 |
Newerla
Wins 2003 NDSA Championship For Riders With A Disability at
Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented by State Line Tack |
Kingston,
RI —June 25, 2003—In his first trip to the Bayer/USET
Festival of Champions, Presented by State Line Tack, Keith Newerla
of Seaford, NY, topped a field of 10 horse-and-rider combinations
to win the 2003 National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA) Championship
for Riders with a Disability. The Championship was held June 20-22
at the USET’s Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, New Jersey.
Twenty-year-old Newerla, and Atticus, a Hanovarian gelding owned
by Jenny Sutton, won all three phases of the competition earning
an overall score of 70.906% for the weekend. “It’s my
first year here,” he said. “I’m the rookie. Somehow
I ended up doing well, I guess it was beginner’s luck.”
However,
with his highest score of the weekend coming in the Musical Freestyle
competition, where he executed more movements than were required
in the test, Newerla proved that it was more than luck that landed
him on top. “I had a good day. Today was a good day but being
lucky helps,” he contested.
The
Championship was also used to select the team to represent the
United States in Belgium in September at the 2003 Dressage World
Championships for Riders with a Disability. Newerla will bypass
the competition in Belgium to be at school at Minnesota State
University-Moorhead where he studies broadcast journalism. The
six riders who were named to the squad are Lynn Seidemann of Coppell,
TX; Barbara Grassmyer of Placerville, CA; Rebecca Hart of Erie,
PA; Robin Brueckmann of Summerfield, NC; Cynthia Ruiz of Houston,
TX; and Kathryn Groves of Winter Garden, FL.
This
is the sixth year that riders with disabilities had 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 was 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.
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.
.
