The Dressage Foundation has announced Laura DeCesari of Tucson, Arizona, as the recipient of the $25,000 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize. The Advanced Dressage Prize provides financial assistance for coaching and training to talented, committed, horse-and-rider combinations with the ability and plans to reach international standards of high-performance dressage. Since 2009, the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize Fund has awarded 26 grants totaling $650,000 in support of U.S. high-performance teams. 

DeCesari, along with her own 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood Rossi, will use the grant funding to train with David Wightman and to spend the 2026 winter season in Florida. The selection committee for the prize felt DeCesari shows great talent as a rider and trainer, alongside a history of good horsemanship and sportsmanship. She is a USDF gold medalist with distinction and manages her own boutique training facility, DeCesari Equestrian, in Tucson. 

“I was incredibly moved when I received the email from The Dressage Foundation letting me know I had been awarded the $25,000 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize,” DeCesari said. “The journey with Rossi has been especially meaningful; he’s a horse I started myself and now we’re competing together at the CDI Grand Prix level. Having the opportunity to continue my education at the highest level, with the financial support to make it possible, truly means the world to me. This grant brings me one step closer to my dream of one day representing the United States in international competition. Thank you to TDF for believing in me.”

Carol Lavell achieved excellence in all phases of dressage—as an Olympian, rider, competitor, trainer, teacher and judge. She knew firsthand the work, sacrifice and struggle necessary to make it to the top of the dressage world. Through the creation of the $25,000 prize, she wanted to help other deserving riders who aspire to climb this high-performance mountain.

Information about The Dressage Foundation and the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize can be found at www.dressagefoundation.org. The application deadline for the Advanced Dressage Prize application deadline is Aug. 31 of each year. For more information on applying, please contact TDF’s Director of Grants and Programs, Sara Weiss.