Hannah Sue Burnett and Marilyn Little have been named as this year’s recipients of the Karen E. Stives Endowment Fund for High Performance Eventing Grants, which will give them each $25,000 to fund their trip to Chantilly, France, to train with the U.S. World Equestrian Games team as alternates.
Joanie Morris, USEF Managing Director of Eventing, confirmed these new grants will replace Hannah and Marilyn’s Land Rover Competition Grants. Hannah is targeting Burghley CCI4* or Blenheim CCI3* with Harbour Pilot, while Marilyn is aiming for Burghley CCI4* or Pau CCI4* with RF Demeter.
“I’m excited about this opportunity to travel and be ready in the event I am needed and also because of the person giving it,” Marilyn told the USET. “I had the privilege to meet Karen at Great Meadow and to get to know her and her incredible story with the USET. She continues to support our team and her generosity have improved our chances exponentially of winning a medal.”
Hannah also thanked Karen for the award in her comments: “These funds help both riders and owners a great deal, and I hope Harbour Pilot and myself are able to emulate Karen’s success against the best riders in the world. I look forward to this experience, as it is certainly a dream come true to be an alternate for the WEG team.”
Karen, who rode on the 1984 gold medal U.S. Olympic team, donated $1 million to the USET Foundation in March to create the Karen E. Stives Endowment Fund. “What’s exciting is that they get to compete in Europe and train with the team and that experience is invaluable,” Karen said. “They may even end up competing, you never know. This will allow them be a part of the team in Europe, which is a wonderful learning opportunity.”
Many thanks to Karen for her generosity and desire to help our U.S. WEG squad alternates gain valuable experience in Europe. Go Team USA, and Go Eventing.