The U.S. Equestrian Federation updated the Dressage Elite Program and Pre-Elite Program lists. “We have conducted a series of training observation sessions with our Pre-Elite combinations, as well as home visits with our Elite athletes on both coasts through the winter and the spring,” said technical advisor Robert Dover. “The standard in both of these groups is growing rapidly and increasing the depth of great combinations.

“We are looking forward to the remaining CDIs in the U.S. this year, strong representation in European CDIOs and CDIs, our national championships, and, of course, hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games [North Carolina] in September,” he continued. “It is guaranteed to be an exciting year, and I feel very optimistic about our eventual selection of a strong team for the FEI Word Equestrian Games in Tryon.”

The Elite Program was established to provide support and resources to athlete/horse combinations that have proven they are internationally competitive. Combinations qualify for the program based on scores received at CDI***/CDIO*** or above competitions in the last 12 months.

In alphabetical order, the following athlete/horse combinations meet the criteria for Elite Program membership:

Shelly Francis (Loxahatchee, Florida) and Patricia Stempel’s Danilo, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding

Laura Graves (Geneva, Florida) and her and Curt Maes’s Verdades, and 16-year-old  Dutch Warmblood gelding

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz (Haymarket, Va.) and her and Mary Anne McPhail’s Lonoir, a 14-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding

Adrienne Lyle (Ketchum, Idaho) and Elizabeth Juliano’s Salvino, an 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion

Kasey Perry-Glass (Wellington, Florida) and Diane Perry’s Goerklintgaards Dublet, a 15-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding

Steffen Peters (San Diego, California) and Four Winds Farm’s Rosamunde, an 11-year-old Rheinlander mare

Sabine Schut-Kery (Thousand Oaks, California) and Alice Womble’s Sanceo, a 12-year-old Hanoverian stallion

The Dressage Pre-Elite List underpins the Elite Program and seeks to provide support and guidance to those combinations in the 69-73% Grand Prix score range, so they are able to succeed in reaching Elite Member status (consistent 73%+ score range).

In alphabetical order, the following athlete/horse combinations meet the criteria for Pre-Elite Program membership:

Katherine Bateson-Chandler (Wellington, Florida) and Jane Clark’s Alcazar, an 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding

Shelly Francis (Loxahatchee, Florida) and Patricia Stempel’s Doktor, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding

Catherine Haddad Staller (Wellington, Florida) and Rowan O’Riley’s Semper Fidelis, a 12-year-old Oldenburg mare

Ashley Holzer (New York City) and Diane Fellows’s Havanna 145, 11-year-old Hanoverian mare

Charlotte Jorst (Reno, Nevada) and Kastel Denmark’s Kastel’s Nintendo, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion

Adrienne Lyle (Ketchum, Idaho) and Elizabeth Juliano’s Horizon, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare

Arlene “Tuny” Page (Wellington, Florida) and her Woodstock, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding

Steffen Peters (San Diego, California) and Four Winds Farm’s Suppenkasper, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding

Kathleen Raine (Murrieta, California) and her, Jennifer Mason and David Wightman’s Breanna, an 18-year-old Hanoverian mare

P.J. Rizvi (Greenwich, Connecticut) and her and Ashley Holzer’s Breaking Dawn, a17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding