Gladstone, NJ-June 22, 1998

The United State Equestrian Team (USET) has announced that it will host a $100,000 national Reining championship in 1999 with the first $100,000 Cosequin/USET Reining Championship Presented by Bayer. The championship will make its debut as part of the 1999 Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, June 24-27 at the USET Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, NJ.

"The Reining demonstrations at the 1998 Festival were extremely well received and showed a strong desire on the part of USET supporters to see more Reining at the Festival," said USET Executive Director Robert C. Standish. "In keeping with the championship level of competition for all our other disciplines at the Festival, we are eagerly looking forward to the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions hosting a major reining championship in 1999. The Reining Community in the US and abroad have embraced this new invitation and are very enthusiastic in its support of the USET pioneering the organization of Reining as a recognized international discipline."

The Cosequin/USET Reining Championship Presented By Bayer, will feature the nation's 20 best Reining horses, six years of age or older, all of whom will have qualified through a series of selection trials. The top five finishers at each of 10 selection trials will qualify for a semi-final to be held next May at the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby in Oklahoma City. The Derby will move to May from its traditional June date so as not to conflict with the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions.

The top 20 finishers among the 50 competitors in the semi-final will qualify for the championship at the Festival of Champions. Plans call for a new arena, designed and build specifically for Reining, to be constructed at the Pine Meadow area of the USET Olympic Training Center in Gladstone.

The USET Reining Committee is reviewing possible sites for the selection trials and an announcement of locations and dates is expected shortly.

"The establishment of a USET Reining championship at Gladstone is a dream come true for everyone in the Reining community," said Don Burt, chairman of the USET Reining Committee. "We want to express our deepest thanks to Cosequin and Bayer whose sponsorship support is vital to this effort and to everyone connected with the USET who is helping to make this possible."

For further information please contact The USET at (908) 234-1251.