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U.S.
in Second Halfway Through Team Dressage at World Equestrian
Games 2002
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Jerez
de la Frontera, Spain – September 11, 2002 – At the
conclusion of the first day of the Grand Prix Dressage Team competition
on Wednesday, the United States Equestrian Team (USET) stands
in second place at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de
la Frontera, Spain.
In
one of the most exciting days in U.S. dressage history, the U.S.
squad received an extraordinary combined score of 3672, finishing
just slightly behind the heavily-favored German team who currently
leads with a score of 3707. The hometown team of Spain stands
third with a combined score of 3575.
Individually,
U.S. rider, Debbie McDonald of Hailey, ID, on Brentina owned by
Perry & Peggy Thomas, stands second with a score of 74.640%
to Nadine Cappelman of Germany and Farbehfroh’s leading score
of 77.960%. Beatriz Ferrer-Salat of Spain and Beauval had the
crowd on its feet scoring 74.560% which leaves them in third.
It
was a very emotional day for McDonald on many levels -- last year
on September 11 her mother passed away.
“Today
was a very big deal for me,” said McDonald, double-Gold Medalist
at the 1999 Pan American Games. “It was an emotional thing
because my mom passed away on this day last year and she very
much wanted to be here. It was a very important day. I wanted
to focus on our job and get a good score for the team and for
America.”
Teammate
Susan Blinks of Wellington, FL, riding Flim Flam owned by Fritz
Kundrun and the Dressage Sponsor Corporation, got things off to
a great start, receiving an impressive score of 72.03% to lead
the competition for most of the day and currently stands in fifth
individually.
“I
am so pleased to have done this for the team”, said Blinks,
a team Bronze Medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. “I
feel great, so relieved. My horse knows his job, he’s so
amazing. We’ve got our bases loaded now.”
USET
Dressage Chef D’equipe Jessica Ransehousen was thrilled with
the standings at the end of the day and felt the U.S. team was
stronger than ever.
“We
have been fighting for so long,” said Ransehousen. “It’s
the first time in my experience that I felt there was a real competition.
We have been waiting for this.”
The
Grand Prix dressage competition that determines the team medal
concludes on Thursday with U.S. rider Guenter Seidel riding in
the early afternoon on Nikolaus 7, owned by Dick and Jane Brown.
Lisa Wilcox on Relevant, owned by Gundula Vorwerk and Dr. Claus
Crone-Munzebrock, anchors the U.S. team in the evening.
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
.
