2011 Salute Gala and Annual Awards Banquet
For those of you who missed the 2011 Salute Gala and Annual Awards Banquet at the 2011 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention, here are a few highlights of the
evening. As always in California, we had a packed house of over 500 attendees.
 The night kicked off with a great meal which led in to the presentations and award ceremonies. First up was the presentation of the Youth Volunteer of
the Year Award to this year’s winner, Drew Carlin. Presenting Drew with the award were Roz Kinstler, Youth Programs Committee Chair, and Roberta
Williams, FEI Jr/YR Committee Chair.
 The next presentation of the evening was the USDF Volunteer of the Year Award, presented to Miki Christophersen. This award, one of USDF’s highest
honors, was presented to Miki by USDF President George Williams and Lisa Gorretta, long time supporter of the Volunteer of the Year awards and
establisher of the perpetual trophy that is housed in the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame.
 At the conclusion of the volunteer awards, it was then time for the induction of Olympian, and long time USDF member and supporter, Lendon Gray into
the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame. Lendon was presented with a framed portrait by USDF President George Williams and Historical Recognition
Committee Chair Anne Moss.
 After the induction, Colby Balazs from SmartPak was called to the stage to draw for one of two Harwich Padded Dressage Bridles by SmartPak that were
given away for the evening.
Following the drawing, all rider award recipients were recognized with their medals on the stage. These awards include the bronze, silver and gold
medals and freestyle bars, as well as our Master’s Challenge Award winners, which recognize our elder riders.
At this point, the evening took a slightly sadder turn with a special presentation and some touching words by Clay Teske, CEO of The Dressage
Foundation, regarding the passing of Lowell Boomer, credited as instrumental in the founding of USDF. Lowell passed away earlier this year after
celebrating his 100th birthday. As the “father of USDF” and for all of his contributions to dressage, Lowell will be greatly missed.
 Once the tribute was concluded, the night continued on with the recognition of some of the Adequan/USDF Dressage Horse of the Year Awards, starting at Training Level. Before the Intermediate I and Prix St. Georges Horse of the Year Awards were presented, attendees were treated to
a special presentation
by George Williams and Anne Gribbons, Technical Advisor and National Coach for USEF, honoring the 2011 Pan Am Gold Medal Team. As part of the Pan Am Gold Medal Team, Steffen Peters and owners Jen and Bruce Hlavacek were called to the stage to receive recognition for their achievement at the games, as well as their Adequan/USDF Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I Horse of the Year Awards for Weltino’s Magic, Steffen’s Pan Am individual gold medal mount.
 The next Adequan/USDF Dressage Horse of the Year Award to be presented was the Grand Prix Horse of the Year. George and Steffen were then joined on
stage by Allyn Mann, Senior Manager of Luitpold Animal Health, makers of Adequan, and Akiko Yamazaki, owner of the Grand Prix Horse of the Year, Ravel,
who is also the 2009 FEI Rolex World Cup Finals winner, a 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games medalist, and took second place in Grand Prix
Freestyle the 2011 World Equestrian Festival, in Aachen. As the Adequan/USDF Grand Prix Horse of the Year, Ravel’s name will be engraved on the
Colonel Thackery Trophy, which remains housed in the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame. Additionally, year-end award winners receive gift
certificates and embroidered coolers provided by supporting year-end award sponsor, Dressage Extensions.
 After a second SmartPak drawing, the night continued on with the recognition of the Adequan/USDF Dressage Sport Horse Breeding (DSHB) Breeder of the
Year, Marion Dresel-O’Connor. Marion was presented with an engraved keeper trophy picture frame, personalized plaque and $50 gift certificate from Dressage Extensions.
 Next came the Adequan/USDF DSHB Horse of the Year Awards winners, Adequan/USDF Materiale Horse of the Year Awards winners, Adult Amateur Awards, the Dover
Saddlery Adult Amateur National Champion, Junior/Young Rider Awards, USEF Four-year-old awards, FEI Five-year-old Awards, Musical Freestyle and
Musical Freestyle Challenge Awards, and the Vintage Cup Awards. Included in these awards were the presentation of the StallionExpo.com Trophy, the
“Traveling Trot” trophy presentation, the Sunshine Sport Horse Association Trophy presentation, and the Adult Amateur Grand Prix Champion Trophy
Presentation. The highest scoring 2011 Adult Amateur at the Grand Prix Level was Melissa Hogan riding Diameter. Melissa was presented with an engraved keeper trophy picture frame, personalized plaque and $50 gift certificate from Dressage Extensions.
After completing the recognition of these award recipients and presentations of the trophies, USDF Executive Director Stephan Hienzsch, Steffen Peters,
and Cary Wallace, owner of Custom Saddlery, were called to the stage to draw for a Custom Saddle to be presented to a lucky attendee at the banquet.
The evening concluded with the recognition of the Adequan/USDF All-Breeds Awards presented in each of our 69 All-Breeds Participating Organizations.
Thank you to Adequan, Dressage Extensions, SmartPak, Custom Saddlery, and Dark Horse Chocolates for making this an evening to remember! And on behalf
of USDF and our sponsors, congratulations to all of the 2011 award winners and best of luck in 2012!
For a full list of the 2011 award winners, click here.
To see a photo collage video of many of USDF’s 2011 award winners, click here.
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