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8TH ANNUAL PVDA RIDE FOR LIFE™ BENEFITING JOHNS HOPKINS AVON FOUNDATION BREAST CENTER TAKES JUNE 25-26 AT PRINCE GEORGES EQUESTRIAN CENTER

Family-Friendly Event Features Dancing Horse Challenge with Olympians/Top International Riders

Combining equestrian entertainment at its best with family fun and support for breast cancer research, the Potomac Valley Dressage Association (PVDA) will present the 8th Annual PVDA Ride for Life, June 25-26, at the Prince Georges Equestrian Center (14900 Pennsylvania Ave.) in Upper Marlboro, Md.

Attracting as many as 6,000 visitors throughout the course of the weekend, the event will feature a two-day USDF-recognized dressage show, the acclaimed Dancing Horse Challenge, demonstration rides, children’s activities, boutique shopping, a black-tie optional gala, silent auction and many more opportunities for family fun, while raising funds for the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center in Baltimore.

Dancing Horse Challenge

The weekend’s highlight is the Dancing Horse Challenge, Saturday, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 5:00). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.pvdarideforlife.org. 

As one of the premier equestrian nights on the East Coast, this lyrical blend of dance, music, lights and equestrian prowess is woven into a moving theatrical performance. 

Featuring international and national riders and Olympians, the Dancing Horse Challenge becomes a call to heal, to give and, most importantly, to celebrate life. Grand Marshals are Ann Romney, former Massachusetts First Lady and dressage Gold Medalist, and Olympian Debbie McDonald. Special guest is Olympian Courtney King-Dye.

Yvonne and Kim Barteau of KYB Dressage, famous for entertaining audiences with skits inspired by the “Lion King” and “Arabian Nights,” will perform a reining horse dressage horse pas de deux and a mounted dressage and on-foot dance number. They will also reprise their liberty act where their Friesian stallion will perform graceful movements without bridle, saddle or any control other than the trainer’s gestures only. This routine will feature special costuming and music, and have a dramatic conclusion.

Vitor Silva, an acclaimed instructor and founder of the Sons of the Wind, School of Equestrian Arts, will perform dressage and haute ecole movements with his Lusitano stallions. Bent Jensen, an Olympian, Grand Prix champion and trainer, will perform a full-costumed, musical freestyle based on the music of Lady Gaga. Dutch Chapman, a two-time NRHA World Champion and acclaimed trainer, will perform western reining demonstrations.

· Shannon Dueck (World Cup and Grand Prix champion and Pan AM Games Silver Medalist whose mother and aunt are fighting breast cancer)
· Michael Barisone (USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist, and top level national and international dressage competitor)
· Jane Hannigan (Grand Prix rider who represented the United States at the World Cup), and
· Julio Mendoza (FEI international trainer and instructor known for his dramatic costuming and horsemanship).

To purchase tickets, or updates about participating riders and their performances, visit www.pvdarideforlife.org.