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USET
Dressage Short List Selected For The World Equestrian
Games
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Gladstone,
NJ—June 9, 2002—The short list to determine the United
States Equestrian Team (USET) Dressage squad for the World Equestrian
Games (WEG) in Jerez, Spain was named today. The five riders and
horses that will go to Europe for further training before competing
in the WEG in September are: Debbie McDonald of Hailey, ID, and
Brentina, owned by Parry and Peggy Thomas; Guenter Seidel of Del
Mar, CA, with Nikolaus 7, owned by Dick and Jane Brown; Sue Blinks
of Wellington, FL, and Flim Flam, owned by owned by Fritz Kundrun
and Dressage Sponsor Corporation; Lisa Wilcox of Thousand Oaks,
CA, with Relevant, owned by Gundula Vorwerk and Dr. Claus Crone-Munzebrock;
and Christine Traurig of Carlsbad, CA, with Etienne, owned by
Kelly Trierweiler. Steffen Peters of Escondido, CA, with Grandeur,
owned by Robert and Lila Kommerstadt actually qualified in sixth
place but removed themselves from the selection process leaving
five riders to vie for the U.S. team.
The
final selections were made following four days of Dressage Trials
that took place over two weekends at the USET Headquarters and
Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, NJ, June 1-2 and June 8-9.
The first day of competition consisted of a Grand Prix class to
count for 30% of riders’ overall selection trial score with
the Grand Prix Special accounting for 25% the next day. There
was a second Grand Prix on the following Saturday, again representing
30%, and the remaining 15% of riders’ scores were taken from
the Freestyle on the final Sunday. The Trials also served as the
2002 USET Grand Prix Championship. The Grand Champion was Debbie
McDonald and Brentina and the Reserve Champion was Guenter Seidel
and Niklaus 7.
McDonald
finished first overall, but finished second in the Freestyle after
Brentina stumbled while trotting down the diagonal.
“I
didn’t know what happened,” said McDonald. “I found
out later that she spooked from a photographer. It was very scary,
it was a very big stumble, but then she felt fine.”
Seidel
won the Freestyle class riding Nikolaus 7 and came in second overall.
Seidel was pleased with his final showing.
“The
test for the most part lived up to my expectations,” said
Seidel. “There were some parts that were a little disappointing,
that I need to work on, but overall, I am very pleased with my
results.”
Lisa
Wilcox and Relevant, chose to qualify by competing in Europe.
Her score of 74.299% was the necessary 2% above the fourth place
competitor in Gladstone and therefore made the short list.
Three
competitors withdrew their horses from the trials due to various
medical reasons. Tom Noone, Shelly Francis and Betsy Steiner.
For
more information about the WEG Dressage Selection Trials or on
the USET, please call (908) 234-1251, or visit USET ONLINE at
www.uset.org..
RESULTS
GP Freestyle 4-day total (rank)
1.
Guenter Seidel Nikolaus 7 74.275% 70.671% (2)
2. Debbie McDonald Brentina 74.200% 71.216% (1)
3. Susan Blinks Flim Flam 71.725% 70.385% (3)
4. Steffen Peters Grandeur 71.600% 67.596% (6)
5. Christine Traurig Etienne 70.600% 68.820% (5)
6. Geunter Seidel Foltaire 70.275% 66.215% (7)
7. George Williams Rocher 68.400% 64.830% (8)
8. Lynda Cameron Orion 63.675% 60.193% (11)
9. Cherri Reiber G Tudor 62.850% 63.068% (9)
10. Susan J. Dutta Gumshoes- 61.525% 62.261%(10)
DC
Lisa Wilcox Relevant -- -- (4)
Tom Noone Fresco WD
Shelly J. Francis Gala WD
Betsy Steiner Rainier WD
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
.
