June 27, 2023 – The Dressage Foundation is pleased to announce that a grant has been awarded from its George Williams Young Professional Fund to Rebekah Mingari-Stought (OH). The purpose of the Fund is to provide up to $5,000 to instructors and trainers aged 25-35 who have a strong desire to participate in continuing education opportunities to provide higher-quality instruction to their students.

Photo ©Lisa Dean Photography

Rebekah Mingari-Stought, a member of the Mid-Ohio Dressage Association, is a 27-year-old professional dressage trainer. As a young rider, she became a working student for Angela Jackson and later the head trainer at Timbach Farm. In 2015, Rebekah was named the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Youth Volunteer of the Year. She currently has six horses in full-time training and teaches clinics one or two weekends a month. Rebekah took part in USDF’s Young Rider Graduate Program and was part of TDF’s Young Rider Dream Program in 2016. She plans to use her grant funding to train with Anne Gribbons in Florida and to begin the process of becoming USDF Instructor/Trainer certified through First Level.

Rebekah said, “Since becoming a professional, it has been a goal of mine to become certified in the USDF Instructor/Trainer Development Program. I am so grateful to have received this grant to help me down that path. It also allows me to have an intensive week of training with my horse, Killian. As a young professional, it is hard to devote the time and finances to furthering my education on my own horse. I am looking forward to all that I will learn through the training and the certifications that I will be able to pass on to my students and client horses. Thank you so much to TDF for having such incredible grant opportunities for young professionals!”

For more information about this Fund, contact Sara Weiss, Director of Grants and Programs, at (402) 434-8585 or sara@dressagefoundation.org. Applications are due June 1.

TDF welcomes donations to further support young professionals through the George Williams Fund.  Gifts can be made online at www.dressagefoundation.org or by calling Jenny Johnson, Executive Director, at (402) 434-8585 or jenny@dressagefoundation.org.  Donations by check can be mailed to TDF’s office at 1314 ‘O’ Street, Suite 305, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68508.