Heather Oleson Awarded 2015 Patsy Albers Award

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 09:15
American Dressage News

The Dressage Foundation has announced that Heather Oleson is the recipient of the 2015 Patsy Albers Award, established in 2012 in special remembrance of Patsy. The $1,000 award provides financial support for continuing education and training to a High Performance rider.

Heather Oleson of Eagle, Idaho, competed Victor in the Grand Prix Division at the USEF High Performance Championships held at the Festival of Champions on December 9-13, 2015. The Patsy Albers Award is given to the highest placing Grand Prix rider at the Championships who also competed for the U.S. at a previous North American Junior/Young Rider Championship.

“I am very honored to receive the Patsy Albers Award. It means a lot to me to receive an award intended to support riders like myself who are coming up through the ranks,” said Heather. “My parents bought SB Flame Dancer, the horse I took to the NAYRC in 1999, as a yearling and I eventually trained him to Grand Prix, earning all three USDF medals. I bought Victor, my current horse, as a four-year-old and competed in the FEI Young Horse classes before eventually getting him to GP and qualifying this year for Festival.”

Patsy Albers, one of the nation's best known figures at dressage shows across the country, passed away in October 2012. She was a longtime supporter and Chef d'Equipe of the North American Junior/Young Rider Championship (NAJYRC) Region 1 team. She was also very involved at the prestigious Dressage at Devon where she served for many years as the FEI Event Director. Her expertise also extended into management, officiating, and volunteering, for which she was honored multiple times.

Photo © Sue Stickle

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