Posted, April 20, 2006

USET Foundation to Host Dressage Festival of Champions at Gladstone, June 15-18

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation will host “The USET Foundation Dressage Festival of Champions Featuring the 2006 Collecting Gaits Farm USEF National Grand Prix Championship / World Equestrian Games Selection Trials & USEF National Intermediaire I Championship Presented by Paul Miller, Inc.” on June 15-18, 2006, at the Foundation’s headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey.

The event will also feature the USEF Para-Equestrian National Dressage Championships; Brentina Cup Championship; Official Region 1 USDF Qualifying Competition for the 2006 North American Young Riders Championships; and qualifying competition for the 2006 USEF Junior Dressage Team Championships.

Topnotch riders from across the country will be showcased in this spectacular dressage event. Vying for the National Grand Prix Championship and a berth on the team bound for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, will be the 12 highest ranked rider/horse combinations invited to compete following the conclusion of the qualifying competitions, which began in July 2005 and will conclude on June 4, 2006. The Intermediaire I championship contestants will also be the 12 highest ranked rider/horse combinations following the qualifying period.

Of special note is the inaugural Brentina Cup for riders between the ages of 18 and 26 who are competing at the Intermediaire II level. This first-time championship will feature the eight rider/horse combinations with the highest overall average scores from qualifying competitions held January 1 - June 1, 2006.

Officiating at the dressage festival will be a world-class panel of “I” judges – the highest ranking judges in the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale): Anne Gribbons, USA; Uwe Mechlem, Germany; Janet Brown, USA; Hilda Gurney, USA; and Jessica Ransehousen, USA.

Pam Lane of Los Angeles will head up the four-day dressage event as show manager. Lane was the co-manager at Oaks Blenheim in San Juan Capistrano, California, for the 2004 Dressage Selection Trials for the Athens Olympic Games.

All competition will be held in the Dick and Jane Brown Arena – the main outdoor ring at Gladstone. Classes are scheduled to be held daily, Thursday through Sunday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission for spectators is free. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Bleacher seating will be available on two sides of the arena. Attendees will also have the opportunity to reserve table seating in the VIP tent overlooking the arena. VIP seating includes refreshments and daily gourmet lunches. Vendors in the entry courtyard at USET Foundation Headquarters will provide food and shopping opportunities all four days of the festival.

Special Evening Event June 17 - USET Foundation Gala & Auction

In addition to the competition, the dressage festival will also present the “United States Equestrian Team Foundation Gala & Auction” on Saturday night, June 17, as a benefit event for the U.S. Equestrian Teams.

Featured at the gala will be the live auction of the “Klaus Balkenhol Training Package.” The winning bidder will spend a month in Germany training with U.S. Dressage Team Chef d’Equipe Klaus Balkenhol. The package includes board for the horse and housing for the rider in the private home of David and Arlene ‘Tuny’ Page in Germany.

Tickets and Reservation Information

For information and ticket reservations for the USET Foundation Gala & Auction on June 17, or to participate in the Klaus Balkenhol Training Package auction via telephone on June 17, contact Maureen Pethick at the USET Foundation at (908) 234-1251 ext. 207, fax (908) 234-0670, E-mail mpethick@uset.org.

To reserve VIP tables (June 15-18) at the “USET Foundation Dressage Festival of Champions Featuring the 2006 Collecting Gaits Farm USEF National Grand Prix Championship / World Equestrian Games Selection Trials & USEF National Intermediaire I Championship Presented by Paul Miller, Inc.” contact Randi Leone at (908) 252-9580 or E-mail randese@earthlink.net.

For general information about the event, call (908) 234-0848.