Eventing Talent Tour Prepares for Luhmühlen

Gladstone, New Jersey - June 8th , 2005 - The United States Equestrian Federation's High Performance Committee is sending four horse and rider teams which will represent the USEF in a Talent Tour to the Luhmühlen CCI **** in Germany, June 15-20, the first four-star three-day event to take place on the European continent.

Funded in part by the US Equestrian Team Foundation in association with the USEF, this tour will give four riders who have not competed for the United States in International competition a chance to compete abroad. All four of the riders chosen were also members of the 2005 US Equestrian Team Winter Training List, meeting regularly with US eventing team coach Captain Mark Phillips and show jumper Laura Kraut for training sessions around the US.

To represent the USEF in this particular Talent Tour, riders could not have previously represented a country at an Olympic Games or World Equestrian Games. Riders were also required to be qualified for a four-star event by April 18, the Monday following the Foxhall Cup.

The Talent Tour includes the following four riders, whose outstanding achievements prompted selectors to choose them to represent the United States in Germany.

Bonnie Mosser of Coatesville, PA will ride her own Jenga, an 11-year-old bay English Thoroughbred gelding, (Brigadier Linden x Gledes Scallywag). The winners of the 2002 Foxhall Cup CCI***, in 2004 Bonnie and Jenga won the World Cup Qualifier at Over the Walls Horse Trials, then went on to compete at the World Cup Championship in Pau, France. In April 2005 the pair placed third at the Foxhall Cup CCI***.

A native New Yorker, Bonnie is now based at her own Point Above Farm in Coatesville, PA where she rides her own horses as well as has horses in training.

Jan Byyny Thompson competed at the 2004 Blenheim CCI*** and Burghley CCI**** in England, qualified two horses for the 2004 Olympics, and was on the gold medal winning Pan-American Team at Fair Hill in 2003 where she also took individual bronze riding Shared Dreams. In 2005 Jan and Waterfront, a ten-year-old English thoroughbred gelding owned by her parents, placed fourth at Red Hills and second at the Foxhall Cup CCI***.

Jan operates Surefire Farm in Purcellville, VA where she produces international level event horses as well as running a successful training, lesson and sales business. She spent the winter in Aiken, Sc training with Phillip Dutton.

Nathalie Bouckaert Pollard won the North American Young Rider Championships in 1997 and 1998 and has had a series of strong performances in 2005, recently winning the Virginia CIC** riding Westfarthing, an English thoroughbred that belongs to her father, Belgian event rider Carl Bouckaert, who will compete against his daughter at Luhmuehlen for the first time at the Advanced level, riding Chumbawumba.

Nathalie and her husband, Michael Pollard are based at Bouckaert Farm in Chatsworth, GA, where they run a training and teaching business.

The 2000 alternate for the US Eventing Team in Sydney and a veteran of the Winter Training List, Becky Holder will ride her husband Tom’s gray thoroughbred gelding, Courageous Comet. This year she and Courageous Comet have won the Advanced horse trials at Poplar Place, Pine Top Spring Advanced HT, and Sporting Days in Aiken.

Becky trains out of Carriage House Farm in Hugo, Minnesota, owned by Ann Bower, DVM and her husband John Weber, where Becky coaches riders competing at all levels. Currently she also serves as the USEA 2005 Area IV Young Rider Coach and instructor for the Junior Developing Rider Program (JDRP) in Minnesota.

Many European eventers will be using Luhmühlen as a qualifying event for the European Championships, so competition will be of the highest caliber. The above group of US riders is currently training in Gladstone, New Jersey at the USET Foundation headquarters and will fly to Germany on June 11.

About the United States Equestrian Team Foundation:

The United States Equestrian Team Foundation (www.uset.org <http://www.uset.org/> ) is the non-profit organization that supports the competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America’s elite an developing international, high-performance horses and athletes in partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation.

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Photo Credit: Bonnie Mosser and Jenga at the Foxhall Cup Photo by Amber Heintzberger