Lexington, Ky. – Following the conclusion of the final CDI of the 2020 calendar year, US Equestrian is pleased to announce updats to the U.S. Dressage Elite, Pre-Elite, and Development lists. The USEF Dressage elite and development programs aim to identify and support athletes who have the potential to represent the U.S. in international competition.
Elite & Pre-Elite Lists
As a result of the competition calendar for 2020 being substantially reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting travel restrictions, the Elite and Pre-Elite lists will remain largely unchanged heading into the 2021 competition year. These lists will continually be reviewed. As the competition season moves forward, the list will be updated to reflect performances and scores.
“This year started off very strong, with two combinations trending towards podium-level scores, but the global lockdown created a need to reset and refocus,” said U.S. Dressage Chef d’Equipe Debbie McDonald. “Instead of a year of top competitions, our combinations have been working at their home bases. Luckily, by utilizing virtual coaching and observation, our athletes did not miss much training time. Now the focus is on steadily ramping back up, and we have already seen a couple of our combinations coming back out stronger than prior to the lockdown.”
The USEF Dressage Elite and Pre-Elite list can be found here.
Development Program
The updated Kundrun USEF Development Program member list is a showcase of some of the country’s most promising up-and-coming dressage talent. The 2020 competition year included some strong highlights with many program members producing excellent results at the 2020 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions.
USEF Development Program Coach, Charlotte Bredahl, used video reviews and virtual training events to monitor athletes’ progress and key performance indicators when travel was not an option.
“Developing the talent for future years is especially vital as we move into the new Olympic quadrennial, and we hope to see these combinations transition to the Elite Program over the next several years, if not sooner. In addition to our current membership list, I’m inspired with how many other talented athletes and horses we have seen throughout the year and I’m looking forward to hopefully welcoming more of them to the list in 2021.” said Bredahl. “We give a huge thanks to Fritz and Claudine Kundrun and the USET Foundation who continue to support our Development Program.”
The Kundrun USEF Development Program Member List can be found here.
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The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOPC, and USEF Sponsors and Members.