This August, we are celebrating youth riders on YourDressage! From features on remarkable young dressage enthusiasts across the country, to articles about some of the opportunities USDF offers to youth, we want to hear from the future of our sport!
The USDF Youth Convention Scholarships provide financial support to young dressage enthusiasts to help defray the expenses associated with attending the annual convention. Here, we introduce you to the winners of the 2024 USDF Youth Convention Scholarships and highlight their contributions to the dressage community.
Tayla Damyanovich
Tayla Damyanovich, Hibbing, MN, 17, has been involved with horses for as long as she can remember. She has been competing with her partner Marduk for the past couple of years, and they have competed through Third Level, earning Tayla her USDF Bronze Medal. Tayla competed at the 2023 and 2024 US Dressage Festival of Champions in the 14-18 Dressage Seat Medal Finals, earning top-five and top-ten finishes.
Tayla enjoys volunteering at local dressage events and attending clinics. Tayla is a junior in high school and a Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program college student, working towards her associate’s degree.
Tayla is looking forward to the opportunity to expand her knowledge of the equestrian world. She hopes that her involvement has a positive effect, not only for herself, but also for her fellow peers and GMOs.
Marley McCourt
Marley McCourt, Atco, NJ, 17, has been volunteering, competing, and riding for the past ten years. She had the privilege of attending the Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention in both 2022 and 2023 with the USDF Youth Convention Scholarship, which inspired her to become a PM Delegate for Region 1 in 2023, and again in 2024.
She is also proud to have also been selected as a representative for dressage on the USEF Youth Advisory Committee.
In addition to earning her USDF Bronze Medal, Marley is working her way up the FEI pipeline, having competed at Dressage at Devon in 2022, 2023, and 2024, one year in the FEI Pony Division, and two in the FEI Junior Division. This past summer, she competed in the FEI Junior Division at the North American Youth Championships (NAYC) with her horse, Hide D4K, who was donated to Marley through the Dressage4Kids program.
Ryder Mosqueda
Ryder Mosqueda, Hemet, CA, 13, is currently competing with his horse, Atlantico, in the FEI Children’s Division. He has shown at the US Dressage Festival of Champions in the FEI Children’s Division for the last two years, and this year in the Dressage Seat Medal Finals with a silver-medal finish. Ryder was able to show at the 2023 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he had a top-three finish. Ryder also shows livestock, plays baseball, and is an anti-social behavior (ASB) officer at his school.
Ryder is a hardworking and responsible dressage rider who believes in the importance of teamwork within our sport. He believes that teamwork is not only between the horse and rider, but also between barn mates, competitors, and the equine community. One of his goals is to have youth dressage riders feel a sense of pride and friendship that lasts throughout their riding careers and to have fun with each other along the way.
As a first-time convention attendee, Ryder wants to become more involved in the programs that USDF offers and share those opportunities with other youth members. Ryder also hopes to encourage other young riders to attend the convention in the future.
Katie Staib
Katie Staib, Allentown, PA, 19, has been an active member of the dressage community for the last six years. Katie has earned both her USDF Bronze and Silver Medals, volunteered and served on the board of her local GMO, the Lehigh Valley Dressage Association (LVDA), and founded and served as the show manager of LVDA’s first-ever annual Decades of Dressage Show.
This past year, Katie was one of the recipients of the Young Rider Dream Program through The Dressage Foundation (TDF) and had the chance to learn from some of the best dressage riders in the world. Now, as an equestrian collegiate athlete attending Liberty University, she is pursuing a degree in Project Management and is a proud co-founder of the Equine Professionals Club (EPC).
Although she currently finds herself without a dressage competition horse of her own, Katie remains committed to serving an active role in the dressage community and was excited to learn and grow by attending the 2024 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention.
