Alexandra du Celliee Muller of Little Rock, AR, was presented with The Dressage Foundation’s 13th annual “Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award” at the 2021 Region 9 Championships. Alex received the $5,000 award for her wonderful and clear teaching skills.
Alex grew up as an active participant in the United States Pony Club (USPC) and began teaching dressage and eventing full time in 2013. For the past six years, Alex has been a Member at Large for the Arkansas Dressage Society and she also volunteers for the USPC as a National Examiner. Alex works with a variety of students and enjoys working with non-traditional horse breeds. She puts a great emphasis on the Training Pyramid and uses her education degree and background in teaching to provide individualized lessons for her students.
Alex said, "I feel so honored to have been awarded TDF’s Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award. Receiving this grant will allow me to pursue lessons with Olivia LaGoy-Weltz and Ally Rogers, among others, in Florida next season. I'll also be using the funds to put on a clinic with Claudio Oliveira for my area. This grant will allow my entire community to benefit from more dressage education, and I am so grateful for this opportunity."
Meg Flemming, who established the award at TDF in 2009, said, “Alex’s lessons are well organized and she teaches in a methodical way. Her lessons have a clear beginning, middle, and end. She has the ability to recognize when something isn’t working, to change to what will work, and will end of the lesson with both horse and rider more confident.”
Dressage instructors are nominated by students or peers, and then submit an application that is reviewed by a prominent Selection Committee. In addition to being a USDF Region 9 member in good standing and a Region 9 resident, the recipient must also demonstrate adherence to sound dressage principles and have a reputation for honesty, integrity, and community service.
For more information about the Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award, please visit www.dressagefoundation.org or contact Sara Weiss, Director of Grants and Programs, at 402-434-8585 or sara@dressagefoundation.org.
To support this Award through donations, please contact Jenny Johnson, Executive Director, at 402-434-8585 or at jenny@dressagefoundation.org.
Donations can also be online at www.dressagefoundation.org/support.
The Dressage Foundation
The Dressage Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, tax-exempt, donor-driven organization that is dedicated to educating, supporting, and advancing the sport of dressage. The organization solicits contributions, appropriately allocates the donations, and awards grants to dressage riders, judges, instructors, breeders, high-performance teams, nonprofit equestrian organizations, and more. For more information, please visit www.dressagefoundation.org.
Photo by Susan Stickle
