USA Equestrian has announced that Alex Forman, 82, of Morristown, NJ, Howard Lewis, 77, of Gates Mills, OH and Col. Donald W. Thackeray (deceased) will be added to the Honor Roll of Distinguished Officials. The presentation will be made Friday, January 11, 2002 at the USA Equestrian Pegasus Dinner during the USA Equestrian Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC.

The Honor Roll of Distinguished Officials, formerly the Judge Emeritus Award, is a highly selective honor, bestowed upon outstanding USA Equestrian officials who have retired after officiating for 35 years or more, with only a very small number of candidates being considered for the accolade each year. A nominee must be confirmed a winner by unanimous vote of the USA Equestrian Licensed Officials Committee before joining the truly distinguished company of others including G. Welch Greenwell, Helen Crabtree, Lymon Orcutt, Edward Barham, Frank Evans, Daniel P. Lenehan, Robert H. Lewis, Lester A. Spear, Jr. and Joe Vanoria, Sr. The 2000 recipients were Robert Brooks and Karl Yenser.

• Studied riding in Austria and Switzerland at two of the finest equestrian schools in the world.
• Director of the USET beginning in 1970.
• Served on the USET's Executive Committee from 1971 to 1993.
• Served on the USET's Dressage and Driving Committees and was Vice President for Driving 1989-93.
• Served 5 terms as a member of the AHSA Board of Directors and was a long time member of the Association's Dressage, Driving, and FEI Rules and Regulations Committees.
• Member of the Bureau of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) for 17 years, and was elected Vice President and served as Chairman of the FEI Driving Committee. In the latter position, he played a key role in drawing up the international rules for driving.
• Only person to have FEI Official Judge status in 4 disciplines - dressage, driving, show jumping and three-day eventing.
• Judged dressage at 6 Olympic Games and at two Pan-American Games and was also an official at a number of driving and dressage World Championships.
• Officiated at the National Horse Show for more than two decades.
• In 1994, he was named "Horseman of the Year" by the Maryland Horse Council.

Alex Forman

• First licensed in 1955 as a Judge of Hunters, Hunter Seat Equitation and Jumpers.
• First licensed as a Steward in 1955; Western Judge in 1962; Welsh Judge in 1975; and Hunter Breeding Judge in 1985.
• Former President of the P.H.A. and chairman of the scholarship committee. Howard Lewis
• First licensed in 1955 as a Judge of Hunters, Hunter Seat Equitation and Jumpers.
• First licensed in 1984 as a Welsh Judge; Hunter Breeding in 1985.

For more information, please contact Sarah Holt, Public Relations on (859) 225 6974 or via email at sholt@equestrian.org. USA Equestrian press releases are available on our web site - http://www.equestrian.org/ .

USA Equestrian Inc., as the National Equestrian Federation of the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the country's largest multi-breed organization, the Federation has over 80,000 members and recognizes more than 2,800 competitions nationwide each year. It governs all aspects of competition, including educating and licensing all judges, stewards, and technical delegates who officiate at these shows.