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Today’s Email Announcements

1) ASU’s Kristen Gore Qualifies for National Dressage Finals

Appalachian State University Senior Kristen Gore has qualified for the Intercollegiate Dressage Association National Finals, which will be held at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio this weekend.

Gore is a Psychology major from Oak Ridge and a key competitive rider for Appalachian State’s Equestrian Team. Appalachian has qualified National Finals riders for the last three consecutive years.  

The most intricate of the equestrian disciplines, dressage requires years of training to equip both horses and riders for the rigors of national and international competition. Long a mainstay of Olympic Equestrian sports, dressage, often called ballet on horseback, demands an intense partnership between horse and rider gained only after many years of training together. Subjective in its judging, dressage competition requires meticulous attention to minute movements with undetectable communications between horse and rider — all of which is evaluated by seasoned officials. At the intercollegiate level, however, the riders know very little about the horses on which they will compete. The colleges and universities rotate organizing events and are required to provide the horses for their hosted competitions.

This substantially reduces the competition costs for the traveling squads and their institutions. At each competition, riders draw the horses they will ride that day. Only a few minutes are allowed for warm-up before the horse/rider teams negotiate an intricate memorized test. This adds an element of mystery to the competition. Every horse is different and each animal requires just the right handling in order to deliver a winning performance. Intercollegiate riders must be able to quickly read the personality of their mounts, the “attitude” of the horse that day, and then communicate in the language of that particular animal.

Over her nine-year riding career, Gore has trained on many different horses. This experience has served her well on her climb to this year’s IDA National Finals.

The Appalachian Equestrian Team is one of several educational and charitable organizations supported by the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show Foundation. Burr Collier, foundation chair, said, “Kristen and the entire ASU Equestrian Team continue to make us proud that we support these students. Kristen has represented ASU and our foundation at her sport’s highest intercollegiate level. That is a good thing for all of us. She is a delightful young woman, an exemplary rider and a stellar representative for Appalachian, our foundation and all of horse sports. We wish her the best of luck in Ohio.”

2) HCCF Faith-Based Community Partnership Program

Caregiving can be a lonely experience and touches all involved. Those in the midst of their caregiving journey, both the caregivers and those needing to be cared for, often feel cut off from their faith communities at the very time when they most need support. In order to meet this need, the High Country Caregiver Foundation has developed a faith-based community support program to assist faith communities in the support for individuals and families dealing with caregiving issues. In addition, the program is dedicated to providing public awareness, advocacy, education and support to the regions’ faith-based communities regarding family and kinship caregiving.

The faith-based community support program aims to provide the tools, guidance and support to faith-based organizations interested in hosting education programs and developing support programs for their members in the following ways:

EDUCATE: Host an educational event for members of your faith community to increase awareness about caregiving and the resources available to help. The following topics have been popular in the community and are only a few of the programs available: Caregiver 101; Day by Day; Eldercare & Work: Finding the Balance; and Legal Issues of Interest to Seniors and Caregivers.

CONNECT: Join the Faith-Based Liaison Program. Become a volunteer with the High Country Caregiver Foundation and be a valuable link between your faith community and HCCF.

WORSHIP: Offer faith-based services in your house of worship for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias and their families. A special caregiving service at your congregation can awaken this spiritual connection for caregivers in your community. HCCF can offer training and support to help you successfully support your community.

For more information about hosting caregiver specific programs please contact Brenda at breece@regiond.org or 828 265-5434 x 128.

3) Appalachian to Test Campus Alert System on May 6

Appalachian State University will conduct a test of its campus siren warning system Wednesday, May 6 at 11:45 a.m.

Examples of the tones that are used in an emergency or during tests can be heard at http://em.emergency.appstate.edu/siren-warning-system. Appalachian uses the “hi/low” tone for emergencies; “discontinuous air horn” for tests of the system; the “alert” tone for all-clear signal; and the “wail” tone for tornado warnings.

For more information about the university’s AppState ALERT voice/text/e-mail notification system, visit http://www.emergency.appstate.edu.

4) Appalachian Gospel Choir to Perform on Sunday

Works by contemporary gospel composer Kirk Franklin are among those that the Appalachian Gospel Choir will perform Sunday, April 26, during a 6 p.m. performance at Appalachian State University. The performance will be in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.

The choir will perform Franklin’s’ “When I Get There, “Now Behold The Lamb,” “Melodies From Heaven,” “Love” and “Stomp.”

They also will perform John Newton’s “Amazing Grace,” arranged by choir director Keith McCutchen, Bishop Eric McDaniel’s “More Like Him,” and Bishop Leonard Scott’s “Hallelujah, Lord You Reign.”