Since 1993, Catherine Haddad Staller (USA) was stationed in Germany where she represented the United States in competitions throughout Europe at both national and international levels. She achieved numerous results from materials level through Grand Prix on various mounts. With Maximus JSS, Cadillac and Winyamaro, she accumulated over 100 top ten placings and wins at Grand Prix.

In 2006, Haddad Staller was alternate for the US Dressage Team in Aachen at the World Equestrian Games. In 2007 she became the first American dressage rider to qualify in the Western European League for the World Cup. With Maximus JSS, she finished seventh at the 2007 FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas.

In 2009, Haddad Staller won 9 Grand Prix with Cadillac and Winyamaro in European competitions. In 2010, she was Reserve for the US Dressage Team for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and won the CDI-W at Dressage at Devon which helped her achieve a nomination to the FEI World Cup Final in April of 2011.  Winyamaro and Cadillac went on to win two tests in the USA at the Saugerties CDI-W/CDI3* in New York, September 2011.

Haddad Staller returned to the USA in 2012 and now runs a training facility in Loxahatchee, Florida.

Haddad received a B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1987 and graduated with Honors. She is a recipient of the BHSAI certificate from the British Horse Society and has been awarded with the German Gold Medal for Dressage and the USDF Gold Medal. She credits Willi Schultheis, Rudolf Zeilinger and Morten Thomsen for her dressage education.

Tomorrow afternoon Comcast is conducting a TV interview with  Ride for Life chairperson Jeannette Bair. She will be discussing The Ride for Life’s mission as well as this years upcoming event.  After the interview takes place we will post the air date.

George Williams is a prominent figure in international dressage competition whose career highlights with Chuck and Joann Smith’s grand prix mare, Rocher, include: three-time Dressage at Devon Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle, 2005 United States Equestrian Federation/Collecting Gaits National Grand Prix Champion, team bronze at CHIO Aachen, 5^th at the 2003 World Cup in Sweden, United States Dressage Federation Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle Horse of the Year as well as being named Dressage Horse of the Year by the Chronicle of the Horse. Mr. Williams has been studying dressage since 1973; he traveled to Germany to enroll at the Reitinstitute von Neindorff’ where he earned his German Bronze Rider Medal. He was later a resident trainer and rider for The Tempel Lipizzans in Wadsworth, IL for 20 years. Mr. Williams has trained in Germany with the former US Dressage team coach and Olympic gold medalist, Klaus Balkenhol, on numerous occasions. Mr. Williams was co-winner of the USEF William Steinkraus Equestrian of Honor award for his success in 2005.

He currently is active as the President of USDF, a member of the United States Equestrian Federation Dressage Committee, Chair of the USEF High Performance Eligible Athlete Committee, and is a member of the USEF High Performance Dressage Committee. He was a contributing author to the USDF’s booklet on arena footing, Underfoot, and his accomplishments and training techniques have been featured in many publications.

From the summer of 2000 until the spring of 2009 Mr. Williams rode and trained for the Smiths at their Gypsy Woods Farm in Richwood, OH. On May 1, 2009 he started to ride and train for Elizabeth Juliano’s Havensafe Farm of Middlefield Ohio and Wellington Florida. In addition he continues to teach and coach with Williams Dressage LLC.

He has successfully competed several horses for Betsy Juliano. In 2009 the Oldenburg gelding, Don Bailey was Reserve at the 2009 USEF Developing Horse Championships and in 2011 the Oldenburg mare, Horizon was Reserve in the four year old division at the USEF Young Horse Championships. He has had numerous wins, including at the USDF Regional Championships, on Cleopatra and Riccidoff as well.

PVDA warmly welcomes Catherine Haddad Staller to the 2013 Dancing Horse Challenge! Catherine is a renowned International competitor and we are thrilled she has agreed to perform this year!

Since 1993, Catherine Haddad Staller was stationed in Germany where she represented the United States in competitions throughout Europe at both national and international levels. She achieved numerous results from materials level through Grand Prix on various mounts. With Maximus JSS, Cadillac and Winyamaro, she accumulated over 100 top ten placings and wins at Grand Prix.

In 2006, Haddad Staller was alternate for the US Dressage Team in Aachen at the World Equestrian Games. In 2007 she became the first American dressage rider to qualify in the Western European League for the World Cup. With Maximus JSS, she finished seventh at the 2007 FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas.

In 2009, Haddad Staller won 9 Grand Prix with Cadillac and Winyamaro in European competitions. In 2010, she was Reserve for the US Dressage Team for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and won the CDI-W at Dressage at Devon which helped her achieve a nomination to the FEI World Cup Final in April of 2011. Winyamaro and Cadillac went on to win two tests in the USA at the Saugerties CDI-W/CDI3* in New York, September 2011.

Haddad Staller returned to the USA in 2012 and now runs a training facility in New Jersey.

Haddad received a B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1987 and graduated with Honors. She is a recipient of the BHSAI certificate from the British Horse Society and has been awarded with the German Gold Medal for Dressage and the USDF Gold Medal. She credits Willi Schultheis, Rudolf Zeilinger and Morten Thomsen for her dressage education.

PVDA Ride for Life welcomes Allison Brock back in 2013! Allison has been a supporter of the Ride for Life in previous years and we are looking forward to a spectacular performance in the 2013 Dancing Horse Challenge.

Allison Brock has been the head trainer at DeerMeadow Farms, LLC since 2004 for Fritz and Claudine Kundrun. Allison is a USDF Gold and Silver medalist. Originally from Hawaii, Allison started her dressage career as a working student and spent 3 years under the tutelage of Sue Blinks, as well as grooming for Sue and Flim Flam at the WEG in 2002. Since starting at DeerMeadow Farms, Allison has spent a significant amount of time abroad training and competing with Jan Brink in Sweden for most of 2008 and again in 2009. Most recently she spent a year and a half with Kyra Kyrklund and Richard White in the UK from the end of April 2011 to October 2012 which was the opportunity of a lifetime!!

Allison is currently focusing on the Kundrun’s Hanoverian stallion Rosevelt, who she competed very successfully at the Small tour level in 2010 and has been competing him at Inter 2 since 2012 with scores up to 75.2%. With the Kundrun’s gelding Schumacher she won the UK 6 yr old International Championship Class at Hickstead in 2011 and was ranked as the top rider/horse combination to go to the WDYHC. Since returning to the US she is competing Rosevelt as well as developing some very nice young horses for the Kundruns – look for her competing on the East Coast this year. When not abroad, Allison is based in Keswick, VA and Wellington, FL.

Allison rides for life because breast cancer touches all of us – none of us are immune or have escaped it’s grasp from taking our loved ones. She “Rides4Life” to help speak out, raise awareness, and acknowledge that we all need to be vigilant in helping to find a cure for this disease.

We are proud to announce the return of Vitor Silva and his Sons of the Wind to the 2013 Dancing Horse Challenge. Vitor has been a generous supporter in 2 past Ride for Life events. In 2011, his Sons of the Wind raised over $5000 for the PVDA Ride for Life as well as donated their time to support the event by performing in the Dancing Horse Challenge.

Sons of the Wind Farm was established in the fall of 1997 by Vitor J. Silva. Located in the rolling hills of Merrimac, Massachusetts, the School of Equestrian Arts provides every rider a venue in which to expand their abilities in a progressive manner on equine schoolmasters, many of which perform to the Grand Prix level.

With his passion for classical dressage, Vitor Silva shares his intuitive horsemanship and his Lusitano school masters with students – from amateur enthusiasts to instructors and competitive riders – come to Sons of the Wind from across the United States, and represent a diverse range of backgrounds, interests, and riding disciplines.

Sons of the Wind School of Equestrian Arts currently has locations in Merrimac, MA, and Palm City, FL. Founded by Portugal’s Vitor Silva, Sons of the Wind and its affiliated schools were incepted in response to the need for an establishment capable of providing the rider the opportunity to experience and understand the correctness of all the movements of dressage. These establishments offer the training and schooling to horses and riders of different backgrounds and levels. Sons of the Wind is also a full service breeding facility for the talented Lusitano breed as it is very important for the growth of the school to keep training horses that could be great mounts and prospects for lessons and for sale.

Washington Parent has been serving parents in the Washington Metropolitan Area since 1983, providing family enrichment through education and support . . . in print…on line and at selected events throughout the year.

They have been recognized in the community as the most trusted parenting resource in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia. Each month Washington Parent feature articles written by professionals in the fields of child development, education, arts, special needs and more.Their calander, “Along the Potomac,” lists hundreds of events and activities for children and parents. The Parents Bulletin Board  listed on the site includes resources and workshops for moms and dads.

At ABBA Vet Supply, their commitment and their values are centered around a unique focus: caring for the health, well-being, and success of your racehorse. Because of this unique focus, built around over 30 years of experience in treating thoroughbred and standardbred horses by Dr. Kevin Brophy, D.V.M. and his colleagues, they have created an innovative approach to selecting and offering a range of performance horse treatments and supplement supplies.

The Delaware Valley Combined Training Association (DVCTA) is a non-profit educational organization of over 300 members who share a common interest in horses and related activities. The quadrille team was honored to perform a “Patriotic Tribute to the Heroes of 911″ at Dressage at Devon in 2011. The team was invited back this past September to perform “THINK PINK,” a tribute to breast cancer awareness. They are very excited to be able to share that ride again at the Ride for Life Dancing Horse Challenge.

So many fellow riders, friends and family members have been affected by breast cancer, either directly or indirectly. THINK PINK is a musical ride set to a medley of upbeat songs that are both inspirational and encouraging. With this performance, the DVCTA Drill Team would like to pay tribute to those stricken with this terrible disease and empower them to keep fighting.

Rebecca is a very accomplished FEI Rider and Trainer, having won many USDF National year end awards from First Level to Grand Prix on numerous horses she has started and trained including: Adonis, Escapade, Gomerant and Welfenstein. Rebecca also started Rhett, Jim Koford’s successful Grand Prix horse. In 2012, Rebecca and Libertina won both the USDF Region 1 and CBLM Championships at Second Level as well as at First Level Musical Freestyle. She and her latest FEI Young Horse, Chesapeake, also won the 2012 CBLM Intermediare I Open and Freestyle Championship as well as the USDF Region 1 Intermediare Freestyle Championship.

Rebecca and Chesapeake will perform a beautiful, award winning freestyle in this year’s Dancing Horse Challenge. Rebecca is dedicating her 2013 Dancing Horse Challenge performance to her beautiful sister-in-law, Rene Langwost, and her equally beautiful friend and student, Kathryn Hardie. Both are fighting the fight and are incredibly courageous and inspiring. The world is a better place because they are in it.