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82 SIDELINES MAY 2011 FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE D R E S S A G E

By Sally Hansell

World-class dressage trainer Kenn Acebal joins a long line of celebrities who are making a positive difference in the world. Unlike other stars campaigning for rain forests or UNICEF, Kenn champions a charity in his own community. For the past three years, he has raised thousands of dollars for the Child Development Association (CDA), a non-proft organization in Roswell, Georgia, which offers early care and learning programs to children of low-income working parents. The nationally accredited early childhood education program serves children ages one to fve. Kenn became involvedwith theCDAshortly after returning to his Georgia roots in 2008. His international career is full of highlights including training Peron, a team horse of the 1996 Olympic bronze medal-winning U.S. squad. In 1999-2000 Kenn was shortlisted for the U.S. Equestrian Team with his Westfalien gelding Lennox. Known for his apprenticeship with six-time Olympian Robert Dover, Kenn is now an elite trainer based at Fortitude Farm at Yellow House. The fabulous equestrian facility in the north

Atlanta suburb of Milton features a 48,000-square-foot indoor arena as well as an outdoor dressage arena with felt footing. “I’ll do anything for these kids to help give them a leg up. It’s super important,” Kenn says of the 120 pre-school children enrolled at the CDA. “We have to

get these kids ready for school. Kids who start with a disadvantage never have a good chance to catch up.”

The 46-year-old trainer is marshaling his resources for a high-end Kentucky Derby party that has become the annual fundraiser for the CDA. The third annual jeans-and-boots event called the Down Home Derby will take place at Fortitude Farm at Yellow House on May 7. Event proceeds provide the scholarships that keep tuition affordable for low-income working families. Last year’s Down Home Derby netted more than $85,000, and a large part of the event’s growing success is due to Kenn and his connections. The prominent trainer personally donates one month of dressage training (20 sessions) to a live auction at the gala while fnding time to solicit support from his friends. Kenn’s partner Sean O’Keefe, a Hollywood special event planner, donates his talent each year, adding an imaginative fair that makes the events full of delightful surprises.

Equestrians have gotten excited about the event. National award-winning hunter jumper Terry Brown generously donated her Showcase Ltd equestrian facility in Canton, GA, as the venue for the 2010 derby. Cary Wallace gave a Wolfgang Solo close-contact saddle from his Aiken-based Custom Saddlery. Dressage trainer Jodie Kelly of Destin, FL, coaxed her father Brant Kelly into donating a deep-sea fshing expedition on his charter boat. Dawn and Ben Adams of Morgan City, LA, the parents of dressage rider Caroline Adams, have fnancially sponsored the derby party. “Everybody who knows Kenn helps by either working at the party, making a contribution, or just showing up and buying a ticket,” said Ann Clements, his business manager. “Kenn is such a supportive, involved, and giving trainer.”

The Down Home Derby will take place on May 7 at Fortitude Farm at Yellow House in Milton. Tickets are $150. For tickets and information, call the CDA at 770-992-4339 or go online at www. cdakids.org. For auction donations and corporate sponsorship, call Caroline Calder, an equestrian and CDA board member, at 678-360-3047.

Atlanta writer Sally Hansell, a CDA board member, is thrilled to be working with Kenn and Sean.

Kenn Acebal warms up 8 year-old Oldenburg gelding Freddie Mercury at the 2010 USDF Region 3 Championships in Conyers, Georgia Photo by MKW Photography

Giving Kids