The Dressage Foundation (TDF) is pleased to announce that Eleanor Rawle (PA) has received a $2,500 grant from TDF’s U.S. Breeder Excellence Fund. The U.S. Breeder Excellence Fund provides financial assistance to breeders to pursue educational opportunities related to breeding that will advance their careers, promote sound breeding practices, and further enhance the quality of U.S.-bred dressage horses. Eleanor plans to use her grant funding for training as an inspector for the Westfalen NA at the Westfalen NA German Breeder Tour and Stallion Licensing for Horse and Pony.  

Eleanor, co-owner (with her mother, Anne Rawle) of Watermark Farm in Oxford, PA, is a USDF gold and silver medalist and longtime breeder of Hanoverian and Westfalen horses. Her goals include deepening her knowledge of bloodlines and the standard to advance U.S. breeding for the international competition arenas. 

Eleanor said, “This grant will help me offset the costs of traveling to Germany on the Westfalen Breeders Tour with the Westfalen NA in November 2024. The week will be spent touring breeding farms, attending the stallion licensing (and the Pony Stallions), and furthering my understanding of the German breeding traditions, trends, and marketing. I am honored to have been selected by TDF and look forward to sharing the experience of going to Germany with everyone!” 

Thanks to a donation from longtime dressage horse breeder and TDF Board member, Karin Reid Offield (MI), The Dressage Foundation (TDF) could accept applications for its U.S. Breeder Excellence Fund in 2024. 

To donate to this Fund, visit www.dressagefoundation.org or contact Jenny Johnson, TDF’s Executive Director, at (402) 434-8585 or jenny@dressagefoundation.org. 

For more information about this Fund, contact Sara Weiss, TDF’s Director of Grants and Programs, at (402) 434-8585 or sara@dressagefoundation.org. 

Photo by Jennifer MacNeill Photography

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.