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Endurance Riders At Pan American Championship
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TROUT LAKE,
WA - - Over 100 endurance riders and their horses from 10 countries
are gathering at the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest at Trout Lake,
WA for the 2003 Pan American Endurance Championship. The USA will
field five teams while Canada is sending two. The countries of Denmark,
Germany, Greece, Japan, New Zealand, Romania, Spain and Sweden are
also sending top ranked riders to challenge the trails.
Competitors
will begin the 100 mile (160 km.) ride over rolling terrain at 5:00
the morning of September 13. Although they have a full 24 hours
to complete the ride, the winners are expected to cross the finish
line in about half that time. Riders will also be vying for the
coveted Best Condition and High Vet Score awards, which reward the
excellent physical condition of the top endurance horses.
USA
Pacific South rider Heather (Bergantz) Reynolds will be looking
to earn her second consecutive individual gold medal, although the
horse she is riding is not the one she rode to success at the 2001
PAC. Reynolds, this year’s Tevis Cup winner, said she thinks
her chances of doing well with the 7-year-old Arabian gelding Aleclipse
are very good. "I feel very good about the ride," she
said.
The
USA East team will be defending the Team Gold it won at the 2001
Pan American Championship, with three of the winning four riders
returning to the squad. They will be joined by Valerie Kanavy and
her Arabian gelding Emphatic, co-winners at last year’s World
Masters Championship.
PAC
2003 organizer Stephanie Irving said preparations for the competition
are on schedule. This being one of the driest years in history,
they are working with the Forest Service on a fire prevention plan,
and a strict protocol to reduce the fire risk. The local volunteer
fire department will be keeping the camp and the trail supplied
with ample water. "We’re fortunate that forestry officials
are working with us to allow us to go ahead with the PAC and to
keep our riders, horses and the environment safe," said Irving.
For
updated news and information, visit www.endurance.net/2003pac
.
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