 |
United
States Equestrian Team Announces Plans for 13th Annual
Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, presented by State Line
Tack
|
Gladstone, N—February 6, 2003—The United States Equestrian
Team (USET) will host the 13th annual Bayer/USET Festival of Champions,
presented by State Line Tack, June 19-22 at the USET’s Olympic
Training Center in Gladstone, New Jersey.
The
2003 event will showcase four equestrian disciplines- dressage,
show jumping, endurance, and reining. The nation’s best riders
will be vying for USET Championships as well as the right to represent
their country in upcoming international competition.
The Festival’s dressage competitions will feature the USET
Grand Prix Championship as well as the USET Intermediaire Championship.
The USET Intermediaire Championship will serve as the selection
trials to choose the horses and riders who will represent the
United States at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santa Domingo,
the Dominican Republic in August.
The Dressage division will once again feature the National Disability
Sports Alliance (NDSA) Championship for Riders with Disabilities.
This year, the Championship will serve as the Final Selection
Trial for the team that will represent the U.S. at the World Championship
for Riders with Disabilities to be held in Belgium in September.
Along with the dressage competition, the ballet of equestrian
sports, the Festival will feature the power and speed of show
jumping. The Show Jumping Division will be highlighted by the
$50,000 Rolex/USET Show Jumping Championship, a member event of
the American Grandprix Association (AGA), and the USET Junior
and Amateur-Owner Talent Derbies, both presented by BET on Jazz
and both part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic
Series.
The
Festival will again host the USET Endurance 75-Mile Championship,
a Fédération Equestre Internationale (International
Equestrian Federation – FEI) sanctioned CEI** ride. The ride
will take place in and around the USET grounds.
The
Bayer Reining Division returns, the fifth consecutive year the
Festival will feature reining. Teams of reiners from several countries
will compete in the COSEQUIN® CRIO Nations’ Cup. Riders
from all over the nation will vie for the prestigious USET Reining
Championship, presented by Bayer. The reining ring will also feature
the USET Futures Championship and the Reining Young Rider Medal
Final, which holds qualifying classes at reining competitions
throughout the country over the course of the year-long qualifying
period. These competitions award points to the top placing riders.
At the end of the year, the top point earning Young Riders are
invited to compete in Gladstone at the finals.
Along with top-level equestrian competition, spectators will be
able to enjoy a day of family fun and entertainment. A wide range
of gourmet dining options as well as a country fair will complement
the equestrian activities taking place in three rings. The fair
will feature equine demonstrations, falconry and blacksmith demonstrations,
the Children’s Coral, as well as vendors offering top-quality
jewelry, souvenirs, and products for the home as well as the stable.
General admission will be ten dollars for adults and five dollars
for children under the age of twelve. Children under the age of
six will again be admitted free of charge.
The United States Equestrian Team is a non-profit organization
that selects, trains, equips and finances equestrians of the highest
possible standard to represent our country in major international
competition, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
To accomplish this, the USET seeks out and nurtures the development
of talented athletes - riders, drivers and horses - and provides
the support and guidance they need to help them attain their fullest
potential. For more information on the USET, please call (908)
234-1251, or visit USET ONLINE at www.uset.org
.
