Important Reminder! Today, March, 20, 2013 is the Last Day for U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Riders to Submit Their Letter Of Intent for the 2014 Alltech FEI WEG™

Thousand Oaks, CA - Today, March, 20, 2013 is the last day for U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage riders to submit their letter Of intent for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™. Submit the Letter of Intent to: Letter of Intent and Performance Plan Questionnaire be completed and submitted to Laureen Johnson at the USEF via email to lkjohnson@usef.org, fax:  908-234-9417 or mail to PO Box 83, Gladstone, NJ 07934 no later than March 20, 2013. * Please download the document here: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF*. The 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games Para-Dressage will take place in Normandy, France August 25 - August 30, 2014. Below is athlete information on the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ Courtesy of Laureen Johnson from the United States Equestrian Federation:The purpose of this memorandum is to update you with the general requirements and information regarding the method of selection that the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) intends to use to select the 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games (WEG) Para-Dressage Team. The Para-Equestrian Eligible Athlete Committee and the Para-Equestrian High Performance Committee are in the process of developing the details of the selection method. It is planned that the final approved Selection Procedure will be published late spring/early summer, 2013.
 
1. DRAFT REQUIREMENTS:
 
A. Minimum eligibility requirements for an Athlete to be considered for nomination to the Team:

1. Citizenship - The athlete must be a U.S. citizen and in compliance with FEI General Regulations, 23rd Edition, Article 119, which can be found on the FEI's website at www.fei.org, at the time of application, selection, and until the conclusion of the 2014 World Equestrian Games Para-Dressage Competition ("the Event"). Athletes must have a valid U.S. Passport that does not expire until after February 23, 2015.
 
2. Minimum International Federation (IF) standards for participation:

a. All athletes and horses wishing to compete on the 2014 WEG Para-Dressage Team (the "Team") must earn a FEI Certificate of Capability in accordance with the 2014 WEG Qualification Guide. The 2014 WEG Qualification Guide and a list of qualifying events can be found on the FEI website here.

b. The athlete must be internationally classified with either a "Review" or "Confirmed" sport grade status. At the time of nomination an athlete must have an IPC International Classification with an international sport class status of R-Review or C-Confirmed, or if there has been no opportunity for the athlete to be internationally classified, the athlete must be evaluated and determined likely to classify in the sport class in which he/she would be qualified for the Team; provided that athletes with an international sport class status of N-New are allowable for entry on the official team nomination into the 2014 WEG. A description of sport-specific classification requirements and current international athlete sport class status can be found at the IPC website at www.paralympic.org.

c. The athlete must have been born on or before January 1, 1998 in accordance with the FEI Rules for Para-Equestrian Dressage Events, 3rd edition, effective 1st January 2011, including modifications for 01.01.2013 (update 23.01.13) Article 8422.2.

d. A horse must be a minimum of six (6) years of age (age being counted from January 1 of the year of birth) in accordance with the FEI Rules for Para-Equestrian Dressage Events, 3rd edition, effective 1st January 2011, including modifications for 01.01.2013 (update 23.01.13), Article 8422.7.1).

e. Horses entered for the 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games must have been registered with the FEI by no later than the date of the Nominated Entries TBD, see FEI Regulations for the 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games (which will be published on the FEI website at www.fei.org as soon as they are available).  The athlete and horse must be registered and in good standing with the FEI at the time of application, selection, and until the conclusion of the Event.

f. The athlete and horse must comply with FEI Rules for the Event.

3. Other Requirements:

- The athlete must be a current USEF member in good standing at the time of application, selection, and until the conclusion of the Event.
 
- The horse must be recorded with USEF pursuant to USEF GR1102, and in good standing at the time of application, selection, and until the conclusion of the Event under USEF rules.

- Additional requirements, if any, will be published in the Selection Procedure for the 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games Para-Dressage Team.
 
4. Additional Request:

In order to have a better understanding of the athlete's wish to vie for a berth on the 2014 WEG Para-Dressage team, the Para-Equestrian High Performance Committee requests that the attached Letter of Intent and Performance Plan Questionnaire be completed and submitted to Laureen Johnson at the USEF via email to lkjohnson@usef.org, fax:  908-234-9417 or mail to PO Box 83, Gladstone, NJ 07934 no later than March 20, 2013.

In addition to granting an FEI Certificate of Capability, it is strongly encouraged that each athlete/horse combination also compete in a CPEI3* in 2013.
 
The Performance Plan Questionnaires will be reviewed by the U.S. Team Para-Dressage Coach, Missy Ransehousen. Within two weeks of receipt of the Performance Plan Questionnaire, Ms. Ransehousen will provide feedback and recommendations to the athlete and/or their regional coach via telephone or personal visit.
 
If a new or additional horse is secured, a revised Letter of Intent and Performance Plan Questionnaire will be accepted and reviewed up to four months prior to the 2014 WEG Selection Trial date (TBD).
 
Full details regarding the selection method will be published in the 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games Para-Dressage Team Selection Procedure. In the meantime if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Laureen Johnson at lkjohnson@usef.org or 908-326-1155.

ALLTECH FEI WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES 2014 Qualification Criteria
 
Qualification Period:
Start: January 1, 2013
End: XXXX 2014 (TBD)
 
Qualifying Events:
Any CPEDI3* or CPEDI4* event during the qualification period in addition to the Paralympics Games 2012 London
Qualification Score:
All athlete/horse combinations must have attained (as a combination) a minimum 60% score attributed by the Ground Jury in a Team test or Individual Championship test one time.
 
Judges:
Minimum of 3 FEI PE5* or 4* judges of different nationalities