2025 USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference | Heather Bender and Keisha B Day 1

Christine Traurig helps USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist and Certified Instructor through Fourth Level Heather Bender improve her 9-year-old KWPN mare Keisha B’s suppleness with transitions and gymnasticizing exercises. To encourage “Keisha” to become more of a box instead of a rectangle as she moves up the levels, Traurig helps Bender cultivate the quality of the mare’s bend through circle work and exercises to control the outside shoulder. Christine Traurig is the current Chef d'Equipe and Technical Advisor and Development Coach of the U.S. Dressage Team and has been a part of the U.S. Dressage Pathway programs for more than a decade. She was named Chef d'Equipe in late 2023 and helped the U.S. Dressage Team earn team gold at the 2023 Pan American Games in her championship debut with the team, before leading her first Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Traurig also had a successful career as a dressage athlete, representing the U.S. at the 2000 Olympic Games aboard Etienne, where they helped the team earn bronze.