 |
National
Disability Sports Alliance Announces Riders for NDSA Championship
at Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, Presented by State Line
Tack |
Gladstone,
NJ—June 5, 2003— The National Disability Sports Alliance
(NDSA) has announced the list of riders who have accepted invitations
to participate in the NDSA Championship for Riders with Disabilities
at the Bayer/United States Equestrian Team (USET) Festival of
Champions, presented by State Line Tack, June 19-22 at the USET
Headquarters and Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, NJ.
This
year, the Championship will serve as the final selection trial
for the USA Disabled Equestrian Team that will compete at the
International Paralympic Equestrian Committee (I.P.E.C.) Dressage
World Championships being held in Moorseles, Belgium in September.
The
NDSA Championship, presented by the National Horse Sports Foundation
and sponsored by Turner Construction Company, brings together
this country’s top riders with physical disabilities, including
several members of the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Team.
They
will compete in a Team Test, Individual Championship, and Musical
Freestyle on Friday, June 20, Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June
22 in the Dick and Jane Brown Arena. The overall placing of the
NDSA Champion and Reserve Champion will be based on the combined
scores of the Individual Championship and Freestyle class. The
national championship will be awarded, and the members of the
2003 World Championship U.S.A. Team will be named, at the completion
of Sunday’s competition.
Riders
with disabilities are “graded”, Grades I through IV,
which is determined by their level of physical ability, not by
their riding skills. There are different tests for each Grade,
dependent on the level of disability. Grade I and II riders compete
in Walk/Trot tests only, but are required to perform more difficult
movements, such as 10 meter circles, shoulder-in and medium trot.
Grade III and IV tests require walk, trot and canter, with the
most difficult test equivalent to approximately a fourth level
test. Riders are permitted to include higher-level movements in
their musical freestyle.
The
following riders have qualified and accepted invitations to participate
in this year’s NDSA Championship:
Grade
Name Hometown
I Lynn Seidemann Coppell, TX
I Keith Newerla* Seaford, NY
II Cynthia Ruiz Houston, TX
II Darlene Wirth Overland Park, KS
II Margo O'Callaghan* Seattle, WA
III Barbara Grassmyer Placerville, CA
III Rebecca Hart Erie, PA
IV Robin Brueckmann Summerfield, NC
IV Kebbie Cannon Mineral Springs, NC
IV Kathryn Groves Winter Garden, FL
*
Denotes riders not competing for World Championship berth
This
is the sixth year that riders with disabilities have the privilege
of competing at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, presented
by State Line Tack. The first three years, riders participated
in the Bradshaw Challenge of Champions, with the NDSA Championship
premiering in 2001. This year’s event is expanded to three
days of competition and includes 10 of the best riders from around
the country.
Turner
Construction Company, sponsor of the NDSA Championship for Riders
with Disabilities, is a long time supporter of riders with disabilities.
Turner has sponsored many events with NDSA, including the 2000
Paralympic Selection Trials, which were also held at the USET
Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, and the 2002 Inner Vision
Championships, held in Huntington, New York.
In
addition to the NDSA Championship at the Festival, the National
Disability Sports Alliance is also pleased to be managing the
2003 Mills Team Challenge at Dressage at Lamplight, July 17-20
in Illinois. Four young riders with disabilities have been invited
to compete in this event, from which one individual will emerge
as “Young Rider Champion.” At the Mills Team Challenge,
young riders with disabilities will join with able-bodied competitors
to form teams and compete in an overall “Team Challenge”
competition. In 2004, the Mills Team Challenge will return to
being part of the North American Young Riders Championships, at
Tempel Farm in Illinois.
Dressage
at Devon has also joined with NDSA and will host the first ever
NDSA Grade IV Championship on September 26-28. Four of the country’s
top Grade IV riders will be invited to compete in an overall championship
at this prestigious East Coast event.
The
National Disability Sports Alliance is the national governing
body for equestrian sport for equestrian athletes with disabilities.
The non-profit organization is responsible for the development
and selection of riders for national championships and international
competitions, including World Championships and the Paralympic
Games, and provides training, competition and advocacy for riders
of all levels with physical disabilities. For more information
about NDSA and opportunities to support the programs, please visit
our website at www.ndsaequestrian.org
or contact Denise Avolio at (914) 949-8166 or diavolio@ndsaonline.org.
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