Week in Review - U.S. Equestrian

Individual Medals in Dressage, Eventing and Show Jumping Awarded at 2007 CN North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championships Presented by Gotham North and UlcerGard

The awarding of individual medals in dressage, eventing and show jumping highlighted a successful conclusion of the 2007 CN North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championships (NAJYRC), presented by Gotham North and UlcerGard, at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA.

Also, the combined team of Areas III and X won the team Gold in eventing’s CCI** for young riders and Area IX won the Gold in the CCI* for junior riders. Earlier in the week Region 7 won the young riders team Gold in dressage with Canada winning the Gold for juniors, and Zone 10 won show jumping team Gold in both young riders and juniors.

The USEF is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a Para-Equestrian Training Session with Sharon Schneidman, September 5-6, 2007, at the Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Canter in Woodville, WA.

Para-equestrian stands for equestrians with disabilities that compete in parallel competitions from national programs through the Olympics. This training session is designed to help riders who have various disabilities learn more about competing in dressage at a national or international level. The training sessions will last 45 minutes each, and auditors are invited to attend at no charge.

The United States Equestrian Federation is seeking an individual to fill the position of endurance chef d’equipe. The successful candidate will be provided with a contract for the 2008-2010 biennium and possibly longer.

Sonja S. Keating has been named senior vice president and general counsel for the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). Before this appointment, Keating served as associate general counsel for the USEF. Prior to joining the Federation staff, Keating was associated with the Lexington office of the Cincinnati-based law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, where she practiced in the litigation department. Keating worked closely with Julie Goodman, former General Counsel, in both private practice and at the USEF.

American Saddlebred Horse Association Announces Regional Championship Competitions for 2008

At its meeting on Tuesday, July 31, the Executive Committee of the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) designated regional championship competitions throughout the United States for 2008.

The first official regional championship was held in 2005 at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA, for the Northeastern region. That competition was selected again, but in this instance for Region 11 only, encompassing the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia. The event is scheduled October 14-18, 2008. A new regional championship event has been named for Region 12 in 2008 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) at Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA, scheduled for September 11-14, 2008.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) released its new positioning statement, “Amazing Awaits,” in an effort to help communicate the unique values of the Olympic brand ahead of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“‘Amazing Awaits’ is intended to tell the story of how Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls get to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and how that journey is the embodiment of the American spirit,” said Jim Scherr, USOC Chief Executive Officer. “The USOC is excited about the launch of this new campaign, and we feel 'Amazing Awaits' captures the essence of the Olympic and Paralympic dream.”

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced that three Olympians will headline a stellar group of speakers for the USDF/USEF Young Rider Graduate Program, to be held January 18-20, 2008, in West Palm Beach, FL: Debbie McDonald, USEF National Developing Rider Coach, 2004 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team Bronze medalist and winner of the 2003 World Cup Dressage Final; Lisa Wilcox, 2004 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team Bronze medalist and 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games Team Silver medalist; and Carol Lavell, 1992 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team Bronze medalist, two-time United States Olympic Committee Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year and 1992 American Horse Shows Association/Hertz Equestrian of the Year.

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The Samsung Super League with FEI leaders from Germany will be last into the ring for Friday's seventh leg of the 2007 series in Dublin following Thursday's draw at the Royal Dublin Society showgrounds. The order of go will be as follows: 1. Belgium; 2. France; 3. Switzerland; 4. Ireland; 5. USA; 6. The Netherlands; 7. Great Britain; 8. Sweden; 9. Germany.

Laura Kraut and Cedric won the grand prix at the CSI*** Hachenburg in Germany on August 5 over a very competitive field of 53 horses and riders from across Europe.

The region’s top dressage talent converged at the Colorado Horse Park for Dressage in the Rockies, August 3-5, 2007. The event, which offered three separate shows for riders to earn three sets of qualifying scores and points, featured classes for professionals, amateurs and juniors, from training to the FEI levels. With more than $7,500 in prize money and awards, the events drew riders not only from Colorado, but also throughout the region.

The World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc., announced Lloyd Landkamer, of Hamel, MN, as the Para-Equestrian Discipline Manager for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Landkamer becomes one of nine managers responsible for planning, managing and directing the World Championship competitions in eight equestrian sports, communicating with the high-performance community and related organizations, and overseeing development and administration of the discipline’s budget. The nine managers will work on a contract basis with the World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc.

USET Foundation's Equestrian Application to 2008 Rose Parade Accepted; Olympians in Three Disciplines Will Ride on New Year's Day Before Millions

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation's Equestrian Application to field a squad of 12 Olympic riders in the 2008 Rose Parade has been officially accepted by the Equestrian Committee of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. The USET Foundation will select four Olympians from each of the three Olympic disciplines (dressage, show jumping and eventing) to ride in the 119th Rose Parade on January 1, 2008, in Pasadena, CA. The USET Foundation squad will lead the floral float entered by the Beijing Olympic Games Committee.

The Kentucky Horse Council Board welcomes three new members, announced President Madelyn Millard of Waterwild Farm.

A successful week of hunter/jumper competition at Horse Shows by the Bay III came to a close on Sunday, August 5, and it also marked the end of the three-week equestrian festival in Traverse City, MI, at Flintfields.

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A successful week of hunter/jumper competition at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show came to a close on Sunday, August 5. Produced by Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC, the summer shows are held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The Kentucky Summer Classic is scheduled for next week from August 8-12.

The new Ariat

USA

“Look of the Team” merchandise is now available at the USEF online store. Visit the store online to check out the latest Ariat USA men’s and women’s polos and vests!

Remember to take advantage of the USEF MemberPerks Program. USEF MemberPerks offers substantial cost savings on products and services from John Deere, Dodge, Office Max, UPS and many more!

For more information, please call (877) 576-6872 or fax (859) 422-9407, or visit USEF.org's MemberPerks page.

Late on August 2, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the funding bill for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for Fiscal Year 2008 after removing the overly broad language that was opposed by the horse industry.

Beautifully Hand-Crafted USEF Leather Bags Made Exclusively by Freedman Harness, Canada

Call toll free today to order your USEF Leather Bags at (877) 256-7674 or visit www.freedmanharness.com.

It’s summertime and the savings are easy with the United States Equestrian Federation Visa ® Platinum Card, now offering 0% APR for 12 billing cycles*! With this special card, you can take an extended vacation from interest payments. So whether you use your United States Equestrian Federation Visa for some patio plants right now, or for a fun vacation later this summer, it’s the perfect time to switch and save. Plus, you’ll benefit our organization and earn great rewards with every purchase!

The United States Equestrian Federation Visa ® Platinum Card alsoprovides great benefits, including:

This Visa Platinum card issued by U.S. Bank is now the only card that supports the United States Equestrian Federation. Upon receiving your new card, the United States Equestrian Federation receives a payment from U.S. Bank, and then we will continue to receive a percentage of each net purchase you make on your card. This helps us fund our international teams.

*Click product name for terms and conditions: College Rewards, Platinum, Cash Rewards and Select Rewards. We may change APRs, fees, and other Account terms in the future based on your experience with other creditors or U.S. Bank National Association, N.D. and its affiliates according to the Cardmember Agreement and applicable law. The introductory rate does not apply to cash advances and is valid for the first 12 billing cycles. The rate will end early and increase to the APR for Purchases and Balance Transfers or to a Delinquency Rate APR if your Account is delinquent, over the limit or closed. We apply your payments to balances with lower APRs first.

The creditor and issuer of the Visa Platinum card is the U.S. Bank National Association ND.

The United States Equestrian Federation®, Inc. (USEF), as the National Equestrian Federation of the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting, as well as 20 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the country's largest multi-breed organization, the Federation has over 86,000 members and recognizes more than 2,800 competitions nationwide each year. It governs all aspects of competition, including educating and licensing all judges, stewards and technical delegates who officiate at these shows.

The vision of USEF is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America, promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grass roots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its horses, and embracing this vision, to be the best national equestrian federation in the world.