GLADSTONE, NJ – The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation announced today that Excellence in Aachen, a USET Foundation fundraising celebration presented by Show Circuit Magazine, garnered $112,000 from the generous participants. Excellence in Aachen, held on June 17, included an elegant dinner, splendid silent auction, exciting live auction, and dancing to a terrific live band. Proceeds from the dinner and silent auction are earmarked to benefit the U.S. Equestrian Teams at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany (August 20-September 3), and proceeds from the live auction of the Klaus Balkenhol Training Package will be used to benefit the U.S. Dressage Team at the WEG.
More than 250 supporters attended the event. Excellence in Aachen coincided with the USET Foundation Dressage Festival of Champions presented by Paul Miller, Inc. (June 15-18), and capped off the day’s topnotch competition. Held in the patriotically decorated tent at The Mansion at Hamilton Farm Golf Club near USET Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey, the benefit was co-chaired by Mrs. Mark W.B. Harms and Mrs. Richard E. Marki, who headed up a 65-member Benefit Committee.
Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour while they placed their bids on the loaded tables of more than 50 silent auction items. Leading into the dinner, Armand Leone, Jr., president of the USET Foundation, delivered welcoming remarks and saluted top supporters in attendance – Jeff and Shereen Fuqua of Collecting Gaits Farm, the title sponsors of both the USEF National Grand Prix Championship/WEG Selection Trials and USEF National Intermediaire I Championship, and Warren Christopher representing Show Circuit Magazine, the dinner sponsor. Many of the riders in the dressage festival attended the event and were asked to stand so that they could be honored with applause. Guests were treated to a videotape of highlights from all seven disciplines that the USET Foundation helps support and then tucked into the gourmet’s delight dinner featuring lobster and filet mignon.
The highlight of the evening was the exciting live auction of the Klaus Balkenhol Training Package. A multiple Olympic medalist for his native Germany, Balkenhol has been the coach for the U.S. dressage team since 2001. Dressage show announcer Brian O’Connor acted as auctioneer and bidders at the party vied for the package with cheerleading help from two expert “spotters” – Debbie McDonald, the 2002 WEG Team Silver Medalist, 2003 World Cup Champion, and 2004 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist, who offered a training package auction in 2004 that was snapped up by three bidders, and Elma Garcia, one of the winning bidders on McDonald’s package. Mason Phelps of Phelps Media Group, Inc. International handled communications with the sole phone bidder. As the bidding escalated, it proved to be the phone bidder, Marta Kauffman of Los Angeles, California, who outlasted them all. Kauffman is the executive producer of the hit television series Friends. Kauffman will receive five lessons a week for a month with Coach Balkenhol at his facility in Germany, board for her horse, accommodations at the private home of David and Arlene Page in Rosendahl near the Balkenhol farm, and air transportation back from Germany for her horse provided by Guido Klatte Horse-Transport – all for her winning bid of $55,000.
The fundraising fun continued as two surprise items went up for bid – Coach Balkenhol agreed to provide one lesson on the East Coast and one lesson on the West Coast to the respective high bidders. Enjoying the party and the bidding, New York Times best-selling author Tami Hoag, a bi-coastal Grand Prix competitor, offered the winning bid on both lessons for a generous total of $4,200, which will benefit the dressage team at the WEG.
As a scrumptious chocolate dessert topped off a sweet evening of fundraising, the riders, owners, coaches, show officials, and supporters thronged the dance floor, drawn by the wonderful nine-piece band, Shining Star, whose energetic music kept the party energy at its peak, capping off Excellence in Aachen in grand style!
The non-profit United States Equestrian Team Foundation supports the competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America’s elite and developing international, high-performance athletes and horses in partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation. For more information about the USET Foundation or to make a donation, please call (908) 234-1251 or visit its website at www.uset.org
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