Contribution to hunter-jumper discipline recognised

Larry Langer and Joe Fargis will receive their awards at a dinner on December 8 during the association's annual meeting in St Petersburg, Florida.

The award was created to recognise members whose involvement in the sport, as well as in the association, has benefited the industry.

Langer is an FEI official and competition manager. He serves the association as a member of its board of directors and several committees. He has been a strong supporter of the association and its mission since its inception and has made major contributions to the advancement of the sport and the organization.

He is also president and chief executive of Langer Equestrian Group, one of the top horse show management companies in the US. He also developed the Colorado Summer Circuit at the Colorado Horse Park. He and his management team have served as the competition management for the North American Junior Young Rider Championships three different times, most recently in 2008, at the Colorado venue.

Highlights of Langer's career include managing the 1992 Show Jumping World Cup Finals in Del Mar, California, and serving as the show jumping competition manager for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fargis represented the US for over 40 years and continues to compete today. Fargis first represented the US in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he rode Bonte II on the US's winning Nations' Cup team.

Over the years, he was part of winning teams at many of the word's most significant horse shows, including Aachen, Washington, New York, Calgary, Rome, and Cannes.

Fargis is perhaps most famous for his double gold-medal wins at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games aboard Touch of Class. In 1988, at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, he rode Mill Pearl and helped the US win the team silver medal.

Fargis continues to successfully compete at grand prix level around the country, winning at events including the American Gold Cup in Devon, Pensylvannia; the USET Wellington Cup; the Ox Ridge Grand Prix; the Grand Prix of Tampa; the Hampton Classic Grand Prix; and the I Love New York Grand Prix in Lake Placid. In addition to his contributions to the sport in the ring, Fargis gives back by serving on the USHJA Horse Welfare Committee and teaching clinics around the country.

Association president Bill Moroney said: "Deciding the recipients of this award is never easy. Our industry is incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of people that have dedicated their lives to this sport, which makes a decision like this even harder. However, people like Joe Fargis and Larry Langer, who, in their own way, have been synonymous with dedication and achievement in our sport, are why we created this award."

Both recipients will be presented with the Eugene R. Mische Perpetual Trophy. "Gene", the trophy's namesake, was a 2001 Inductee of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and continues to be instrumental in the growth of the industry.