Dressage Canada Announces New Board Members for 2010

Ottawa, Ontario—Dressage Canada is pleased to announce the four new board members for 2010: Michaela Eisengruber, Courtenay Fraser, Sue Rothgeb and Renée Young. With four positions to fill and four nominations received, all nominations were accepted by acclamation.

Michaela Eisengruber, a resident of Kingston, NS, was born in Germany and emigrated to Canada in 1998. Having competed in Germany, she has been showing at the national level throughout the Maritimes since 2006. Eisengruber, 26, is currently competing her horse Sir Rock at third level, while apprenticing with the Society of Master Saddlers in the United Kingdom to become a Master Saddler.

Courtenay Fraser, 26, rode her first Grand Prix at the age of 23. A native of Langley, BC, Fraser uses this early success as a point of inspiration and continues to strive for excellence as a dressage rider. Her future goal is to ride as a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team at a major international event such as the World Equestrian Games or the Olympics.

As a member of Canada’s dressage community for 25 years, Sue Rothgeb of Green Valley, ON, has been a rider, trainer, coach, judge, volunteer and competition organizer. Rothgeb is currently the chair of the Dressage Canada Board. She has been a volunteer administrator since 1978, serving terms on the Officials, Competitions, Rules and High Performance Committees.

Renée Young, who has had a passion for horses and riding for as long as she could remember, picked up riding at the age of 22. Since that time, Young, now 35, has had the sport of dressage as the main focus of her life. She is an active judge and a Prix St. Georges competitor. She and her husband, Ron King own and operate Blueprint Farm in Carleton Place, ON.

“Collectively, the four board members will bring dressage experience from both the domestic and the international perspectives,” said the chair of the Nominations Committee, Lisa Hossack-Scott. “I am very excited to work with this board. Everyone brings great knowledge with them that will compliment the board.”

New board members will take office starting January 1, 2010, joining current board members Lisa-Hossack-Scott and Kim Goodyear.

The Dressage Canada Board (DCB) develops and manages its programs through a number of technical committees. The objectives of Dressage Canada are to foster the growth of dressage and the pursuit of excellence in the sport at the local, national and international levels. The DCB consists of seven elected members, six directors-at-large elected from the senior affiliates of Dressage Canada and one athlete representative elected by their peers through the Dressage Canada Athletes’ Council. A minimum of two director-at-large positions are opened each year.