce a venue that can host a premier event,” Duvander continued. “Leading into the Olympics, it is also valuable to have the opportunity to practice the routines of flying the horses, preparing them pre-flight, looking after them when they arrive, and then readying them to perform their best.”

The Land Rover/USEF Competition Grant recipients are selected by Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander and his Performance Advisory Team of Leslie Law, Derek di Grazia, Ian Stark, Karen O’Connor, and Bobby Costello. Athletes must be currently named to the USEF High Performance Training List to be eligible.

The USET Jacqueline B. Mars National Competition & Training Grant is awarded annually to up to three eventing athletes who have not represented the U.S. as part of an Olympics, Pan American, or World Equestrian Games team and have been identified as having the potential to represent the United States in future international competitions.

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The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOPC, and USEF sponsors and members.