The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association will honor Larry Langer and Joe Fargis with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2009 Evening of Equestrians Dinner during the USHJA Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Dec. 8. This award recognizes members whose involvement in the sport and in the USHJA has benefited the industry.
“Deciding the recipients of this award is never easy. Our industry is incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of people that have dedicated their lives to this sport, which makes a decision like this even harder. However, people like Joe Fargis and Larry Langer, who, in their own way, have been synonymous with dedication and achievement in our sport, are why we created this award,” said USHJA President Bill Moroney in a USHJA press release.
Larry Langer, a respected Fédération Equestre Internationale official and competition manager, serves on the USHJA Board of Directors, Jumper Council, Zone 10 Jumper Committee, Show Managers Committee, Planning Committee and Western Region Jumper Committee.
Langer has strongly supported the USHJA since its inception and has contributed to the advancement of the sport and the organization. He is the President and CEO of one of the top horse show management companies in the country, Langer Equestrian Group, and he developed the Colorado Summer Circuit at the Colorado Horse Park. Langer and his management team served as the competition management for the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships three times, most recently in 2008 at the Colorado venue.
Langer’s career highlights include managing the 1992 Show Jumping World Cup Finals in Del Mar, Calif., and serving as the show jumping competition manager for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga.
ADVERTISEMENT
The USHJA’s second recipient, Olympian Joe Fargis, represented the United States for more than 40 years and still competes today. He first represented the United States in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he rode Bonte II on the winning Nations Cup team.
Over the years, he was part of winning teams at many of the word’s most significant horse shows. Fargis is perhaps most famous for his double gold-medal wins at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games aboard Touch Of Class. In 1988 at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, he rode Mill Pearl and helped the U.S. team win silver.
Today, Fargis is still winning in grand prix competition around the country. In addition to his contributions to the sport in the ring, he gives back by serving on the USHJA Horse Welfare Committee and teaching clinics around the country.
Both award recipients will be presented with the Eugene R. Mische Perpetual Trophy. Mische, the trophy’s namesake, was a 2001 inductee of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and continues to be instrumental in the growth of the industry.
