Lexington, KY (January 14, 2015) - The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that 44 USDF members successfully completed the USDF L Education Program in 2014. This program is designed to prepare candidates to enter the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) “r” Judges Training Program, to qualify individuals to judge schooling shows, and to give competitors, trainers, and instructors greater insight into the evaluative process of judging dressage. The program also serves to provide continuing education for licensed judges. The L Program is an excellent opportunity for all USDF members to learn how to improve their scores and improve their ability to view other rides from a judge’s perspective, whether or not they plan on becoming licensed judges themselves. USDF L Program faculty are all approved USEF Senior (“S”) dressage judges, who also have experience in teaching judge-training programs.

USDF congratulates the following new graduates of the USDF L Education Program:
Region 1:
Sherry Meier, VA
*Koby Robson, NC

Region 2:
*David Anderson, WI
Joanne Coy, MI
*Joan Leuck-Waak, WI
*Kerrie Matesich, OH
*Danielle Menteer, MI
Martina Mertens, IL
*Elizabeth Poulin, MI
Bernadette Radke, MI
*Alison Schmidbauer, OH
Janice Smith, MI
*Shari Wolke, MI

Region 3:
*Tracey Thompson, FL

Region 4:
Debra De Vries, IA

Region 5:
Cynthia Begay, NM
*Michell Combs, AZ
*Daniela Leidy, CO
Sarah Lindsten, AZ
Laurel Peters, CO

Region 6:
Jessica Levin, WA

Region 7:
*Rebecca Armstrong, CA
Kristie Bigham, CA
Faith Fessenden, NV
*Deborah Hirons, CA
Lynae Ormsby, CA

Region 8:
*Melanie Cerny, MA
*Regina Cristo, NY
*Linda Currie, MA
*Leslie Lopardo, MA
*Valerie McCloskey, NY
Suzanne Mente, MA
*Linda Parmenter, MA
Heather Reynolds-Dostal, MA
Michele Southwick, VT
Ashley Theodore, MA
*Krystal Wilt, NY
Gale Wolfe, NY

Region 9:
Arlene Gaitan, TX
*Eva Oldenbroek, TX
*Julia Handt, TX

*Denotes those that graduated with distinction from the L Program. Those who pass with distinction are eligible to apply to enter the USEF recorded (‘r’) judge program.

For more information about the USDF L Program, to access a list of USDF L graduates, for a calendar of USDF “L” Education Programs, or for details on hosting an L Program, visit www.usdf.org or contact USDF at lprogram@usdf.org.

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.