FOUR EVENT RIDERS TO BENEFIT FROM TASS SCHOLARSHIPS

British Equestrian Federation Press Release

British Equestrian Federation, NAC, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, CV8 2RH

FOUR EVENT RIDERS TO BENEFIT
FROM TASS SCHOLARSHIPS

16th December 2008

The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) is a Government funded multi-million pound scheme that is in its fifth year of operation for Equestrian Sport in England. The overall aim of TASS is to assist Great Britain’s most talented young athletes, who wish to optimise the effectiveness of their sport and their academic programmes.

TASS provides an opportunity for equestrian athletes to take advantage of support that will propel them towards success on the world stage, whilst ensuring that they can fulfill their academic potential alongside their sporting ambitions. This system is driven through partnerships working between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Further Education Colleges (FECs), National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGB’s), in this case the British Equestrian Federation, and other sports organisations.

From twenty-two TASS Scholarships that were awarded to able-bodied equestrian athletes, four of these were to event riders – Dani Cuomi, Eliza Stoddart, Gina Ruck and Althea Bleekman, which will provide them not only with financial assistance, but also the confidence and status of being formally recognized by their NGB and UK Sport as a talented individual with a bright future in their chosen equestrian discipline, and forms an important stepping stone between the SportsAid Scheme and the World Class Development Programme.

Sarah Armstrong, World Class Project Manager said, “These equestrian athletes who have been awarded TASS Scholarships must feel a real sense of achievement, as due to a re-allocation of funding there was a restriction on TASS Scholarships being made available for equestrian athletes in 2008/09, and I hope this funding will assist them, not only in their sporting success, but also in their academic ambitions”.

A full list of the successful equestrian athletes who were awarded TASS Scholarships can be found on the BEF website. www.bef.co.uk

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For media enquiries please contact Rebecca Rawson on 07919 073175 or Rebecca.rawson@wallacepr.co.uk

For more information on TASS please contact: Sarah Armstrong, World Class Project Manager, Tel: 07881 950543. Email: sarah.armstrong@bef.co.uk