Saturday July 22, 2006

USEF Announces U.S. Eventing Squad to Travel to England and Train For 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) is pleased to announce the eventing squad for the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games. Eight horse-and-rider combinations were selected to travel to England and train with Chef d’Equipe Captain Mark Phillips. From there, six will be chosen to compete in Aachen, Germany; four will ride for the team and two as individuals. The squad is as follows:

• Jan Byyny of Purcellville, VA, riding Task Force, a 15-year-old thoroughbred gelding, owned by J.C. Chester
• Kim Severson of Keene, VA, riding Winsome Adante, a 13-year-old English thoroughbred gelding, owned by Plain Dealing Farm, Inc.
• Amy Tryon of Duval, WA, riding Poggio II, a 14-year-old thoroughbred gelding, owned by Tryon and Mark Hart
• Heidi White of Aiken, SC, riding Northern Spy, a 13-year-old English thoroughbred gelding, owned by White

Alternates:

• Stephen Bradley of Leesburg, VA, riding Brandenburg’s Joshua, an 11-year-old thoroughbred gelding, owned by Southern Edition Farm, LLC
• Will Faudree of Southern Pines, NC, riding Antigua, a 17-year-old Australian thoroughbred gelding, owned by Faudree
• Bonnie Mosser of Kennett Square, PA, riding Jenga, a 13-year-old English thoroughbred gelding, owned by Mosser
• Karen O’Connor of The Plains, VA, riding Upstage, a 15-year-old New Zealand thoroughbred gelding, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thompson

These eight horse-and-rider combinations were chosen based on a myriad of criteria. After the final short-list outing on Monday, the horses shipped to the USEF Olympic training facility in Gladstone, NJ, where they underwent tests by three top veterinarians to determine their fitness level. The selectors met and chose four riders to appoint to the squad and four alternates. Of those eight, the selectors will chose two from the alternate list, at a later date, to make up the final team of six. They will then choose four from those six to compete in the team competition in Germany and two to compete as individuals. The remaining two alternates will be given the opportunity to compete in a three or four star competition in England during the WEG.

The 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games are being held in Aachen, Germany, August 20 – September 3. The eventing competition will take place from August 24-27.