In The Country

1. 22 The Chronicle of the Horse
INTHE COUNTRY
USEF Announces
Mid-Year Board Of
Directors Meeting
The U.S. Equestrian Federation has
invited its members and the media
to attend the mid-year board of
directors meeting, which will be held
June 20-21 at the U.S. Equestrian
Team Foundation Headquarters in
Gladstone, N.J.
Featured events will include
the presidential election, a press
conference with the president-elect,
and an educational presentation
on concussion and traumatic brain
injuries by Dr. Lola Chambless of
Vanderbilt University (Tenn.).
SCHEDULE:
Monday, June 20
• 1-5 p.m.: Board of directors
meeting (held in the Library)
Tuesday, June 21
• 8:30-10 a.m.: Presidential election
and presentation on concussion
prevention (held in the Library)
• 10 a.m.: Press conference with
the president-elect (held in the
Rotunda)
Hamel Family
Establishes $25,000
Scholarship Through
USHJA Foundation
The Hamel Family has established
the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association
Foundation Hamel Scholarship for
Further Education, which will award
up to $25,000 to one USHJA member
each year. The first scholarship will
be awarded in 2017.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer
a national scholarship like this to
USHJA members, all thanks to the
Hamel family’s generosity,” said
Jennifer Burger, president of the
USHJA Foundation. “For the first
time, members from across the
United States will be eligible for
scholarship funds that allow them to
pursue advanced education.”
Designed to encourage further
education among equestrians, the
scholarship, up to $25,000, will
be awarded annually and may be
used for college, graduate, trade or
professional school. The first round
of applications will open on Jan.
1, 2017, and are due no later than
April 30, 2017. The scholarship will
be awarded in early summer and is
made possible by a generous donation
from the Kristen and James Hamel
Family Foundation.
Current USHJA members who
have been members for at least three
years are eligible for the scholarship.
Applicants must be accepted to a
college, graduate, professional or
trade school and be entering the
2017 fall semester as a freshman,
sophomore, junior, senior, trade or
graduate student. They should be
ranked in the top 20 percent of their
class or have a 3.5 grade point average
on a 4.0 scale.
Grant recipients will be selected
by the USHJA Foundation board of
directors based on the information
provided in their application,
including a work/education
history, an essay and letters of
recommendation. For those who are
not currently or recently in school,
the Foundation will consider an
equivalent employment history.
“My husband and I didn’t come
from great means, but we worked
hard, putting education first since the
beginning,” said Kristen. “We look
forward to this scholarship helping
others who value education, and
we are so happy to give back to the
equestrian community in this way.”
The Hamel family, of Richfield,
Wisc., got involved with equestrian
activities when Sydney, the youngest
child of three, became interested in
ponies through a friend. Beginning in
Pony Club, Sydney quickly fell in love
with the hunter/jumper sport, and
her family followed suit. They now
own a barn where they keep their
horses, including one for Sydney’s
mother, Kristen. The Hamels can
be seen regularly at the pony ring,
cheering on Sydney.
Candidates may only be awarded
the USHJA Foundation Hamel
Scholarship for Further Education
once. For more information,
visit www.ushjafoundation.org/
hamelscholarship.
A Filly For Rafalca
Former Olympic dressage mare Rafalca trotted with her newborn filly, Rafaela.
TERRI MILLER PHOTO