Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Junior Equestrian of the Year Award to be presented at the virtual 2021 US Equestrian Annual Meeting. Sally Ike is the winner of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, while Lucy Enns is the 2020 Junior Equestrian of the Year. Ike and Enns, along with other prestigious award winners, will be recognized at the virtual 2020 USEF Pegasus and Horse of the Year Awards Celebration on Saturday, January 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Lifetime Achievement Award
September 1, 2020, marked the end of an era for US Equestrian as Sally Ike, who has been with the organization for more than 30 years, transitioned from her post as Managing Director of Licensed Officials and Education into an independent contractor role. Ike has been an integral part of US Equestrian’s success and growth since 1989, working extensively with the USEF Sport Department. She has managed countless responsibilities and held numerous titles throughout her tenure, including Chef de Mission, Discipline Director of Eventing, Managing Director of Jumping, and Director of Vaulting Activities. She also served as the jumping team leader for every Olympic Games, Pan American Games, FEI World Equestrian Games, and FEI World Cup Finals from 1990 through 2008.
An accomplished equestrian, Ike successfully competed at the Burghley Horse Trials in 1967 and completed the 1968 Badminton Horse Trials on Evening Mail, earning an Olympic team nomination. She was selected as a non-traveling reserve for the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.
Ike's many roles also have included course designer, technical delegate, steward, and judge at numerous three-day events across the country, as well as managing the jumping department and traveling around the world with top international U.S. Jumping teams.
Ike has always been a welcoming and dependable supporter of all equestrian disciplines. Her pledge to ensure the success of US Equestrian’s teams and programs has left a lasting impression not only on the disciplines she has been so deeply tied to throughout her career, but also on those she has mentored and worked with over the years.
Junior Equestrian of the Year
Lucy Enns has participated in the equestrian industry both in the arena and in its governance. Enns was a finalist in the American Morgan Horse Association Youth of the Year contest in 2019 and 2020 and currently serves on the AMHA Youth Council as Vice President of Central Region. She is an accomplished young driver, earning five top-10 finishes with her mare Mabelene at the 2020 Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show. She has also tried her hand at officiating, participating in multiple AMHA youth judging clinics. Enns started at Friends University in Wichita, Kan., this past August and intends to start her own Morgan breeding program in the future.
She competed at the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show for the first time in 2008 in the leadline class. Six-year-old Enns was starstruck watching the show horses proudly move around the arena that night and was determined to become one of those competitors.
Enns faced many obstacles on her way to that goal. Her four older siblings all have some form of disability, so Enns always prioritized family and understood that her equestrian dreams would rely on hard work and her characteristic independence. She worked at her barn, the Wichita Riding Academy, and volunteered at local shows, observing people and learning about their training methods. She quickly learned that difficult decisions are part of life with horses when two of her competition horses got sick and ultimately needed to be put down.
Enns tried out many different disciplines to find what Mabelene loved to do. They finally found their niche in 2020 when Enns started training “Mabel” to drive with the support of Jim McCune. Everything fell into place at the Morgan Grand National where the pair earned third place in the Carriage Pleasure Driving Single World Championship. Enns was very pleased with the result but was most elated to be back in the competition ring after working so hard to be there again.
To learn more about US Equestrian’s 2021 Annual Meeting and access the full schedule of events, visit usef.org/annual-meeting.