Eventing Athlete Julie Wolfert Receives USET Foundation’s 2025 Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation has awarded the Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant for 2025 to eventing athlete Julie Wolfert of Bucyrus, Kansas. As the philanthropic partner to US Equestrian (USEF), the USET Foundation’s singular mission is to ensure U.S. equestrian athletes and teams have the resources necessary to maintain excellence on the greatest international stages. Grants and funding from the USET Foundation, through philanthropic contributions, go to USEF to help support the training, competition, travel, and educational needs of America’s horse and human athletes.

The Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant is awarded annually through the USET Foundation’s Amanda Pirie Warrington Fund. Pirie’s family established the fund in her memory to provide financial assistance to an eventing athlete identified as having the talent and ability to represent the United States on senior teams.

The grant is intended for a recipient who will benefit most from the opportunity to continue their training with top coaches and to compete against the world’s best in eventing. As the recipient, Wolfert will receive up to $5,000 to help offset expenses associated with her training throughout 2025.

In October 2024, Wolfert and SSH Playboy, a 13-year-old Irish gelding by Cit Cat that she co-owns with Sheri Gurske and Renee Senter, won the CCI4*-L at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, in the rider’s first year competing at CCI4*-L level. Together, the duo are currently ranked 76th on the FEI Eventing World Athlete Rankings.

“I was shocked to receive the Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant,” said Wolfert. “I was in the middle of a show and had just laid down my personal best FEI dressage score when I got the call. I got a little teary eyed because it felt like the universe was rewarding me for all my hard work and efforts.

“I am completely honored to receive this grant from the USET Foundation. It means the world to me that I was chosen from what I’m sure was a long list of high-caliber riders,” she added. “As we all know, riding and training professionally can be quite difficult at times and being recognized in this way will help push my riding to another level. I would like to thank the Warrington family for this opportunity, and I will do my best to honor Amanda’s memory.”

“Julie is an extremely deserving recipient of the Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant. Her performance in the CCI4*-L at Morven Park showcased the dedication and effort she has invested into her partnership with SSH Playboy,” said Leslie Law, the Chef d’Equipe and High Performance Manager for the Defender U.S. Eventing Team. “I was particularly impressed by the progress she demonstrated during our Development training session this past January, and I look forward to seeing their continued success this season.” 

Wolfert grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, and dabbled in several disciplines before finding her calling in eventing. She owns and runs Chaps Equestrian Center in Bucyrus, where she teaches predominantly adult amateurs and trains horses for eventing, hunter/jumper, and dressage.

SSH Playboy is Wolfert’s only current upper level horse, and Wolfert plans to use the grant to help them both gain exposure and show experience.

“My goals for 2025 include being selected for the Developing European Tour, which includes representing the United States in the Nations Cup at Bicton in the U.K., and then competing in the five-star at Luhmühlen in Germany,” stated Wolfert. “I am truly grateful for this grant, which enables me to continue my education and maintain my riding at the highest level, and I can’t wait to soak up as much knowledge as possible.

“Winning at Morven Park has been the highlight of my accomplishments so far. It has opened the door to many opportunities including securing a spot on the USEF Eventing Development Athlete Program list and receiving the Rebecca Broussard National Developing Rider Grant,” she continued. “The training opportunities the program has provided have been invaluable, and I already notice a difference in my riding. Without help from the USET Foundation and USEF I wouldn’t have had these career-changing opportunities. I am forever grateful and excited to see where this takes me on my quest to represent the United States on the world stage.

“I would like to thank Renee Senter and Sheri Gurske, the other owners of SSH Playboy, for the opportunity to ride such an incredible horse,” added Wolfert. “Three years ago, we came together to form Team Pivot, and it has been such a joyous ride together. I’d also like to thank my mom, Susie Wolfert, for always being my biggest supporter and believing in me all these years.”

For additional information or to support the USET Foundation and U.S. equestrian athletes, visit https://www.uset.org.

About the USET Foundation
The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the competition, training, coaching, travel, and educational needs of America's elite and developing international, high performance horses and athletes in partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation. Learn more at www.uset.org.