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Amy J. Daum, (703) 779-0440 ext. 3017; amy@useventing.com
2006
USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series Kicks Off! The
2006 USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series kicked off March 17 at the Rocking
Horse Spring Horse Trials, in Altoona, Florida. Due to the early date, only a
five-year-old division was held. Great Britain’s defending
Olympic Gold Medallist and recent U.S. transplant Leslie Law, with youngster
Rainman, ran away with the division on a score of 88.35%. It was a tight race
for second place, with Eric Dierks and Text, his Thoroughbred gelding,
slipping into second on a score of 79.26%, with Jennie Jarnstrom and Papillon
Z, her Swedish Warmbloood gelding, in third with 79.05%. For
his win Law received a six-month supply of Fly Predators™ from Spalding
Labs as well as a Fleeceworks Complete package saddle pad—these will also
serve as prizes for the winners of each division throughout the year. The winners
of the Championships, which will be held in late September at Morven Park in Leesburg,
Virginia, will win a Stackhouse saddle in addition to an additional six-month
supply of Fly Predators. Six new events, for a total of 17, have
signed on to hold USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series qualifiers throughout
the year. The calendar to date covers eight USEA Areas, and will expand further,
with a total of at least 20 qualifying events expected for the 2006 season.
Rocking Horse (FL) March 17 (5-year-olds) www.rockinghorseht.com
MCTA (MD) May 5-7 www.MDCTA.com Winona (OH) May 12-14 www.stonegatefarm.org
Moon Rock (WY) June 2-4 www.moonrockevent.com Indiana June 2-4 www.indyeventers.org
Las Colinas (TX) June 10-11 www.lascolinasequestrian.com Waredaca (MD)
June www.waredaca.com CDCTA (VA) June 24-25 www.cdcta.com Barbara
Cimino H.T. (ID) July 1 Maui Jim Wayne (IL) July 6 www.mauijimhorsetrials.org Event
at Rebecca (MT) July 21-23 www.rebeccafarm.org Gemwood H.T. July 29 www.gemwoodevents.com
Penny Oaks H.T. (IN) August 5-6 www.penny-oaks-stables.com Millbrook H.T.
(NY) August 11-13 www.millbrookhorsetrials.com Fair Hill (MD) August 12-13
www.fairhillinternational.com Richland Park H.T. (MI) August 25-27 www.richlandpark.com
Genesee Valley H.T. (NY) September 9-10 www.geneseevalleyhunt.org The USEA/Spalding
Labs Young Event Horse Series could best be described as an equine talent search.
The Series gives owners and breeders the opportunity to showcase the potential
of their four- and five-year-olds, encouraging them to produce top-level event
horses for the future—the next Winsome Adante, Custom Made, or Primmore´s
Pride, perhaps. The divisions are based on age, with one division for four-year-old
horses and the other for five-year-olds. The classes at each event offer four
sections: dressage, jumping, conformation and type, and suitability and potential.
While the judges look for horses with strong abilities in dressage and show jumping,
they also look for a horse with correct, elastic gaits, scope and athleticism
over fences, and those that with the correct training will have the speed, soundness,
and stamina necessary at the top levels of the sport. The ultimate goal?
Earn two qualifying scores of 70 or higher to qualify for the Championships. USEA
Executive Director Jo Whitehouse, who spearheaded the launch of the YEH
Series, summed up the Series´ philosophy best: “Eventers in the U.S.
are used to buying horses that are already competing, or finding them off the
track and re-training them. Hopefully programs like the Young Event Horse Series
will encourage more people to consider purchasing a young prospect bred specifically
for the sport, or even better, to try their luck by pairing up a mare and stallion
that could produce a future Rolex winner!” Sponsor support
for the Series continues to build, with Title sponsor Spalding Labs and Presenting
sponsors Fleeceworks and Stackhouse Saddles back for a second year. Two new companies
have signed on—Acorn Hill Farm as a Contributing sponsor, and Dunlavin Horses
as an Underwriting sponsor.
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