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Vaulting
Demonstrations to Highlight Activities at Bayer/USET Festival
of Champions, Presented by State Line Tack
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Gladstone,
NJ—June 5, 2003— The United States Equestrian Team (USET)
will once again feature vaulting demonstrations at the 2003 Bayer/USET
Festival of Champions, presented by State Line Tack, June 19 –
22 at the USET Headquarters and Olympic Training Center in Gladstone,
NJ.
Youth
members of the American Vaulting Association (AVA)’s Friendship
Vaulting Team will conduct daily demonstrations of vaulting, the
newest USET discipline that features gymnastics performed on a
cantering horse.
The
AVA Friendship Team is a specially selected group of high-level
vaulters from vaulting clubs and teams across the country. Formed
in 1995 to represent the sport of vaulting at sporting events
of all kinds all over the country, they come together to perform,
often on unfamiliar horses. In 2002, the AVA Friendship Team delighted
the crowd at the Festival with their “vault-on” running
mounts, handstands, and pyramid formations.
Since
late 2001, when the USET added vaulting to its stable of international
competition, vaulting has gained increasing recognition and popularity.
U.S. vaulters continue to achieve success in international competition.
In 2002, the USET sent its first vaulting team to the World Equestrian
Games in Jerez, Spain and Devon Maitozo of Acton, CA, came away
with the individual Bronze Medal in the men’s division.
Spectators
who come to this year’s Festival will be able to see first
hand why vaulting is a fun, exciting equestrian discipline to
watch.
Along
with exciting vaulting demonstrations, the 2003 Bayer/USET Festival
of Champions, presented by State Line Tack, will also feature
world-class competition in dressage, endurance riding, reining,
and show jumping.
The
Dressage Division at the Festival will include the USET Intermediaire
Championship which will serve as the selection trials to choose
the horses and riders who will represent the United States in
dressage at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic
in August. Also featured are the USET Grand Prix Championship,
qualifiers for the North American Young Riders’ Championships,
and the National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA) Championship
for Riders with Disabilities, which will serve as the final selection
trial for the team that will represent the U.S. at the World Championships
for Riders with Disabilities to be held in Belgium in September.
Additionally,
the Festival will again host 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.
The
Bayer Reining Division will return to the Festival for the fifth
consecutive year. Teams of reiners from several countries will
compete in the $10,000 USET CRIO Gladstone Reining Nations’
Cup, presented by Cosequin®. Riders from all over the nation
will vie for the prestigious $75,000 USET Reining Championship,
presented by Bayer.
The
reining ring will also feature the $25,000 Futures Reining Championship,
presented by Intervet; the $10,000 Invitational Freestyle, presented
by Cosequin®; and the USET Young Rider Reining Medal Finals,
which holds qualifying classes at reining competitions throughout
the country over the course of the year-long qualifying period.
These competitions award points to the top placing riders. At
the end of the year, the top point-earning Young Riders are invited
to compete in Gladstone at the finals.
The
Show Jumping Division will be highlighted by 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.
Besides
top-level equestrian competition, spectators at the 2003 Festival
will be able to enjoy a day of family fun and entertainment. A
wide range of gourmet dining options as well as a country fair
will complement the equestrian activities taking place in three
rings. The fair will feature 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
admission will be $10 for adults and $5 for children under the
age of twelve. Children under the age of six will again be admitted
free of charge. There will be free admission for all spectators
on Thursday, June 19.
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
.
