Dr. Samuel Barish to Receive 2016 USDF Lifetime Achievement Award
Lexington, KY (October 25,
2016) -The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that
Dr. Samuel Barish will be presented with the 2016 USDF Lifetime Achievement
Award at the Salute Gala and Annual Awards Banquet, on December 3, 2016, during
the Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention in St. Louis, MO. Recipients of the
Lifetime Achievement Award are long time members of USDF, who have shown a
lifetime of dedication to the organization through their volunteer efforts, as
well as having played an instrumental role in developing programs, projects,
and committees that have contributed to USDF's mission.
Dr. Sam Barish started his
career in dressage as an announcer in 1980, working his way into the sport, not
as a rider or owner, but as a “horse husband”. Sam served as president of the
USDF Group Member Organization (GMO) Western Pennsylvania Dressage Association
in 1977, before focusing on his home GMO, Potomac Valley Dressage Association
(PVDA). He served as president of PVDA from 1984 through 1988. In 1983, he
founded the Colonel Bengt Ljungquist Memorial Championships, and managed the
series from its founding to 1995. In 1983, he also earned his dressage
technical delegate's license from the United States Equestrian Federation
(USEF), then the American Horse Shows Association. Sam has authored over 50
articles on the sport of dressage in The
Chronicle of the Horse, showing his passion for a sport that he
entered by chance.
Sam holds the record for the
longest tenure as a member of the Executive Board through his roles as Region 1
Director from 1988-1995, USDF Vice President from 1997-1999, and USDF President
from 2000-2009. During his presidency, Sam's leadership was the guiding force
in the relocation of the USDF headquarters from Lincoln, NE, to the Kentucky
Horse Park in Lexington, KY. In 2000, he appointed the USDF Relocation
Committee and later led a successful capital campaign, resulting in the
building of the permanent and debt free USDF National Education Center,
completed in 2006. In 2007, Sam facilitated the creation of a comprehensive
USDF Strategic Plan that guided the organization for years to follow. Sam was
also a vocal advocate of a more symbiotic relationship between USDF and USEF,
signing a Memorandum of Understanding that led to numerous joint initiatives
that continue to benefit the US dressage community today.
Sam has served in various
volunteer positions with USEF and its predecessors, including the Board of
Directors, Vice President for FEI Affiliates, the USEF High Performance
Dressage Committee, USEF Dressage Committee, as well as the Planning, NGB
Advisory, and Hearing Committees. He has also served on the United States
Equestrian Team (USET) Board of Trustees and the USET Executive and Dressage
Committees.
USDF President George Williams
says, "Through his tenacity, Sam got a job done which many did not believe
was possible. He was the major force behind the move of the USDF offices into
our own building at the Kentucky Horse Park. As he believed it would, this move
cut our operating costs, allowing us to direct more funding into programs that
benefit our members."
Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email usdressage@usdf.org, or call (859) 971-2277.