Equine Canada is pleased to announce that Desi Dillingham, MBE, Special Advisor (Dressage), has graciously agreed to spearhead building and leading a team of experts to design and implement programs for Canada’s current and future international dressage stars.
After an in-depth review and interview process to fill the role of Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe for dressage, it was decided not to proceed with filing the role at this time, and that the best course of action for the future of dressage, is to draw upon Canada’s own immense pool of expertise and diverse resources. The goal is to create a team that will work collectively to design and implement world-class programs supporting the efforts put forth by Canadian athletes in their quest to represent their country at the highest levels of competition.
We are grateful to those candidates who put forward their applications for consideration for the role of Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe and wish to express our thanks for their commitment to our athletes and the development of the sport in Canada.
“Equine Canada is excited to have Desi working with dressage in this new expanded role,” said Christine Peters, Manager of Dressage at Equine Canada. “The next 11 months leading up to the World Equestrian Games will be extremely busy and having Desi and her vast experience to draw on will help Canada continue to raise the bar and once again be competitive on the world stage. Realizing these goals will take extraordinary effort and commitment from everyone involved. By building on the current momentum in collaboration with our athletes, owners and industry experts we can pull together a strong team to design programs which will identify, support, and develop not only our current stars but also next generation athletes.”
Dillingham will work in collaboration with the Dressage Canada High Performance Committee, Youth High Performance Committee, and the fundraising groups, to identify individual experts to assume specific roles within the new team. Her depth of knowledge and experience in the sport, and her expansive connections with the international equestrian industry will be of immense benefit and instrumental in forming an innovative team.
“I am very excited by this opportunity. As we head into this challenge, we do so knowing that everything we do moving forward must be with an eye to excelling at the international level, and especially so, as we head toward next year’s WEG. We are very fortunate that Canada has an incredible wealth of gifted experts in this sport and it is our goal to tap into that to create a highly skilled and effective team,” commented Dillingham. “The past few months I have truly enjoyed working with everyone I’ve met and have been impressed by their encouragement and support, and their firm belief that Canada has the raw talent necessary to make an impact on the world stage. We have a big job ahead of us but I’m confident with the right team of experts all pulling together, we can make a difference.”
“I am very pleased Desi has agreed to work with Dressage Canada on this process, and look forward to working more closely with her in the coming months,” commented Sarah Bradley, Chair, Dressage Canada.
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