Lake Placid, NY--July 8, 2009--The town of Lake Placid, NY has paid tribute to longtime Lake Placid Horse Show Association Chairman Richard M. Feldman with honors bestowed on only a select few. 

During this year's Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows, Feldman was presented with the Key to the Olympic Village and was elected to the Lake Placid Hall of Fame.  To help celebrate the tribute, Feldman and his wife Diana were chosen to serve as Grand Marshalls of the town's annual Fourth of July Parade.

Throughout Lake Placid's long history as a center of Olympic sports, less than a dozen individuals have been presented the Key to the Olympic Village.  Feldman was so honored for his tireless efforts over the years to bring people to Lake Placid for the horse shows.  His leadership of the horse shows has solidified their position among the nation's most respected and loved shows and has added millions of dollars to the economy of the Adirondack resort town.

"The town of Lake Placid is excited to honor Dick Feldman for all he has done," said Robert T. Politi, North Elba Town Supervisor.  "We have chosen to honor him because he is someone who has made a difference, not only to the people who live here, but also to everyone connected with the horse show.  We appreciate everything Dick has done for the town, not just from an economic standpoint, but also for the notoriety he has brought to Lake Placid by promoting us wherever he goes."

Few cities or towns celebrate America's Independence Day as does Lake Placid.  The annual Fourth of July Parade down Main Street is the highlight of the celebration that also includes concerts, fairs and a breathtaking fireworks display over Mirror Lake.  This year, the town honored Feldman and his wife, Diana, by naming them Grand Marshalls of the parade.

In addition, Feldman is one of five new members of the Lake Placid Hall of Fame who will be inducted in formal ceremonies this fall, joining 112 previous members who have been inducted since the Hall of Fame was established by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) in 1983.

"This is my Academy Award," said Feldman.  "To be honored by the town on behalf of the horse show is a great honor and I have overwhelming gratitude for the town.  This is the pinnacle of everything I've done and I am so thankful to everyone in town, not only for this honor, but also for all they have done to support the horse shows."

To be considered for induction to the Lake Placid Hall of Fame, individuals must be past or current residents of the Olympic Region or have some significant connection to the area.  They must also have made significant contributions in sports, cultural or civic endeavors, or their pursuits must have enhanced the historical heritage of the area.

More than 70 individuals were considered for this year's induction with only the top five receiving the honor.  "When I was told about this, I was absolutely overwhelmed," Feldman said.  "What a fantastic honor!"

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Lake Placid Horse Shows.  The horse shows include two Grandprix events-the $75,000 RV Sales of Broward Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI 2* for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy and the $75,000 Hermès Grandprix CSI 2*. Following the Hermès Grandprix, the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence is awarded to the rider who has won the most combined prize money in Lake Placid's two Grand Prix.

"One of the things that make the Lake Placid Horse Shows so special is the world-class horses and riders who return each year," said Feldman. "We are very lucky to host our horse shows in such a wonderful town and everyone on the horse show circuit looks forward all year long to returning to Lake Placid.  As I ponder these honors, I know that it is a tribute to so many people who have all helped make our horse shows the best in the world!"

Richard M. Feldman Biography

For Lake Placid Horse Shows Association (LPHSA) Chairman Richard M. "Dick" Feldman, his work promoting and improving the annual Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows is a labor of love.  He confers with riders, trainers and owners, turns an experienced eye to the action in the ring, and is always ready to share an easy laugh with those who make the trip to visit his beloved horse shows.

"Dick Feldman is a unique individual and I don't think I can name anyone, anywhere who puts his whole heart and soul into a horse show the way he does," said Tim Hooker, a longtime competitor at the Lake Placid Horse Shows and one of the Board's three Vice Chairs.  "We are all so very lucky to have him."

 Dick Feldman joined the Lake Placid Horse Show Association (LPHSA) Board of Directors in 1987 at the request of then-chairman Martin Stone and he was elected Chairman when Stone stepped down in 1991.  Since then he has spent every moment he has during the horse shows conferring with riders, trainers and owners to see what he can do to improve his already highly respected horse shows.

"I tell them all: 'Don't tell me what's good about the horse show, tell me what's wrong with it!'  That's the only way we can make it better," he said.

Dick's efforts go way beyond what he does during the two weeks that the horse shows are in town.  He spends a tremendous amount of time at Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, continuing his conversations with exhibitors, not only seeking their input on improvements, but more importantly perhaps, making sure that Lake Placid is part of their travel plans.

"He stays in touch with us throughout the year, sending us notes when we win and copies of nice articles that he thinks we'd like to see," said Olympic veteran Margie Engle, a six-time Grandprix champion in Lake Placid.  "He really gives us no choice but to come to Lake Placid."

Because Dick works so hard to make sure that exhibitors come to Lake Placid each summer, the horse shows, and the town itself, reap incredible benefits.  "I don't know if we all truly realize just how much we benefit because of Dick's outstanding leadership," said Lou Jacobs, a rider who has competed at Lake Placid since the 1970s and who now works with Dick as a Vice-Chairman of the Board.

"The shows were in very precarious financial shape when Dick took over and were in danger of going under," Jacobs said.  "Needless to say, this would have been disastrous for the town.  Largely through Dick's efforts the shows are now on solid fiscal footing.  He has worked tirelessly and methodically to improve the shows and the grounds.  The net result is an event that is among the most popular and prestigious in the nation and one that brings thousands of people and millions of dollars into the town each year." 

Employed for 40 years with Lehman Brothers, where he became the company's youngest National Sales Manager, he is now a managing director of Barclays Wealth, the wealth management division of Barclays Bank.  Dick has helped position the horse show as one of the foremost events on the year-long horse show circuit.  In addition to his business savvy, a commitment to the town of Lake Placid and a genuine love for horses play a role in everything he does.

"You just can't beat the village and the people of Lake Placid," said Dick. "Each year the town and its residents open their doors and welcome the horse show back. They are a large part of what makes our horse show so special, and to them I am extremely grateful."

Dick fell in love with horses as a child during a family vacation to Arizona.  As the vacation drew to a close, he was so upset about having to leave his newfound equine friends that he hid in a closet hoping his family would leave without him.  Horses have been a part of his life ever since.

Whether in New York City's Central Park or Van Cortland Park or on the polo fields in West Palm Beach, hunting with the Scarteen Black and Tans in Ireland, or on his own farm in Lake Placid, Dick rides every day.  A founding father of the New York Parks Department Mounted Auxiliary, he wasa Master of Fox Hounds in New Jersey, a member of the Golden Bridge Club in North Salem, NY, and is on the Board of Trustees of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation.

Dick also has made his mark in horse racing.  With his family, he owned the Thoroughbred racehorse Bet Twice who won the Belmont Stakes by 13 lengths and was second in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 1987.

While Dick fell in love with horses as a youngster, his wife Diana fell in love with Lake Placid.  Also a member of the Lake Placid horse show board, Diana summered in Lake Placid as a child and she has made significant contributions to the horse show as well.

"From the moment he first joined the board I could tell how dear the horse shows were to Dick," Diana said.  "We both recognize how important the horse shows are to Lake Placid.  When the horse shows succeed, the community benefits.  Since we both love Lake Placid so much, we feel that the best way we can help the community is by making sure that the horse shows thrive."

Like Dick, Diana, president of DKF Enterprises, Inc., a New York-based corporate and custom gift company, is successful in business.  She also contributes greatly to charitable causes in New York, including the American Cancer Society for which she is a volunteer chairwoman for special events of the New York chapter. Diana was honored a couple of years ago by the American Cancer Society at its "Celebration of Life" Spring Gala as Humanitarian of the Year.

It was Diana who parlayed her understanding of the area's community spirit with a regular fixture of the show scene, its dogs, into what has become a major highlight of the horse shows each year - the annual Doggie Costume Contest.

"Dick and I both believe that the horse shows should be fun," she said.  "We believe in involving the community and in making the horse shows something everyone enjoys."

Dick and Diana also revived the horse shows' Window Decorating Contest,   triggering stores on Main Street to decorate their store fronts with             equestrian-related themes during the two weeks of the horse shows.

"I can't imagine anyone working harder for anything than Dick Feldman does for the Lake Placid Horse Shows," said former show manager Gene Mische, CEO of Stadium Jumping, Inc., the nation's most respected producer of hunter-jumper horse shows.  "I don't think a day passes that he isn't trying to do something to make the shows better."