Katie Dinan of New York, N.Y., was honored with the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s Maxine Beard Show Jumping Award. Dinan, 18, the individual gold medalist at the 2011 Adequan FEI North American Young Rider Championships (Ky.), accepted her trophy during a ceremony at the American Invitational (Fla.) on April 7.
“I feel very honored to be the 2012 recipient of the Maxine Beard Award,” said Dinan. “Representing the United States in international competition is a dream of mine, and it is thrilling to receive such a distinction from the USET.”
Selection for the award was based on competitive record and future potential to represent the United States in international competition, and Dinan is well on her way. She established herself as a consistent grand prix rider with top placings in the biggest events at the 2012 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.), including a win in the $50,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix with Nougat du Vallet.
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The award provides Dinan the opportunity to travel with the U.S. delegation to the 2012 Rolex FEI World Cup Finals in s’Hertogenbosch (the Netherlands) from April 19-22. She’ll observe the operations of an international championship, including the stabling area, veterinary inspections and schooling, and will walk the courses with U.S. Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe George Morris.
“I’m looking forward to the unique opportunity to spend time and walk the courses with George Morris throughout the competition, especially since this will be his last World Cup Finals as chef d’equipe. In addition, I think the trip will be a great chance to watch top riders work with their horses and prepare to compete for such a high level competition. I hope to make the most of this experience,” she said.
Dinan will be a freshman at Harvard University this fall, but she’s using this “gap year” as an opportunity to focus solely on her riding with her trainer McLain Ward. She participated in the 2012 Olympic Selection Trials and hopes to represent the United States someday on a Nations Cup team or at the World Cup Finals.
