USEF Announces 2007 Equestrians of Honor; Membership Voting for Equestrian of the Year Now Available Online
Release: December 19 2007
Author: severs
By Kristyn Kay
As the year comes to a close, the United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) is pleased to announce the 2007 Equestrians of Honor. Of these seven honorees, one will be selected as the 2007 USEF Equestrian of the Year, one of USEF’s most prestigious awards. All of the Equestrians of Honor will be recognized during the Annual Pegasus Awards Dinner at the USEF Annual Meeting on Friday, January 11. The Annual Meeting will be held January 9-13 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown in Louisville, KY. For more information about the Annual Meeting, visit www.usef.org/convention/2008.
Any USEF member can vote for the Equestrian of the Year. Simply visit www.usef.org and click on the Equestrian of the Year Voting link on the bottom-right of the homepage. Voting closes January 4.
William C. Steinkraus Trophy
Karen O’Connor
Eventing
Karen O’Connor is already a legend in the eventing world. Since she began her eventing career, she has won Olympic medals, been named the United States Eventing Association’s Lady Rider of the Year a record ten times, and ridden such horses as Biko and Prince Panache. However, 2007 has been another exhilarating year for O’Connor. Paired with a 14.1-hand Thoroughbred/Shetland/Arabian cross named Theodore O’Connor (Teddy), she made history. Not only was Teddy the first pony ever to compete at the Pan American Games in eventing, but with O’Connor’s expert talent, they returned from the games with two Gold medals. This followed a third-place finish at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day-Event, the pair’s first four-star competition. This all took place while O’Connor was competing at international events with her other mounts- Upstage, Hugh Knows, Mandiba and Allstar. Her list of accomplishments for 2007 is extraordinary, to say the least.
2007
· Individual Gold-medal winner and Team Gold-medal winner at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro with Theodore O’Connor, the first pony ever to compete at the Pan American Games in eventing
· Reserve Champion of the USEF National CCI**** Championship (Third place for the Rolex CCI**** in Lexington, KY) with Theodore O’Connor
· Winner of Fork CIC*** with Theodore O’Connor
· Second place with Mandiba at the Poplar Place CIC**
· Second place at the Richland Park CIC*** with Upstage
· Second place with Mandiba and third place with Hugh Knows at the CCI** in Ocala, Fl
· Third place at the Red Hills CIC** with Mandiba and sixth place at the CIC***W with Upstage
· Fifth place at the Fair Hill International CCI*** with Hugh Knows
· Sixth place at Jersey Fresh CCI*** with Allstar
· USEA Lady Rider of the Year
2006
· Member of the United States Equestrian Team at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen
· Fifth place at Radnor Hunt CCI** with Lets Make a Deal
· Winner of the Young Horse CCI* in Lexington with Mandiba
Becky Grand Hart Trophy
Miranda Cadwell
Driving
Two years ago, Miranda Cadwell looked for a single pony to drive, but ended up buying a pair. This year it paid off as she earned the Individual Gold medal at the World Pony Driving Championship in Dorthealyst, Denmark. Cadwell’s Gold helped the U.S. team to the Bronze medal.
While several drivers reported the marathon obstacle as technically and physically challenging, Cadwell remained at ease while driving the courses. She was the fastest driver in two of the obstacles with her pair of golden geldings, Toby Taz and Rambo. For four obtacles, she was the second fastest. With the power provided by the two ponies, Cadwell has found her calling. This is assured, as she finished 2007 first in the FEI North American Driving Challenge Pairs Ponies.
Cadwell also works with USA Disabled Drivers, coaching the team in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 200
