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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2007

Pan American Games Team Named on the Final Day of Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions

Hickey, Sammis, Poulin-Neff and Dutta Set to Head to Brazil

Gladstone, NJ – Storms threatened but the sun hung on Sunday June 17 at the final day of the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions and so did Christopher Hickey and Regent making them the final champion of the Festival and putting them at the top of the list of four named for Pan American Games Selection. The top three combinations from today's competition are named were named to the team pending the USEF High Performance Working Group, the Executive Committee and USOC approval and the fourth place finisher is picked as the alternate and travels all the way to Brazil with the squad. (Christopher Hickey is pictured at the right at a Press Conference at Gladstone, NJ.)

Hickey and Regent were second to last in the ring and waltzed through their Freestyle with lots of elegant lateral work and four pirouettes. The 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding tried very hard throughout the entire test and was rewarded with very high marks for his degree of difficulty and interpretation. Beautiful, easy paces made the Freestyle look easy. They were rewarded with a score of 74.5% and a three day total of 72.063%

"I'm a little emotional," said Hickey. "I've had a lot of things happen at the last minute before something big so this means a lot. There are a lot of people behind me and that's the most emotional part for me – to give them what they've been pushing for."

About his Freestyle which included techno music, Hickey recognized some risk in the performance.

"I'm totally aware that the trot music is dangerous because it has such a strong beat." he said. "Seventy percent of the time I can pull it off. My freestyle is very, very difficult."

Runner-up was yesterday's winner Lauren Sammis and the adorable Sagacious HF on a score of 73.45%. To the music of Billy Joel, the 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding exhibited polished pirouettes and good changes to reaffirm their ability in the judges' eyes. Trying as hard as he did yesterday Sagacious HF and Sammis pair picked up high marks for their degree of difficulty. They remained in second overall and secured their ticket to Brazil. (Lauren Sammis is pictured at the left at a Press Conference at Gladstone, NJ.)

"I do need to change a couple of things," said Sammis. "My freestyle is not hard enough for the horse I have now. It was hard enough for the horse I had two months ago."

Sammis spoke of her first team opportunity.

"Teamanship is so important," she said. "They push me and I can push them. We can work together to improve.

Third today and overall was the littlest horse in the competition Brilliant Too with Katherine Poulin-Neff aboard. The 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood Thoroughbred Cross displayed very good lateral work and a unique half-pass – pirouette – half-pass combination. They received lots of 7s and 8s on their changes and used very appropriate music to suit the little horse. (Katherine Poulin-Neff and Brilliant Too are pictured at the right.)

"I'm very excited to be here," said Poulin-Neff. "I don't really know what to say. I have a tendency to be a little boring. I tried to be brave and I made a couple of mistakes but if I hadn't taken the risk I wouldn't have known. I know I need to work on my Freestyle and improve."

Susan Dutta and Pik L jumped up into the alternate spot of the Pan Am process on the strength of their freestyle score of 71.1%. Overall they finished just below the 70% mark with 69.443%. The 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion was dynamic in the trot work to the music of Flashdance. Really good flow highlighted her test.

"I've been in this position before," said Dutta. "I was the reserve for the last Pan Ams. Three months ago I didn't have a horse and Horses Unlimited offered me this opportunity. I started riding him at the end of March. I'm really grateful to this horse, he's a prince." (Susan Dutta and Pik L are pictured at the left.)

The US coach Klaus Balkenhol had praise for the all the riders vying for a spot on the team.

"I want to thank the riders for really coming out and fighting for the top spots. There is no need for any of these riders to stand back and hide from the world," he said.

The four horses stay at Gladstone to be evaluated by the veterinarians and then ship to Wellington, FL for quarantine.

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As the National Governing Body (NGB) of Equestrian Sport, the United States Equestrian Federation®, Inc. (USEF) is the regulatory body for 27 breeds and disciplines, including our country’s international teams competing in the disciplines of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, para-equestrian, reining, show jumping and vaulting. With over 80,000 members, it is the country’s largest multi-breed organization and annually license more than 2,800 competitions nationwide. The USEF governs all aspects of competition, including education and licensing of all judges, stewards, and technical delegates who officiate shows.

Vision Statement: The vision of United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America, promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its horses, and embracing this vision, to be the best national equestrian federation in the world.