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David
O’Connor Wins USET Eventing Three-Star Fall Championship
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Gladstone,
NJ—October 28, 2002— Sydney Olympic Gold Medalist David
O’Connor of The Plains, VA rode Custom Made to a fairytale
finish to the horse’s illustrious career when he won the
U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Eventing Three-Star Fall Championship
held at the Fair Hill International in Fair Hill, MD.
O’Connor
sat in second after the dressage phase of the competition with
a score of 37.01 penalties. Following the cross country phase,
O’Connor took over the top position in the standings with
a two-phase total of 44.61 penalties. On the final day of competition,
O’Connor’s 4 fault performance in the show jumping phase
gave him an overall score of 48.61 penalties to earn him the USET
Championship title for the second consecutive year and sixth time
overall (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001).
O’Connor
had announced that this year’s Fair Hill International would
be the final competition for his Olympic Gold Medal mount, Custom
Made, a 17-year-old Thoroughbred, owned by Xandarius LLC. The
pair’s championship finish was a repeat of the dramatic farewell
appearance of one of O’Connor’s earlier successful mounts,
Wilton Fair, whom he rode to the Fair Hill Championship in the
horse’s final appearance in 1993.
“This
was really an amazing weekend for me,” said O’Connor.
“It’s been a storybook career with Custom Made and all
I really wanted was for him to have a great weekend and go out
in good form. The fact that it happened like this is a dream.
For us to win, well, I was lucky enough to have it happen with
Wilton Fair, to have it happen again is way more than I had any
right to hope for.”
Finishing
second in the CCI *** for the second straight year was two-time
Australian Olympic team Gold Medalist Phillip Dutton, who had
a score of 51.60 on Dusky Moon, an 8-year-old Thoroughbred. Finishing
as USET Reserve Champion with an overall third place finish was
Heidi White of Unionville, PA, who had a score of 52.41 on Northern
Spy, her 9-year-old English Thoroughbred.
The
USET also awarded to Will Faudree of West Grove, PA the USET Markham
Trophy awarded to the highest placed Young Rider for his fourth
place finish aboard Antigua. The Midland, TX native finished with
a score of 54.8 penalties.
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
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