Adrienne Lyle Named US International Equestrian Athlete of the Year 2022

Dressage

U.S.A.

Adrienne Lyle has been named the U.S. International Equestrian Athlete of the Year 2022, selected by US Equestrian member voting in December.

She will be honoured at the 2023 Pegasus Awards Dinner at the USEF Annual Meeting in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 12.

International Equestrian of the Year – Adrienne Lyle

Olympic veteran Adrienne Lyle (Wellington, Fla.) continued to impress dressage judges and fans in 2022. With her longtime partner Salvino, Lyle earned a personal best score of 85.580% to win the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle at week 11 of the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival. The pair traveled to CHIO Aachen in June where they placed second in the CDI4* Grand Prix against some of the world’s best.

In August, Lyle and Salvino posted an 83.704% in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle Championship—the second-highest score of her career and good for sixth place amongst a strong international field. The combination was the only American team partnership to compete in the Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special, and Freestyle at the World Championships, where they also played a key role in qualifying the U.S. Dressage Team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Lyle’s talent and commitment to the future of the sport was on display at the 2022 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions where she took home two national championships, winning the Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old Dressage National Championship with Fürst Dream and the Markel/USEF Young Horse Five-Year-Old Dressage National Championship with Valor.

“I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote in the USEF Equestrian of the Year awards. I’m very humbled to receive this award,” said Lyle. “One of my favorite sayings is that when a rider stands on a podium, they never stand alone. It is incredible how many people’s dreams are intertwined in this sport of ours, and just what a huge village it takes to help make these dreams come true. I’m thankful to all the amazing people in my life who have supported me and helped shape me into the rider and horsewoman I am today. I want to say a special thank you to my long-time coach, Debbie McDonald; Salvino’s owner, Betsy Juliano; and my whole team of fabulous grooms at home, who are such an integral part of any success our team has. Last but certainly not least, thank you to these horses—these amazing animals who allow us to be part of their journey and bring so much joy to so many lives.”

Lyle is a 2022 winner of the William C. Steinkraus Trophy, which is presented to an equestrian competing in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing, or show jumping.

2022 USEF Equestrians of Honor

Six equestrians were named Equestrians of Honor and recognized for their achievements in 2022 with the following trophies:

William C. Steinkraus Trophy: Will Coleman (Eventing) and Adrienne Lyle (Dressage)
Becky Grand Hart Trophy: Kate Shoemaker (Para Dressage)
Norman K. Dunn Trophy: Janae Griffin (Friesian)
Barbara Worth Oakford Trophy: James Hitt (Arabian)
Vaughan Smith Trophy: Wendy Potts (Arabian)
Bill Robinson Trophy: Jim B. Roberton II (Roadster)
C.J. “June” Cronan Trophy: Matt Siemon (Arabian)
Emerson Burr Trophy: Hunt Tosh (Hunter)

2022 USEF Pegasus Award Recipients

In addition to the above awards, the following annual award recipients were recognized at this year’s Pegasus Awards Dinner.

Sallie Busch Wheeler Trophy for Distinguished Service to Equestrian Sport – Elisabeth Goth
Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Breeders’ Award – Eleanor Hamilton and Maryanna Haymon
Kip Rosenthal Memorial High Score Equitation Award – Augusta Iwasaki
Pegasus Medal of Honor – Jan Decker, Sally McClure Jackson, John R. “Doc” Steele,
Richard E. McDevitt Award of Merit – William “Bill” Ellis, John King, Antonio “Pusito” Lopez, Richard Picken, Nancy Turrill
USEF/EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award – Meris Bickford
USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award – Ryder Richardson
Walter B. Devereux Sportsmanship Award – Charlotte Skinner-Robson