Equestrian Canada (EC) is proud to announce the establishment of the Dressage Youth Development Fund, a new initiative in support of dressage athletes representing Canada at the Adequan/FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC), presented by Gotham North.
Contributions from the Dressage Youth Development Fund will go directly towards covering 2019 NAYC entry fees for Canadian dressage athletes. The initiative was spearheaded by Dr. Geoff Vernon, the Canadian Dressage Team veterinarian for the 2019 Lima Pan American Games. Alongside several other donors, he contributed $10,000 to give the Fund a strong start at the 2019 Ottawa Dressage Festival (ODF), held May 16-19 in Ottawa, ON.
“Our young and developing riders really are the pathway to our future – not only the future of our sport, but Canada’s success internationally,” said Dr. Vernon. “That’s why it’s really important that we specifically embrace our developing rider teams, and we’re very fortunate that we will be sending teams to the North American Youth Championships this year. Through the efforts of my friends in this endeavor, we hope to start a trend to fund our youth teams so that we can really build to the future. It’s small steps to a final goal, so thank you all for your support and we look forward to having this fund grow.”
This generous donation was bolstered by a draw to win the value of a stall at ODF ($215), hosted by Jenny Carroll and the National Dressage Pony Club. Through the combined efforts of the draw and donation, a grand total of $15,281 was raised over the weekend for the Fund.
EC extends its heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Vernon, his collaborators, and everyone who has donated for their support, and is excited to see what young Canadian athletes will accomplish through the support of the Fund.
To contribute to the Dressage Youth Development Fund, visit www.equestrian.ca/donate and select “Dressage” under “FEI North American Youth Championships”.
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