| Kristin
Schmolze Wins Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Memorial Award
Gladstone, NJ—February 19, 2004— Eventing rider Kristin Schmolze
of Montville, NJ has won the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Memorial Award.
The award is presented each year to a Young Rider, age 16 to 21, who best exemplifies
the ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship. Schmolze had an outstanding
2003 season, achieving great success at the two- and three-star  levels.
She achieved the rare double of winning the Markham Trophy as the highest-placing
Young Rider in both of the Three-Star Championships, at Foxhall in April and at
Fair Hill in October. After placing 17th among the more than 90 starters in the
Spring Championship at Foxhall, she finished as Reserve Champion with a second
place finish overall in the Fall Championship at Fair Hill. (Kristin and Cavaldi
are pictured at right jumping the corner after the last water at Fair Hill International
last fall.) Schmolze also succeeded at the two-star level, winning
team Gold and individual Silver Medals in the North American Young Riders Championships
at Bromont, Quebec. Earlier last year, the USET honored Schmolze by awarding her
an Amanda Warrington Training Grant. In December, Schmolze was honored
as the Young Rider of the Year by the U.S. Eventing Association. Schmolze will
be presented her award in April at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event, presented
by Bayer. The Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Memorial Award was established
in 1983 by Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, in memory of his son, Lionel, who was
tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1981 at the age of 18. Lionel trained
with the USET and was talented enough to be considered an Olympic hopeful. The
recipient of this distinguished honor is selected by a committee consisting of
William C. Steinkraus, Jack Le Goff (with whom Lionel trained) James
C. Wofford and Lionel’s father, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès. A
perpetual trophy designed by Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, is inscribed annually
with the winner’s name and permanently displayed in the trophy room at the
USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey. Hermès supports
the award annually through the presentation to the winner of one of its hand-made
competition saddles. Past winners of the award and their respective disciplines
to date are: 1983 - Mark Leone, Show Jumping 1984 - Jeffrey
Welles, Show Jumping 1985 -Holly Mitten, Three-Day Event 1986
- Greg Best, Show Jumping 1987 - Susanne Owen, Dressage 1988
- Chris Kappler, Show Jumping 1989 - Molly Bliss, Three-Day
Event 1990 - Kim Keenan, Dressage 1991 - McLain Ward,
Show Jumping 1992 - Abigail Lufkin, Three-Day Event 1993 -
Mark Combs, Three-Day Event 1994 - Gabriella Salick, Show
Jumping 1995 - Megan Johnstone, Show Jumping 1996 - Jonathan
Elliott, Three-Day Event 1997 - Alison Firestone, Show Jumping 1998
- Bruce O. Davison, Jr,. Three-Day Event 1999 - Chad Geeter, Three-Day
Event 2000 - Elise Haas, Show Jumping 2001 - Marilyn Little,
Show Jumping 2002 - Clark Montgomery, Three-Day Event
2003 - Will Faudree, Three-day Event
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