Region 8 Youth News
The Dressage Foundation’s 2018 Young Rider International Dream Program
This year’s program will tentatively take place July 16-23, 2018 at the CHIO Aachen. Four YRs were selected, and Callie O’Connell, NEDA member and USDF Region 8 member, was one of them.
Callie is 19-years old and lives in Wilmington, MA. She is entering her junior year at MassArt College in Boston, MA. She is studying Fashion Design. She is a student of Jane Karol’s at Bear Spot Farm in Concord, MA. She earned her USDF Bronze Medal when she was 14, and she is currently working toward her Silver Medal. In 2012, Callie earned the Dressage Seat Equitation Championship for ages 14-18 at the NEDA Fall Festival of Dressage, and she was a member of the 2014 Junior Team at the NAJYRC. Callie and her current partner, Furst Story, won Region 8 JR/YR Regional Championship at First Level and are currently competing at Third/Fourth Level.
The concept of this program is to allow Young Riders the opportunity to enhance their understanding of dressage through this 2-week long European tour. Riders selected for the program will spend their time observing, discussing and absorbing multiple aspects of the European dressage scene. They will watch their peers compete in shows and championships while also visiting the stables of some of Europe’s top trainers and riders. This program was started in 2000 by Michael Poulin, Olympic Medalist and long-time board member of The Dressage Foundation.
USDF JR/YR Clinic
For the 2nd year in a row, Carberry Fields hosted the annual Region 8 USDF JR/YR Clinic, and once again, USEF Youth Team Coach Charlotte Bredahl-Baker was the featured clinician. Riders at this year’s clinic were
Sophia Chavonelle (ME)
Ava Dzilenski (RI)
Paige Hendrick (RI)
Grace Jordan (ME)
Fiona Perreault (ME)
Lilly Simons (CT)
Eliza Windsor (RI)
The USDF JR/YR Clinic Series is an annual educational opportunity for youth dressage riders striving to compete at FEI levels. These clinics are organized by the USDF and held at regional facilities. Currently, the clinics are conducted by George Williams, Charlotte Bredahl-Baker, or Anne Gribbons.
The 2019 clinic is slated for April or May and may be held at Avalon Farm in North Salem, New York. Contact Region 8 Coordinator, Jennifer Dillon, if you’d like to be added to the Region 8 Youth contact list.
If you’d like to host a future USDF JR/YR Clinic, please contact Region 8 Director Deborah Reinhardt or Coordinator Jennifer Dillon.
NAYC
The NAYC, formerly known as NAJYRC, is an international competition hosted by the USDF and run by the USEF under FEI rules. It is considered a continental championship and is the only such championship held annually in the United States.
Junior and Young Riders, ages 14-21, go through a process similar to that of professional riders vying for a spot on any other international team (Pan American Games, Olympic Games, World Cup, and World Equestrian Games). For the NAYC, the FEI designates the USDF Regions and Canadian provinces as “countries,” and riders from each region and province declare their intent to compete for the team and seek to fulfill the qualification requirements set forth by their respective country’s national governing body. Upon achieving those requirements, teams are then selected based on scores and ranking.
This year’s qualifying period began August 1, 2017 and ends June 18, 2018.
April 28-29, 2018
Mystic Valley
Gales Ferry, CT
May 19-20, 2018
Centerline Events @ HITS on the Hudson
Saugerties, NY
May 25-27, 2018
ENYDCTA Dressage Days I/II @ Stockade
Glenville, NY
June 2-3, 2018
Young Horse Dressage @ Maplewood Warmbloods
Middletown, NY
June 8-10, 2018
Mystic Valley
Gales Ferry, CT
June 15-17, 2018
GMHA June
Woodstock, VT
June 15-17, 2018
Centerline Events @ HITS on the Hudson
Saugerties, NY
Riders had to declare their intent to compete for a spot on their region’s team before the May 15th deadline. The following USDF Region 8 Riders have declared for NAYC:
Junior Riders
Sophia Chavonelle (Windham, ME)
Amelia Devine (Bedford Hills, NY)
Ava Dzilenski (Warwick, RI)
Siena Harris-Gissler (New York, NY)
McKayla Hohmann (Williston, VT)
Madeleine Long (Pelham, NY)
Riley Reardon (Plaistow, NH)
Leah Tenney (Yarmouth, ME)
Eliza Windsor (Hope Valley, RI)
Young Riders
Lara Erdogus-Brady (Harvard, MA)
Isabel Hamill (South Thomaston, ME)
Sydney Horgan (North Easton, MA)
Bobbie Kerr (East Aurora, NY)
Alison Redston (Needham, MA)
Caitlin Smith (Stamford, CT)
Emma Szegvari (Carlisle, MA)