All four members of Canada’s recently-announced dressage team for the 2015 Pan American Games have something else in common that they can boast about: they are former recipients of the Canadian Dressage Athlete Assistance Program (C-DAAP). Team members Brittany Fraser, Megan Lane, Belinda Trussell and Chris Von Martels all benefited from the funding that C-DAAP provides for the support and advancement of Canada’s high-performance dressage athletes in their pursuit of excellence.
The non-profit organization offers 100 percent of its net proceeds from fund-raising events to the riders to offset the cost of training and competing for high performance to compete against the world’s best. In fact, more than $130,000 has been awarded to seven riders since 2012 to help them achieve their goals with another $80,000 slated for distribution this summer.
“I am thrilled to see all four C-DAAP recipients represent Canada at the Pan Am Games,” said C-DAAP’s founder, Deborah Miculinic. “It shows how important it is to provide our riders with the necessary programs and funding so they can compete at the very top of their sport. Congratulations to each of these riders on achieving such a remarkable accomplishment. You can bet they will make Canada proud and we will be certainly cheering them on!”