NEWSLETTER Volume 9 Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2012 Justworld Ambassador REED KESSLER Rides to the Top
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JustWorld NEWSLETTER Volume 9 Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2012 JustWorld Ambassador REED KESSLER Rides to the Top JustWorld Launches Adopt a Project Campaign EVENT REWIND: The Hickstead “Moment in Time” Unveiling IN THIS ISSUE Letter From Guest Editor Xavier Boudon Letter from Guest Editor Xavier Boudon ......................2 JustWorld relaunch in Europe: First stop in Olympic Dreams at Eighteen: Deauville! Profiling Reed Kessler ..........3 What an amazing relaunch we’ve lived in JustWorld Launches ‘Adopt a Deauville, Normandy. When Jessica told me Project’ Campaign .................6 she wanted to put JWI back on track in Europe, Thank You to our 2012 ‘Adopt I immediately jumped at the chance to help a Project’ Donors! ............... 13 JustWorld again. Yes, again, after some years Event Rewind ......................14 off as JustWorld was strengthening in North Hickstead “Moment in Time” and South America. Unveiling ...............................16 I had helped JWI at its beginning in Europe, and in particular during Ambassador Initiatives ....17 the CSI4* of Paris in December 2007. I was in charge of the PR at this Rider Round-Up .................18 event, having created my own advertising and PR agency seven years ago...specializing in equestrian shows. It was then completely natural JustWorld and JudgeMyRide Join Forces ............................20 for me to answer Jessica last May “Of course I will support JustWorld again!”. Partners .................................21 We started to think about the right moment and place to organize the Corporate Sponsors ..........21 first event. Among my clients, there was the National Show Jumping of JustWorld Ambassadors ...22 Deauville, Normandy, in the North-West of France. Thanks to a very kind New Ambassadors ............25 and supportive organizing committee, especially Mrs. Joëlle Mestrallet, its president, Mr. Antoine Sinniger, chairman of the equestrian complex, Cover Photo and an amazing group of volunteers directed by Evrard de Spa, who Reed Kessler and Cylana has been a JustWorld Ambassador for many years, we put in place the by JustWorld Ambassador very first action to benefit JustWorld in Europe this year - a Horseless Kate Morrison. Horse Show. Please visit Kate's website, Despite the rain, many children and spectators participated in this fun but katemorrison.smugmug. sporty competition. More than 500€ was collected in one day. Added to a com to view and purchase photos. Kate is donating all very intense communication about this action (press releases, interviews proceeds from her site to for French media and JustWorld banners at the entrance of the show) the JustWorld Brazil project! this relaunch has been a real success for everyone. It has allowed JustWorld to gather a new group of people from varied backgrounds around JustWorld’s projects, who will constitute the new taskforce for a strong and sustainable development of JustWorld in Europe. Next stops: Chantilly CSI5* and Fontainebleau for the European Pony Championships, both from July 18-22, run with the help of Stéphanie, Andrea, Ellie, Tess, and many others! Xavier Boudon JustWorld voluntary francophone press officer for Europe [email protected] 2 Volume 9, Issue 2, Spring/Summer 2012 © Sportfot Olympic Dreams at Eighteen Profiling JustWorld Ambassador, Reed Kessler raduating from high school is a major milestone for most teenagers, ranking alongside earning a driver’s licence or attending senior prom. For 18-year-old Reed Kessler however, her high school Ggraduation was almost completely overshadowed by the realization of an even bigger accomplishment – being named to the United States Olympic Team. A JustWorld Rider Ambassador since the age of 12, Reed graduated from the Professional Children’s School in New York on June 14. Three days later, she was named to the U.S. Olympic Team for show jumping and will be the youngest equestrian athlete in American history to ride at an Olympic Games. She’ll be joined on the team by veteran riders Rich Fellers, Beezie Madden and McLain Ward. “It feels absolutely amazing,” said Reed days after her Olympic selection. “It’s definitely a lot to take in and it’s been a really long road. Due to my age, there was no guarantee, even with the results I’ve had, that I would be chosen.” JustWorld Newsletter 3 Equestrian athletes must be at least 18 years of age in order to compete at the London 2012 Olympics. Reed turned 18 on July 9, 18 days before the Opening Ceremonies. Even more incredible, and again due to age restrictions, 2012 marks her first international season competing at the Olympic height of a 1.60m. It’s also her fist show season competing with Olympic partner Cylana, a 10-year- old Belgian Warmblood mare she purchased less than a year ago. “I was competing in Europe at the time and was actually looking for a speed horse,” said Reed, who © Spruce Meadows Media Services has been riding since she was six months old and currently trains with Katie Monahan-Prudent. “The Reed Kessler won the $35,000 Spectra Energy Cup on June 7 at the CSI5*-W Spruce Meadows ‘National’, place we were trying horses at had a cute little speed just 10 days before she was named to the United States horse, but I ended up trying a number of other Olympic Team. horses as well, and that’s when we found Cylana. She wasn’t at all what we were looking for, but she was just so special that we ended up buying her.” Despite still being in its infancy, the partnership between Reed and Cylana has proven to be a successful one. The pair was selected for the Olympic team based on their stellar results during the Olympic Selection Trials in Wellington, Florida, and subsequent stellar performances in international show jumping venues such as the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, and Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada. “She’s definitely a show horse,” Reed explained of Cylana. “She doesn’t like to be at home. When she’s in the barn she can actually be quite nasty, but once she’s up at the ring, or on her way to a show – that’s when she’s happiest. She loves to compete.” With her busy competition schedule, it’s difficult to imagine that Reed has time for anything else, but this rider is also a dedicated philanthropist and makes it a priority to find time to help those less fortunate through her work as a JustWorld Rider Ambassador. “We live in a very privileged world, where our biggest problems are getting our horses to perform,” said Reed, whose family recently relocated from Armonk, New York, to Lexington, Kentucky. “When you look at things outside of the horse show world, there are much bigger problems to focus on. Very few people can realistically devote their lives to helping those less fortunate. That is what’s so wonderful about JustWorld. I can continue to pursue my career while, at the same time, helping these kids.” Committed to her role as a Rider Ambassador, Reed donates a portion of her prize money to JustWorld International. She also helps to promote the humanitarian organization by wearing her JustWorld show jacket and saddle pads, and also volunteers her time as often as possible. “The busier I get the harder it is, but it’s such an important cause that I’m glad to make time to help out,” she explained. “I almost always help out with the Horseless Horse Shows in Florida, and every year I volunteer to help with the annual fundraiser in Wellington. I usually go over the morning of the fundraiser and volunteer do to whatever needs to be done. There are lots of little ways to help, even if you only have a few hours to spare.” 4 Volume 9, Issue 2, Spring/Summer 2012 It was at the suggestion of another JustWorld Rider Ambassador, Natalie Johnson, that Reed first became involved with the non-profit organization. A trip to JustWorld’s project site in Honduras cemented her commitment. “I was able to travel to Honduras with JustWorld when I was 14,” commented Reed. “It was an eye- opening experience. Seeing the conditions these kids live in really makes you appreciate what you have and how lucky we all are. It seems like it’s so far away from you, but once you’re there and you see it for yourself, it’s hard to forget. It’s great for parents to expose their kids to what the world is really like so they can appreciate what they have.” She continued, “When I was in Honduras we visited the Mobile Library Program, which I have sponsored. We went to the garbage dumps where children are foraging for food and then headed out to the countryside to see the program for kids orphaned by HIV/AIDS. JustWorld has created a painting program to give the children an opportunity to learn a skill. It was amazing! The kids are so talented.” Reed made the decision to become involved with the Mobile Library Project because it was something she could relate to. “I sponsored the Mobile Library because, while I was there, it really touched me and my mom,” noted Reed whose parents, Murray and Teri Kessler, are both active and successful show jumping competitors. “I was 14 at the time and hated school. I didn’t want to go; it was boring and I would have rather been riding. We saw all of the kids gathered around, all wanting to read and learn and just desperate for a little bit of school time. It made me realise I’m really lucky to have the education that I’ve had.” Now fully focused on the Olympics, Reed remains steadfast in her determination to become the best rider she can be while, at the same time, realizing how important it is to give back and help those less fortunate.