United States Eventing Association

US Equestrian Recognizes Howard Simpson with 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Junior Equestrian of the Year Award to be presented at the 2022 US Equestrian Annual Meeting. Kathy Kusner and Howard Simpson are the winners of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award, while Sophia Huffman is the 2021 Junior Equestrian of the Year. Kusner, Simpson, and Huffman will be recognized at the Pegasus Awards Dinner Celebration on Thursday, January 13.

Howard Simpson

Howard Simpson (Lake Forest, Ill.) grew up fox hunting and later served as Master of the Foxhounds for the Mill Creek Hunt. Simpson married the late Martha Smith Simpson in 1984, and the next year, their family’s Tempel Farms hosted the first American Continental Young Riders Championship. In 1988, the competition became the North American Young Rider Championships, which evolved into the North American Youth Championships. In 1997, Simpson took over as the sole organizer of the NAYC and provided financial support for the program. He served as the director of the NAYC for more than 20 years and Tempel Farms hosted the championships 13 times between 1985 and 2004.

In addition to his work with NAYC, Simpson was involved in site selection for important events. In December 1996, Simpson along with Captain Mark Phillips investigated potential sites for the first four-star (now five-star) in North America, eventually recommending the Kentucky Three-Day Event. Simpson also led the evaluation team that recommended the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill as the second CCI5*-L in North America.

Simpson has been active in governance of equestrian sport over the years. He was on the Board of Directors and several committees and councils for US Equestrian. He was on the Board of Governors, served as Vice President of Communications, and is currently a member of the Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant Selection Committee for the United States Eventing Association Foundation.

Pegasus Awards

In addition to the above awards and the Equestrians of Honor, the Pegasus Awards are made up of numerous honors for a renowned group of equestrians.

Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Breeders’ Award – Sporting Chance Farm

Kip Rosenthal Memorial High Score Equitation Award – Zayna Rizvi

Pegasus Medal of Honor – Susan Morey, Dr. Timothy Ober, Roxanne Trunnell, and Elisabeth Williams

Richard E. McDevitt Award of Merit – Anne Barlow Ramsay, Naomi Blumenthal, Vickey Bowman, Tremaine Cooper, Joanne Crockett, John Franzreb, Grace Greenlee, Lewis Haines, Sue Hershey, Mason Phelps, Richard Taylor, Glena Wirtanen, and Jodi Zeier

Sallie Busch Wheeler Trophy – To be announced at the Pegasus Awards Dinner Celebration

USEF/EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award – Octavia Brown

USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award – Rebecca Share

Walter B. Devereux Sportsmanship Award – Ralph Caristo