PVDA Ride for Life Pays Tribute to Local Musician, Eva Cassidy

June 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Upper Marlboro, MD—The Potomac Valley Dressage Association (PVDA) announced that the posthumous performance of musician and Bowie native, Eva Cassidy, will headline the tribute portion of the 2009 Jill Hassler-Scoop Memorial Dancing Horse Challenge. Cassidy’s music will highlight performances by international equestrian, Barbara Strawson, and the Bowen McCauley Dancers at the June 27 event in Upper Marlboro, MD.

This Saturday evening event takes place at the weekend-long PVDA Ride for Life at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center. The Ride for Life dressage show and Dancing Horse Challenge benefit the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center in Baltimore, MD.

“The PVDA Ride for Life speaks to the strength of not only the equestrian community, but also those in the greater D.C. area that contribute to this Maryland-based cause. Saturday evening alone has brought in non-equestrian dancers, choreographers, musicians and spectators and truly speaks to the uniting strength against breast cancer in this area. It is no wonder that a first-class facility like Johns Hopkins thrives in this region and we are proud to support their growth along with that of the annual Ride for Life,” says Challenge Chair and Tribute Rider, Barbara Strawson.

Eva Cassidy was a singer and songwriter who passed away from cancer at the age of 33. After her death, her music (including renditions of well-known standards) has since catapulted her to international fame.

The 2009 Jill Hassler-Scoop Memorial Dancing Horse Tribute also honors: Local equestrians, Jill Hassler-Scoop and Grace Dalrymple; Patricia Ryan, sister to Olympian and Challenge speaker, Debbie McDonald; and Gloria Huggins, posthumous Challenge’s National Anthem performer.

The choreography for the Tribute was done by Equichord’s CeCe Maddlone and Hope Garden Ballet’s Fran Ichijo. Tribute rider and Challenge Chair, Barbara Strawson, will perform aboard Marianne Campano’s horse, Degas. Strawson will be accompanied by Bowen McCauley Dancers, Alicia Curtis, Dustin Kimball, Suzanne Creedon and Brooke Urguhart. All are based in Maryland.

Saturday evening’s Dancing Horse Challenge has become one of the largest equestrian freestyle performances in the Mid-Atlantic Region and is popular with both the sport horse and non-equestrian communities in the area.

The show is held just outside of Washington, D.C. and hosts over 200 competing horses. This year’s event is sponsored by Dover Saddlery, Nutrena and Rosenthal Land Rover.

Now in its sixth year, the PVDA Ride for Life has already raised over $161,000 in rider donations and sponsor contributions for The Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center.
For more information about the PVDA Ride for Life, visit www.pvdarideforlife.org or contact Hilary Moore at (703) 400-9108 or marketing@pvdarideforlife.org or www.pvda.org to learn about the PVDA.