(Lincoln, Nebraska) April 7, 2011 – The Dressage Foundation is pleased to announce that the annual Major Anders Lindgren Scholarship has recently been revised, in order to provide scholarships to a greater number of qualified dressage instructors.

Major Anders Lindgren was an accomplished dressage rider, having won the 1971 Swedish Dressage Championship and ridden on the Swedish Olympic Team in 1972.  He also won the Scandinavian Eventing Championship in 1959.  Lindgren's contribution to American dressage was large, as he was solidly committed to the education of U.S. dressage instructors.  Over a ten-year period, almost 1,000 participating instructors learned from his systematic, structural approach to teaching Dressage at the USDF/Violet Hopkins National Seminars for Dressage Instructors, and then at the National Symposium.  Major Lindgren passed away in 2010, at the age of 85.

Since 1996, The Dressage Foundation has offered annual scholarships in Major Lindgren's name, for instructors to train in Europe.  However, beginning this year, the Major Anders Lindgren Scholarship has been restructured to offer funding to more instructors, to train in the United States.

Two $2,000 Scholarships will be awarded each year to dressage instructors to train in a concentrated amount of time of at least one week, away from home.  Applicants are not required to be Certified Instructors, but it is suggested that applicants use the scholarship money to train with a Certified Instructor or USDF Instructor Certification Program Faculty Member. 

One $6,000 Scholarship will be awarded each year to a dressage instructor, preferably to those in the USDF Certified pool, Training through Fourth Levels.  The scholarship will enable the applicant to train in a longer concentrated time period away from home. 

"Major Lindgren's teachings had an immense impact on dressage in the United States, and The Dressage Foundation is very honored to carry on his memory in this special way," said Jenny Johnson, Administrative Director.

Applications are due to The Dressage Foundation by September 30th of each year.  A Grant Selection Committee will review each application and determine the recipients, if qualified applications are received.  The application and further information can be found at www.dressagefoundation.org, or call The Dressage Foundation at (402) 434-8585.


The Dressage Foundation

The Dressage Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, tax-exempt, donor-driven organization that is dedicated to supporting and advancing the sport of dressage.  The organization solicits contributions, appropriately allocates the donations, and awards grants and scholarships to dressage riders of all ages and levels.  For more information, please visit www.dressagefoundation.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.