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Jeff
Welles Wins $25,000 USET Festival of Champions Grand Prix
at 2003 Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented by
State Line Tack
|
Gladstone,
New Jersey—June 20, 2003—Jeff Welles of Newtown, CT,
rode Penelope to victory in the $25,000 USET Festival of Champions
Grand Prix at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented by
State Line Tack.
Welles
was one of seven entries of the starting field of 28 to qualify
for a tiebreaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the
16-effort, first-round course designed by Richard Jeffery. He
clinched the win when he turned in a penalty-free ride over the
seven-jump tiebreaker course in a time of 36.590 seconds.
Margie
Engle of Wellington, FL had held the lead after finishing the
jump-off course fault-free in 36.770 seconds on Hidden Creek’s
Perin, her 2000 Sydney Olympic mount. However, Welles made no
concessions to the rain-soaked course and sped around the course
to edge Engle by less than two-tenths of a second on the 12-year-old,
German-bred mare on whom he claimed the Grand Prix win last weekend
at Ox Ridge.
“She
is jumping really well right now and I had no worries about going
too fast because the footing is really good here,” Welles
said. “She’s always fast in the jump-off and I couldn’t
have asked more of her today.”
In
dressage, Keith Newerla won the first round of the National Disability
Sports Alliance (NDSA) Championship for Riders with Disabilities.
The NDSA Championship is serving as the selection trial to pick
the U.S. team for this year’s World Championships for Riders
with Disabilities to be held in Belgium in September.
This
year’s Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented by State
Line Tack also features 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 also features the Cosequin USET Pan American Games Dressage
Selection Trials to pick the dressage team that will represent
the United States at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic. The Trials continue on Saturday, June 21 with
the USET Intermediaire I class. The final phase of the Selection
Trials, the USET Intermediaire Freestyle, will take place on Sunday,
June 22, and the team will be named by immediately following the
conclusion of this class.
The
Festival is also hosting 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 on Saturday.
The
Bayer Reining Division features the $50,000 USET Reining Championship,
the USET Futures Championship, presented by Intervet, and the
Reining Young Rider Medal Final.
Along with top-level equestrian competition, spectators are also
able to enjoy a day of family fun and entertainment. A wide range
of gourmet dining options as well as a country fair featuring
the New Jersey Equine Expo hosted by the New Jersey Department
of Agriculture complement the equestrian activities taking place
in three rings. The fair features equine demonstrations, falconry
and blacksmith demonstrations, the Jersey Fresh Horse Expo, as
well as vendors offering top-quality jewelry, souvenirs, and products
for the home as well as the stable.
General Festival 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.
Full results of the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented
by State Line Tack are available on the USET website at www.uset.org.
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
.
