Hannah Selleck at the 2014 Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo by: SportFot.
Caen, France – July 23, 2014 – JustWorld International is pleased to announce that Hannah Selleck will be their ambassador at the upcoming Games in Normandy, France. As one of only four charities chosen, this selection provides JustWorld an unparalleled opportunity to benefit from the outstanding visibility offered by this exceptional international equestrian event.
“It’s a huge honor that Hannah will be both a JustWorld Ambassador and our representative at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy,” JustWorld Executive Director Jessica Newman enthused. “The test event in France was fantastic. We’re looking forward to fabulous Games full of excitement and emotion!
A Dual Role for Selleck
Selleck’s role as ambassador will be a dual one. Her selection puts her on the Games Ambassadors’ Committee, a small group of distinctive ambassadors who have a connection with equestrianism. The stated purpose of the organizers in creating this committee is to bring together well-known figures, all of whom believe that the equestrian world should be a vector of unity. In this role, Hannah will use her image and her voice to further that goal.
According to Newman, in her role as JustWorld Ambassador, Selleck will also be the spokesperson assisting at all PR, media, and VIP events, raising public awareness of projects funded by JustWorld in Guatemala, Honduras, Cambodia, and Colombia.
JustWorld has a spot in the heart of the Games Village, and from there Selleck will participate in ‘Meet and Greet’ events, autograph sessions, and other activities which are in the planning stages over the next few weeks.
“Hannah’s high profile and outgoing personality,” states Newman, “will help JustWorld to achieve the goal of becoming a household name at every level of equestrian sport, and to reach out to many new international equestrians coming from all over the world for the Games.”
JustWorld was born out of the Show Jumping discipline, of which Selleck is a part, but the hope is that it will eventually have as much support from all the different disciplines present at the Games, as it currently does in Show Jumping. As ambassador, Hannah will be instrumental in moving toward this goal.
“I am so honored that JustWorld has chosen me to be their official ambassador at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy. I can’t think of a better way than this to participate,” explained Selleck. “Of course, at some point I hope to represent the United States at this international event, but I look forward to being a voice for the positive work that JustWorld does.”
More about Hannah Selleck
As owner and operator of Descanso Farm, Selleck is combining her equestrian knowledge with her desire to develop top sport horses. Over the past decade, the emerging young talent has made a name for herself in the equitation and jumper disciplines.
Selleck is a committed equestrian as well as a model for equestrian fashion. With a love of horses that began at the tender age of four atop a tiny pony, she has carried her passion through her teenage years and into adulthood. Selleck trained with Karen Healey for the duration of her junior riding career, accomplishing a series of prestigious medal finals victories such as winning the 2008 North American Young Riders Championship Team Gold and Individual Gold medals, as well as the Style of Riding Award, and the USEF Talent Search Medal Finals, to cap off a very successful junior career. Olympians Will Simpson, Leslie Burr Howard, and Ian Millar have all supplemented her training over the years.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Loyola Marymount University in 2011, while interning with a public relations firm in Beverly Hills, and upon graduation made the decision to follow the path of becoming a top international show jumper. Currently riding with Ilan Ferder, Selleck recently competed successfully at the 2014 Spruce Meadows Summer Series in Calgary, Canada, which hosts the best show jumping athletes and horses from throughout the world.
Along with competing show jumpers, Selleck is involved in breeding and developing her own string of young horses at Descanso Farm. She has recently left her native California and is currently living in New York City. When her show schedule will allow, she plans to join a JWI trip, hopefully within the coming year.
More about JustWorld International
JustWorld International is a humanitarian organization registered as a 501(c)(3) association in the United States and as a 1901 law association in France. JustWorld is also part of the Lombard Odier Philanthropic Foundation, an umbrella foundation registered in Switzerland and exempt from tax. JustWorld has no political or religious affiliations. JustWorld International acts as a catalyst to provoke positive changes in developing countries. JustWorld International is able to accomplish this kind of progress thanks to partnerships with local organizations. Its projects aim to offer basic education and professional training, as well as nutritional, health and hygiene programs for children in poor communities in Honduras, Cambodia, Guatemala and Colombia. More information is available on www.justworldinternational.org.
About the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy will lead the way for other major events in France: the Euro 2016, the World Handball Championships in 2017 and the Ryder Cup in 2018. Organized every four years, alternately with the Olympic Games, under the authority of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI), the World Equestrian Games represent the biggest equestrian event in the world. For a fortnight, from August 23 – September 7, the event will boast the equivalent of eight world championships, one for each discipline featured on the program. Three of them are Olympic sports (Jumping, Eventing and Dressage) and a fourth one is present at the Paralympic Games (Para-dressage). In addition to the four other disciplines (Endurance, Vaulting, Reining and Driving), the organizers have included two demonstration sports, which are played by teams, polo and horseball. Taking place two years before the Olympic Games in Rio, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy will showcase the world elite of equestrian sport for the 500,000 spectators expected. This event offers quality of event sites, intensity of the competition and an unparalleled level of participation where 76 nations will be represented and almost 1,000 horses and competitors will come together to provide entertainment and performances that will never be forgotten. More information is available on www.normandie2014.com.
Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group – Phone: +1 (561) 309-9873 – E-mail: kb@phelpsmediagroup.com