International Horse Sport Palm Beach: Carol Lavell Awards Namesake Prize to Sharon McCusker at Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W

Source: News Release

Carol Lavell Awards Namesake Prize to
Sharon McCusker
at Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W

Loxahatchee, FL--Carol Lavell was on hand at the 30th anniversary of the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W Sunday to award the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize to Sharon McCusker of Ashley, MA.

McCusker was one of two winners of the prize and received $25,000 from The Dressage Foundation to further her dressage education. The other Award winner, Adrienne Lyle of Hailey, ID, was competing in California and not available to receive her prize in person.

Lavell awarded the Prize to McCusker before the start of the Grand Prix Freestyle class at the Dressage Derby set at the International Horse Sport (IHS) Champions Park at Equestrian Estates in Loxahatchee, FL.

Sharon McCusker with the
Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize

"I'm in Ring One-the best dressage arena in the United States," Lavell said. "At the nicest dressage show, the Palm Beach Derby, that lets us come here to give the Prize to Sharon."

Joining Lavell in the ceremony were fellow Olympian Michael Poulin, Karin Reid Offield from The Dressage Foundation, Lavell's husband Tom, and Noreen O'Sullivan, managing partner and show manager of International Horse Sport, the organizers of the Palm Beach Dressage Derby.

Lavell, a member of the 1992 US Olympic Team, understands the work, sacrifice and struggle necessary to make it to the top in the dressage world. Through the creation of the $25,000 annual Prize, she helps deserving riders achieve their goals.

"The Award is a way for me to follow my philosophy which is 'What goes around should come back around'," Lavell said. She noted that when she was riding her horse, Gifted, she could not afford to go to Europe to compete in order to be able to make it to the Olympics without help from her friends.

"There's no way I could go on my own," she said. "My friends all got together and had a silent auction and all kinds of things for me. Now I am in a situation where I can get continuous gifts given in a way that I can help riders, and that's what this is all about."

McCusker, the owner of Souhegan Farm, has been a dressage trainer and competitor for over 20 years. She hopes to use the funds to travel to Europe with her horse, Wrigley, to train with Hubertus Schmidt in Germany and to compete while there.

"It's always been a dream of mine to go and train and compete in Europe and now that dream has come true," she said. "I cannot thank the Foundation enough for this opportunity."

She has been on the USEF High Performance list with three self-trained FEI horses, as well as being long-listed for the World Equestrian Games with her previous mount, Juli Sherif. McCusker and Wrigley have been a part of USEF's Developing Horse Program for two years and have won many championships and top placings in Developing Horse classes and Young Horse Grand Prix Qualifiers. With the help of the Prize money, she plans to take Wrigley to Germany with the goal of qualifying for the 2014 World Equestrian Games and the 2016 Olympic Games.

"I really do have the best horse of my career now and the timing couldn't have been better to get the funds together to take Wrigley to Europe, hopefully to work with Hubertus Schmidt," McCusker said.

Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Award recipients must be U.S. citizens and are selected by a distinguished national panel of dressage leaders. Selection is based on merit and need.

Noreen O'Sullivan, Michael Poulin, Carol Lavell and Sharon McCusker

"You must be out there doing it and yet you don't have enough money to do it," Lavell said. "You must be out there trying to get into the limelight and you must also have an excellent application. It's inherent to the selection process and inherent to being the winner."

Lavell stressed that the winners met all the criteria for the prize, including a winning attitude. "You know you are getting into high-performance when you know about keeping on the game and staying on it," she concluded. "High-performance is all about not giving up and never giving in. You have to get tough."

To learn more about the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize, go towww.dressagefoundation.org/The_Carol_Lavell_Advanced_Dressage_Prize...

To learn more about the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, log onto www.pbderby.com.