Brian Moggre (pictured second from right) was presented as the 2020 recipient of the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy by (from left to right) Leah Rogers Meirfeld of Hermès, USET Foundation Vice President William Weeks, and USET Foundation Chairman, President, and CEO James McNerney. Photo © Jump Media.
From press release from Jump Media
The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation presented the organization’s three most prestigious awards to Brian Moggre, Boyd Martin, and Abigail Wexner on January 17 at the “Take Me To Tokyo” gala in Wellington, FL.
Brian Moggre, 19, of Flower Mound, TX, was awarded the 2020 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy, presented annually to a junior/young rider in one of the Olympic disciplines who demonstrates the team’s values of sportsmanship and horsemanship.
Riders who are awarded the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy are identified as athletes with great potential, and the list of winners who have received the award is a “who’s who” of the U.S. Equestrian Team in the Olympic disciplines – to which Moggre now adds his name.
“I am awestruck to be receiving this award,” said Moggre, who has made a name for himself as a rising show jumping star to watch after winning the both the 2019 $100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Ocala CSI3*-W at Live Oak International and the $225,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington CSI4*-W at only 18 years of age.
“It takes a huge team to make all of this happen, and that’s really what I’m thankful for,” continued Moggre after having accepted the award. “I’m so thankful to Gianna Aycock, Mike McCormick, and Tracy Fenney and my current team of Emily Smith and Ken Smith as well as my parents and Lesley Leeman, who takes care of my horses. I’m very honored to now have my name on a trophy with the best riders in the entire world, and it means so much to me.”
Patrick Guerrand-Hermès established the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Memorial Award in 1983 in memory of his son, Lionel, who was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1981 at the age of 18. Lionel trained with the United States Equestrian Team and was talented enough to be considered an Olympic hopeful. Included on the list of past winners inscribed on the perpetual trophy are such notable names as Greg Best, Chris Kappler, McLain Ward, and Buck Davidson, among many others.
Beezie Madden (pictured second from left) accepted the R. Bruce Duchossois Distinguished Trustee Award on behalf of Abigail Wexner from presenters (from left to right) Bill Weeks, Kim Duchossois, and James McNerney. Photo © Jump Media.
The USET Foundation presented Abigail Wexner with the 2020 R. Bruce Duchossois Distinguished Trustee Award, recognizing her distinguished service to the USET Foundation Board of Trustees.
Wexner has been a member of the board for 12 years, and she has been one of the lead donors to the Campaign for Achieving Competitive Excellence, the Campaign for Continuing Our Competitive Excellence, and she is now chairing, along with Jim McNerney and Jacqueline B. Mars, the Raising the Bar Campaign. As part of the campaign, Wexner has established the Wexner Olympic Endowment as a source of support for U.S. athletes and teams in Olympic years.
Wexner is a long-time horse owner and has been partnered with top jumper rider Beezie Madden for more than 15 years. Madden has ridden Wexner’s horses on numerous Nations Cup teams, along with the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games and the 2006, 2010, and 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games. This partnership has produced for the United States two gold, three silver, and three bronze medals in Olympic and World Championships, two World Cup Finals victories, and been a part of 18 winning Nations Cup teams.
A true ambassador of the sport, Wexner’s distinguished service through excellence in leadership, philanthropy, and character has positively impacted the Foundation’s mission of supporting athletes, promoting international excellence, and building for the future.
The R. Bruce Duchossois Distinguished Trustee Award was established in 2015 in recognition and honor of Bruce Duchossois’s leadership, generosity, and outstanding character. Duchossois’s life was celebrated that year as the first recipient of the prestigious award, and now the legacy he created lives on in others through the award with the annual presentation to a USET Foundation Trustee who exemplifies the qualities he embodied.
The presentation of the USET Foundation’s three distinguished awards and this year’s Take Me To Tokyo gala, hosted by honorary chairmen Lou and Joan Jacobs and chairs Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, were made possible thanks to the USET Foundation’s generous donors and sponsors, including MARS Equestrian and the Take Me To Tokyo cocktail hour sponsor, NetJets.
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